Drill press choice

[charger0926]

I have a Zoro coupon and have to use it today. Looking for a 15"ish drill press. I want to know what is a good choice for mostly metal work. It needs to be a floor model. I am looking at the JET brand. Are these any good? What does everybody thin for a new press. I unfortunately don't have time to wait on a good old restored drill press.

 

[Mike007]

People seem to like the Ridgid drill press's. And Ive heard Palmgren stuff is ok for an import also.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

JET has been around a long time. While not the best, I don't recall them being cheap as **** either. Depends on the price, but certainly worth considering.

 

[zkling]

Clausing

 

[tarbellb]

I would check out Grizzly.com tools, usually a good buy for any large shop related tools.

17" drill press, 12spd, 1hp, 4.75" travel. Slightly better specs then the 16.5" Jet.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Jet is as good as anyone else. It's hard to find a non-China drill press anymore. The one's coming out of Taiwan are downright decent, so look for a big name offering Taiwan drill presses then you'll have a good drill press with good support from a known company.

But to be honest, a drill press is a pretty simple piece of equipment. If there spindle doesn't have any excessive runout, then generally speaking you're good to go regardless of who's name is on it. Everything else is just bearings, pulleys and motors; all of that is easily fixed when (or if) something goes wrong.

I have a 40 year old Japanese made Jet 13R and everything on it is completely original; and everything still works as it should.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Harbor Freight if the spindle mic'd out okay.

Of course if you want the best, buy US. As stated, Clausing is the ****.

Finally you come down to vintage US made drill presses. Craftsman, Atlas, Rockwell, Delta, etc.....

A restored classic is going to be top quality and will have a HUGE cool factor. I'd trade my Jet for an old Atlas in a New York minute.

 

[ez-duzit]

Avoid the cheap imports. I'd look for a quality used machine.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The Jet #354170 is a nice drill press and should do most any job required, for normal usage. What is your budget and how heavily will you be using it? The Jet will stand up to normal use but if you are going to be heavily using it I would upgrade to a Dake # 977600-1V.

 

[Davefr]

You'll do just fine with Jet or Delta but I'd go at least 17".

I'm in the minority here, but with few exceptions I hate these old primitive drill presses. I've had them in the past but couldn't get rid of them fast enough. (unlike old grinders, vises and anvils)

Here's why:
1. They're usually only 4-5 speeds and lack the very high end or the very low end.
2. They usually lack table elevation which I use almost as often as the quill feed. (it's like a lathe without power feed)
3. They lack things like table rotate, table adjust and table tilt. You can't even tram the table on most of them.
4. They often lack T-slot tables
5. Parts can be hard/expensive to find.
6. Most of them require extensive restoration.

I would make an exception for a few models like the older 17" Rockwell/Delta machinist DP.

 

[ez-duzit]

Regarding # 2 & 3, my go to drill press is the one with NO extra BS on the table because it is so quick and easy to change table height. Add a separate rotary table when/if you ever need one. My crank-up slotted-table drill press gets the least use.

 

[tarbellb]

Jet is as good as anyone else. It's hard to find a non-China drill press anymore. The one's coming out of Taiwan are downright decent, so look for a big name offering Taiwan drill presses then you'll have a good drill press with good support from a known company.

But to be honest, a drill press is a pretty simple piece of equipment. If there spindle doesn't have any excessive runout, then generally speaking you're good to go regardless of who's name is on it. Everything else is just bearings, pulleys and motors; all of that is easily fixed when (or if) something goes wrong.

I have a 40 year old Japanese made Jet 13R and everything on it is completely original; and everything still works as it should.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Harbor Freight if the spindle mic'd out okay.

Of course if you want the best, buy US. As stated, Clausing is the ****.

Finally you come down to vintage US made drill presses. Craftsman, Atlas, Rockwell, Delta, etc.....

A restored classic is going to be top quality and will have a HUGE cool factor. I'd trade my Jet for an old Atlas in a New York minute.

^^^^ This.

Whats the budget? Some of these other suggestions are in the "ridiculous" price range unless your a pro or ball'n.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Jet is as good as anyone else. It's hard to find a non-China drill press anymore. The one's coming out of Taiwan are downright decent, so look for a big name offering Taiwan drill presses then you'll have a good drill press with good support from a known company.

But to be honest, a drill press is a pretty simple piece of equipment. If there spindle doesn't have any excessive runout, then generally speaking you're good to go regardless of who's name is on it. Everything else is just bearings, pulleys and motors; all of that is easily fixed when (or if) something goes wrong.

I have a 40 year old Japanese made Jet 13R and everything on it is completely original; and everything still works as it should.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Harbor Freight if the spindle mic'd out okay.

Of course if you want the best, buy US. As stated, Clausing is the ****.

Finally you come down to vintage US made drill presses. Craftsman, Atlas, Rockwell, Delta, etc.....

A restored classic is going to be top quality and will have a HUGE cool factor. I'd trade my Jet for an old Atlas in a New York minute.

I've not closely examined any of the imports, so I cannot speak to them. I do have a vintage South Bend Lathe drill press, have had it about 30 years and it has served me well... sort of hard to get parts for, but well worth the hunt...