I wanted to get an informed opinion from the gurus on this thread. Today I am going to look at this pair of drill presses. I only want one. I like the 150 in the power bronze but it is missing the depth stop nuts and the lock handle for the table. The 100 looks to be pristine and has a tilting table. The seller is asking $50 less for the 150. My question is, is there an advantage to either model that I should know? I know the cosmetic differences. I just didn't know if one was more desirable than the other for some reason? I don't mind doing a refurbish on the 150 if it is the better machine.
I have read extensively in this thread and just haven't seen anything pointing in one way or the other. I am coming home with one of these!
Thanks for any info you have.
Well I am currently finishing refurbishing a late model 150 and an early model 100. So let me tell you the differences I ran into. These may not be accurate for every version of the 150 or 100 though since I think small changes were made.
1. The quill on the 150 has a snap ring on the bottom of it. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. The only thing that stops the quill from going back into to far on the 100 is the feed stop attachment. Which will get bumped over and over and likely have to be reseated. On the 150 even without the feed stop the quill will stop at the correct posistion.
2. Feed spring tension on the 100 is done via an external handle. This seems better than the 150 but in reality it is not. The spring is pushed into that handle which you must then turn to tension and put on a bolt that locks that handle on pace. On the 150 the spring locks onto a pin and you can tension it just by pulling out the feed handle slightly and turning it. It is much easier on the 150 in my opinion.
3 My two presses have different chucks. They are both collar lock jacobs chucks. The 100 chuck has indentations and the 150 chuck is smooth. Other than looks though I cannot tell any usability difference.
4. Motor mount and speed adjustment. On the 100 the motor mont is static. So to change the speed with the belt you must loosen both side bolts, slide the motor in, move the belt, then retension the motor. On the 150 they made the mount tilting with a locking clip. So to change speed all you do is pull the clip down, tilt the motor and move the belt, then just push clip back. It is much faster.
5. As you know they got rid of the tilt table on the 150. Not sure why. So any angles you want drill you will have to come up with a jig to do so.
That's it as far as I can think of. But I will tell you some more useful info.
Most parts are hard to come by and quite expensive. The feed stop assembly will likely run you at least $50 if you can find one. You also need to check the motor pullys on the motors to see if they are the correct size. Lots of people replaced them and most of the replacements would require have different sized belts when changing speed.
As far as the missing lock handle goes if the actual locking cylinders are still there you can just use a bolt or possibly find a handle on ebay. A bolt would be fine if you dont constantly need to adjust your table.
Also check the motors on them. They originally sold these bitty with and without a motor. So you may find one of them have a more powerful motor than the other.
Edit update after looking at the pictures both have the wrong pulley on the motor. Wonder what they have on the spindle pulley.