what is a good drill press for the size and the buck?

L

lowlife

Joined
Aug 20, 2001
Messages
53
I'm looking for a good small to medium drill press for around $100-150. i prefer to have a five speed ajustment. im going to drill through steel. i dont know what to get.
 
I've been using a $79 desktop drill press form Harbor Freight for a little over a year now without any problems. I was lucky and caught it on sale for $39. The drill press is variable speed via it's pullys, but I have it set at its slowest speed, and it drills metal fine. The chuck will take bits up to 1/2 inch.

-chris
 
I've been using the same general unit as Chris also from HF for about 12 years and it works just fine. I guess eventually I'll have to get a floor model for the longer throw, but so far this has been all I need.

Dave
 
I have 2 al-cheap-O's and my V/ mill
I could use 2 more cheap jobs
sometimes you can get one with the spindle
out of round or warbles but in most part the cheap
ones will do fine.
it's just if you have more than one
you don't have to change bits and speeds
so much.
 
Try Ebay,I just got a 16 speed floor drill of there for 99 dollars
they have the smaller ones on there for 29 dollars
 
I went to a place in NJ called Cooks Machine and bought a used one. It's an old Walker Turner bench model that weighs about 250 pounds. Thy had about 30 different ones there and let me try it out before I bought it. It only cost $100 and was well worth it. I also rebuilt a floor stand rockwell delta that someone gave me. I got all of the parts on ebay for around $50. So if you have a used tool and machine shop around you I would check there.
Joe
 
Very happy with a couple of 1/4 hp. Roybi table top models from Home D. I do like their return policy.

Think the quality from HF is variable.

An old used American unit would probably last a lifetime over most imports, given most machinists swear by them.

One of the best things you can do with an import is replace the chuck with a quality non-geared finger tight model from a tooling supplier. They tighten themselves without a key, often on sale, and minimize radial drift from a cheap chuck.
 
For an unbeatable price and good quality, The little harbor freight machine is tops. After a few years, I decided mine needed to be taller, so I found a piece of shafting that was the same size as the column and made it about 3' taller. I definitely will buy a bigger one someday but for knifemaking, this is all I have needed.
 
What would be the next step up in price/quality?

I mean, for a hundred to two hundred bucks, would I get a much better machine, or not?

John
 
I have used several, from small to medium floor models. I do not beleive you can go wrong with Craftsman, from Sears. Pricing, quality, and warranty, not what it used to be, but still better than most.
KEN (WWJD)
 
I had one of the cheapie table models from HF and used it a LOT.
It was OK, but not capable of precise work. There seems to be a big jump in price from the ordinary home shop grade drill presses up to the Industrial/professional quality machines. A real floor model drill press that might go in a machine shop will cost you $2500-up to $5000+. That said, I have one I bought from Sears for less than $300 with which I am perfectly happy. Main thing is look for one that has BALL BEARINGS. The sleeve bearings in the cheap ones wear out. A really good chuck makes all the difference if you want to upgrade for more precise work later. A good chuck by itself might cost more than the whole drill press.
 
Anybody try Grizzly tool's drill presses? I hear their factory makes the components for DeWalt, but Grizzly is their own factory-direct retailer.... I have a palm sander from Grizzly and have been impressed with its performance thus far. What about the bigger tools?

Tim
 
I have a Taiwan made floor model that I bought twenty years ago. It still works great, 16 speed, floor model. The best thing I did was to change the chuck, like R.Dannerman said. I went with a grizzly keyless, and wish I had done that years before. It was $39.00, and has absolutely no runout.
I think all of the Taiwanese machinery comes from one, or two plants there. They just put a different coat of paint, or different decals on, for the different distributors. Find a place that you can pick it up yourself, or go with Harbor Freight, no freight charges on purchases $50.00 or over. That is a considerable savings.
I would go with a 16 speed, 1HP, floor model, I have seen them from $150.00-$250.00. Good luck to you.:)
 
You might want to check out the Ryobi bench top drill press. I bought one and I am very happy with it. They usually sell for around $100 at home depot. I also tried the craftsman benchtop model and had nothing but headaches with it. Be sure to check for spindle play, and if possible, ask a salesman to let you run it before you buy it. If you hear a lot of bearing noise don't buy it.
 
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