which drill press to buy?

I am looking to get a 15" drill press. Amazon.com has a delta 15" with mortising kit for $399 minus $25 and no tax. I know the mortising kit is entry level at best. At Home Depot they have a 15" Rigid with 3 yr. warr. for $240-$260 (can't completely remember). I am not making a living at woodworking but I also am looking for durability and accuracy. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you.

keith

Reply to
Keith Boeheim
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Can't tell you which is best per say, but also check out Jet and Grizzly if you are shopping around. Delta has a decent reputation for sure. No knowledge of Rigid's larger units...

Joe - V#8013 - '86 VN750 - joe @ yunx .com Northern, NJ Ride a Motorcycle? Ask me about "The Ride"

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Reply to
Joe

For a bit more above the entry level floor drill press, you get a much longer quill stroke and a much easier and more flexible belt system. Forget the Delta with the junky mortising attachment. If you're going to spend $400 go for the better drill press. The Jet 16 1/2" has 16 speeds going all the way down to 200 rpm and has a three pulley system that is much easier to change than some of the two pulley systems. It also has a 4 3/8" quill stroke. The longer quill stroke is really nice. The delta and Jet are pretty much equal except the Jet has a TEFC motor (considered more desirable).

Bob

Reply to
Bob

Can not offer any advice on what brand to recommend...My floor model drill presss is a Craftsman...(NOT CRAPSMAN) that I purchased new in the mid 60's and it has been a workhorse in my shop ever since... used almost daily and has gone thru maybe 2 belts over the years ..and I did replace the bearings about 10 years ago..only because I felt like it was time....

I also own a benchtop Delta that is not nearly as old but just as problem free ... I have no direct knowledge about Ridgid Drill presses...just never bothered to look at them ...

Personally I would look at Delta and Jet and compare them to Grizley....

Bob Griffiths

Reply to
Bob G.

Ditto..

The Jet 16 1/2" (Model 17 MF) has been in my basement less than 2 weeks. $400 got the drill press, the Jet morticing attachment, and 3 morticing chisels at the Rockler store near me. Jet gives a coupon for 50$ off accessories with the purchase of this drill press. Forgoing that, the store manager was willing to order it for me and price the package as described.

You can find different models, and download manuals by perusing the link below.

Dave

Reply to
Cox West

Bob G. wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Reply to
patriarch

? Amazon.com has a delta 15" with mortising kit for $399 minus $25 and ? no tax. I know the mortising kit is entry level at best.

Mortising attachments don't cut perfect mortises- they still need to be cleaned up by hand.

Better to learn to cut mortises by hand, or to cut them by hogging out the centers with a drill press and cleaning up the corners, which is what you have to do with a mortising attachment, anyway.

Best of luck, and let us know how it comes out!

Reply to
Lyle B. Harwood

I have to smile at this one. Not too long ago somebody was asking how to rig up his DP to get rid of the third pulley and convert it to a two pulley system. :)

I'm for three pulleys, personally. I like the setup on my Crapsman DP, with the little tension lever.

To throw in my tupence on this topic, I wound up getting a Crapsman during one of those dumb sales they have every other week. 15" I think, twelve speeds.

The rack for the column never has been quite right. There's some alignment problem, and it's necessary to jiggle it just so to avoid letting the top of the rack bind up in the top collar and chew itself to bits. That's definitely a blemish.

The table is a mixed bag. It has T tracks in it, which seemed like a cool idea at shopping time, but it's actually pretty annoying. I can't use my cross-slide vise on it. I rigged up an adapter flummy, but I didn't rig it up very well, and it isn't sufficiently precise. That's another blemish, for me anyway. That stupid table is definitely more trouble than one with ordinary through holes.

The depth stop is another blemish. You have to be careful not to keep pushing once you hit the stop, because even though you've put 50,000 ft. lbs. of torque on the screws holding the big aluminum thing onto the head, it will still move if you push on it. When precision matters, such as when taking care not to bore through the veneer on the bottom side of a piece of plywood, say, I adjust things around so that the bottom of quill travel regulates the depth.

The quill itself has given me problems too. I tinkered with it to adjust out as much slop as I could, and improved it, but it still doesn't feel quite right. At the bottom of travel (see previous comment) it wants to move the entire mechanism a little, which can be hell on precision work.

This machine is still one of my best friends, and it has been a real workhorse for me, but I have to admit in retrospect that it has been a question of learning to live with it because it's paid for, and it's there, and it's heavy. It really isn't a very well-designed or well made machine for that much cashola.

I didn't like the look of the Deltas they had at Lowe's for various reasons I can't put my finger on now, and the same thing for the Rigids. I guess if I were doing this all again, I might go with a JET indeed. Or I might just buy the Crapsman anyway, in spite of all this, because the price was right.

Reply to
Silvan

I have the Ridgid and find it to be a very capable machine. No problems for me.

Darrell

Reply to
Darrell Dorsey

Harbor Freight has 11 models in their on-line catalog, starting at $ 39 for a 5-speed. Many models are available in their store.

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Reply to
Walter R.

Harbor Freight is a great place for really junk tools that you only need to use once or twice or cut up for special uses, but if you want something to use for a few years, this isn't the place to buy it.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

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