Which drill press to buy?

[Keith Boeheim]

This will be my first drill press and a life long purchase I think so here is the question.

A 12" depth bench top unit goes for $180 at my local Home Depot but is my just delivered Rockler advert a Jet floor mount 15" is on sale for $100 more. In the next 20 years would I be better off getting the 15" full size unit. Not ever having used one I'm just not if it is over kill. Oh, BTW this is just a hobby for stress relief. Thanks for any advise. One more thing is it necessary to have a mortising accessory or can I just use a drill/chisel combo.

Thanks

keith

[KYHighlander]

I bought a benchtop about 20 years ago, after figuring out that it wasn't enough I had to go back and buy a floor model later. If it's for the long haul, buy the best you can afford, if you can afford the Jet and it won't take food from your children's mouth or throw your wife into a rage then that would be the way to go.

Just my opinion, its worth every bit of what you paid for it.

KY

[codepath]

Or Grizzly:

$200 G7944 12-Speed, 3/4HP, 14" Floor Drill Press

$180G7946 5-Speed, 1/2HP, 34" Floor Radial Drill Press out that second one. Radial head, 34" swing for $180!

codepath

[Tom Kohlman]

Delta/Jet seem to be all the same other than color...dunno about the Griz but that may come from the same far-east factories as well.

I had a 16" floor Delta and loved it. I now have the 17" floor Delta and hate it. Dial depth guage vs. treaded rod is my biggest loss (former was accurate, latter is a piece of crap that is impossible to set accurately and even then will slip past the threads on the slightest bit of pressure).

Floor vs. benchtop...the floor models usually come with 5/8' chuck, bench tops at 1/2". Believe it or not there are times where the 5/8" is needed. Speed settings between the two (probably 15 vs. 5) don't seem to matter since you can compromise on either and get the job done. Floor models can be used for alot of other stuff, i.e. when remodeling a bathroom I used it to stir the tile mortar in a 5 gallon bucket since my heavy duty drill couldn't handle the load.

[KYHighlander]

the Grizzly would be my choice, but the next DP I get will have a speed control without changing belt position. I bought a cheap router speed control and put that on my DP, wonder if that will hurt it? LOL

[Tom Kohlman]

...changing the belts around is not a big deal...takes only a few seconds...I keep the speed chart taped to the wall next to the press. The instructions for the pulley alignment are under the top cover. I think letting the pulleys do the work will probably beat any type of electronic speed control, especially if it ever comes under load.

[NoNameAtAll]

quality differences between it and more expensive drill presses in its class.

[Bob Davis]

I think the next step up would be a matter of size and motor quality. I'm thinking of DP's like the Jet 17 which has TEFC motor and over 1" more Spindle travel. But it's $200 more.

Bob

[Joe Wells]

I recently got the second one's little brother:

5 Speed 1/2HP, 34" Bench-Top Radial Drill Press, $150

My thought is to put a mobile cabinet under it to increase storage in my small shop. If I need to use it for bigger jobs, I can just swing the head around and have the full capacity to the floor. That's the plan anyway, we'll see how it works out in practice.

[Robert Bonomi]

Has anybody got a good reason _not_ to buy the Griz G9745 or G9746? other than "I'm not in the market for one", that is. :)

Is there a downside to the "radial" drill presses, that I'm not aware of?

[kb8qlr]

I have a Ryobi benchtop that serves me well. I have it mounted on a rolling stand that I built. I don't need a floor model 'cause the DP is fastened on with lag screws. I can just remove them and turn the thing around with the work on the floor.

[Anthony Diodati]

[YJJim]

aware of?

I was very close to buying the Grizzly radial floor model, but it doesn't take a mortise attachment. I don't want to buy a separate mortising machine, so I would like to get a DP that will accept a mortising attachment.

Other than that, I have heard that after taking advantage of the radial feature, you need to be very careful to get the machine back in alignment. (it sounds like it doesn't have a positive stop at the 90 degree mark... not positive about that though)

YJJim

[Larry Jaques]

On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 07:33:02 +0000, [e-mail] (Robert Bonomi) brought forth from the murky depths:

The two reasons I've heard are:

1) they flex a bit more than solid-head machines 2) they're harder to get/keep aligned vertically

But if a person is machine savvy (and a tad smarter than a pointy stick) they should be able to work around these minor problems with ease.

------------------------------------------ Do the voices in my head bother you? ------------------------------------------

Full-Service Web Development

[Bridger]

if you can find one in a showroom somewhere to get your hands on, you'll be able to tell whether or not it's too much flex for your application. it sure was for mine. Bridger

[DLGlos]

Since you used "life long purchase," consider the following.

If you live near one being auctioned on E-bay, a Clausing variable speed (as in "continuously variable") would be the cat's meow. Don't really want to pay for shipping on such a beast. Make certain you look at the motor requirements before bidding. They came in 220/440 3 phase, as well as 110, single phase. A little lower down the food chain, but still miles above most of the far east iron is Walker-Turner. They came in various models/motor configurations too. The Clausing might end up being a bit over your price range, but a decent Walker-Turner might not.

I would post some e-bay links, but don't really want to give out too much info as I'm in the market for one myself. Stay away from any within 100 miles of Cincinnati and I will let you live. ;-)

Dave Glos

[DLGlos]

Head has to be trammed to the table each time its moved and likely less rigidity. Both really shouldn't be deal breakers for woodworking. They might be in the metal working world.

David Glos

[BIG JOE]

Tom reported....I now have the 17" floor Delta and

Yup, same problem with my 17" Delta. I've learned to deal with it, and not crank so hard once you are approaching the final depth.

Couple observations, though, which I made while shopping and comparing this machine to the 16 1/2" Jet a couple few years back. First, most reviewers prefer the threaded rod to the dial, since the dials on Chinese drill presses are not that accurate. I'm guessing your older DP was made elsewhere. Second, at least one reviewer, if not two, observed that the Jet had problems with spindle deflection, which the delta didn't have.

One of the Jet's bigger selling points (at least at the time) was the aforementioned mortising attachment. Most experts don't suggest using this except for occasional use. Too much stress on your machine. Better off buying a $200 dedicated benchtop mortiser.

Joe

[Doctor John]

[Tom Kohlman]

Hi Joe

Older Delta was bought about 15 years ago so you're probably right. That "dial thing" worked great. With the newer piece of crap I guess I'll try to replace the threaded rod assembly even though I'm sure Delta will want the typical "arm and leg" for it. Replacement parts for Delta do seem to be better than what comes with the tool so maybe it will be better in the long run and I can quit cussing every time I try to drill a hole without going all the way through.

As for the various brands, I think they all have "deflection" problems but guess for the cheap prices (how can they all sell such a massive piece of machinery for under $300???) we can expect that. We are only working with wood which doesn't demand microscopic accuracy anyway. As to why any of the big names would continue to "sell" based on the mortising attachment is beyond me...PITA to set up, never very accurate, and about the time you get it right you need the DP for something else and have to take it all apart.