Drill press - 15" Powermatic vs 20" Rockwell

[Woods_Wanderer]

I need GJ's opinion on a drill press buy. I've found a 50's-60's 20" Rockwell 70-400 (possibly equivalent to a Walker-Turner 1100?) in great shape for $500. But... I literally just finished restoring an early 60's Powermatic 1150, new paint job, wiring, bearings, etc. And I can't justify buying and keeping both. Think it's worth buying the larger DP, slapping a VFD on it, and selling the freshly restored 1150? I do hobby metal fab in my garage and the extra capacity would be nice, but I'm not sure how much I NEED it.

General opinions on the quality between these 2?

I don't have any pics handy at the moment, I can add them here later.

 

[tarbellb]

No brainer

Buy the 20", fix it up, sell

Rinse and repeat

 

[Woods_Wanderer]

Looking at this thing again, I don't think I could make myself sell it after all that work. Guess I made up my own mind.

This is the same machine from this thread:

Powermatic Drill Press?

Hey folks I've been looking for a new floor-standing drill press for my metal fab hobby and found this locally. The seller has no information except that it's 3-phase. Can anyone ID this model and possibly tell me if it's US-made? Unfortunately this is the only picture.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[uscarry45]

Powermatic is the ”Cadillac” keep it

 

[shawhite]

Here is the question I would ask my self. Have I ever needed a bigger drill press to complete a project? Do I have room for a larger drill press? Do I want another project?

 

[Davefr]

To each his own but I'd get the 20" Rockwell. It likely has table lift, production table, more capacity, etc. Save the Powermatic as a spare or sell it.