Drill press recommendations wanted

[strength_and_power]

14 years or so ago I bought a Grizzly G7943 14” 3/4hp drill press used. It fit the budget at the time and other than replacing the belts a few times, the return spring and chuck once, I’ve done nothing else and it has served me well, easily 100,000+ holes in various steel. I learned early on the value of good drill bits, cutting oil, taking the time to change to the proper speed, listen and watch the cut and adjust feed pressure accordingly. The $175 I paid for it was well worth it and it owes me nothing. It has gotten a bit sloppy on the run out, return spring broke again, handles have stripped, minor things that individually would be no big deal but collectively I feel like it is time to retire it and replace it. Grizzly still makes the drill press and I’m tempted to go with the same one based on my experience but I’d also like some opinions on other brands to check out. I’m open to a bench top or floor standing model, my previous was a benchtop on a rolling stand and that was nice for moving to sweep and such. Primarily I will be drilling 1/8”/11ga steel. I have access to a 20” floor drill press at work if need be. I had an import mill/drill for a bit but it wasn’t much of a mill or a drill so I traded it off. A Bridgeport mill or a clone is on my list many years down the road.
Thoughts?
Opinions?
Experiences?
Thanks in advance


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[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Honestly you will probably laugh but I have had great experiences with the Harbor Freight ones both the Benchtop and the ones that sit on the floor for the money you really can’t beat it when i was in high school a couple years ago we had 3 of the Harbor Freight ones and all of them were awesome I am actually planning on buying one sometime before the end of the year so I can have mine at home at work we have a Grizzly and a Harbor Freight one and I have no complaints for either one.


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[BlakeTheCarGuy]

And also my friend has a Delta it’s an older one I like that one too I go to his house to use it sometimes we are both mechanics so only gets used occasionally cause you don’t often use them in our industry. But those are the three I would consider Harbor Freight, Grizzly and Delta. As for others I have no experience with so I won’t speak on those.


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[matt_i]

If you are at all near Cleveland I recommend hitting HGR Surplus.

There will be many drill presses and mills.

I'm a fan of the Clausing 20" drill press, second would be the old school green and mustard yellow Powermatic 20". I think Rockwell made a version too.

Clausing has a unique bolt on power feed which is a nice feature on some models. Ultimately driven by a serpentine belt. You can set a depth stop where it disengages.

Not sure what you are drilling but a hydraulic ironworker can potentially make the same hole cheaper and faster.

 

[Shadowdog500]

If you liked what you had, I’d be inclined to get another one.


I have the porter cable 15” 1hp full height drill press and really like it. I probably had it for 7 or 8 years. It’s $499 at Lowe’s which is a little pricy. I’ve had 5 drill presses Over the years and this is my favorite.

You can see my drill press in action on small drill followed by a demming bit starting at 5:00 in this video.

 

[lafester]

Which mill drill did you have? I like mine for the tinkering I do with it.
I have the original rf30.
I still have a drill press only because it is useful to have both.

I like my PM 1150A and I don't think I will move up to a 20 inch any time soon.
Really any of the reeves drive delta/powermatic/clausing models are worth looking at.