Help me find a drill press (shop fox, maybe?)

[nissan_crawler]

floor model, at least 3/4hp, 4"+ quill travel, table built for coolant, preferrably under $650 or so.

I'm having a hard time finding much good. So far, I'm liking this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150245393897&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

Any other candidates, or any input on the shop fox brand?

 

[brrman]

Try Grizzly tool - they are very popular with woodworking pros and make quality stuff.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/searchresults.aspx?q=drill press

Other brands are Delta, and Jet both as good as the Shop Fox.

 

[wilbilt]

I saw a similar one at TSC yesterday, but it was a Kawasaki. The head, table and base were painted "Kawasaki Green".

It was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen.

 

[kvom]

I was at a local tool store today, and they had a Jet with 3/4 motor that looked pretty nice. Apparently Jet has them on saled for $399 through August 1.

 

[T56 Impala]

That Shop Fox is a very nice, smooth unit. I have used one before. Its like BUTTER!!!!
The Grizzly ones are very nice too, but from what I've been reading, the HF one may be the exact same unit! I would love to get a Delta unit or even a Jet. No room anymore though. My little bench top Craftsman will have to do.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Well, I found this wilton for a great deal. Very close to the shop fox, but a better known company, and slower spindle speed.
http://www.redmondmachinery.com/browse.cfm/4,1165.html

It's more than I wanted to spend, but a lot of machine for the money. After shelling the motor in my 2 year old HF drill press, I don't mind spending money on a decent press.

 

[justinking060310]

I have 5 Shop Fox machines in my shop, and I love all of them -- I understand that they are foreign made and I hate that I am not supporting our economy (I do try very hard to do it); however, that said, they are all great pieces of gear. I have a 17" DP (woodworking) and I love it. So, I would have no question about buying a Shop Fox piece if you are so inclined. Some of us(me) want to be in the hobby but cannot necessarily pay to play.

The price on the wilton looks pretty decent to me.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Well, I found this wilton for a great deal. Very close to the shop fox, but a better known company, and slower spindle speed.
http://www.redmondmachinery.com/browse.cfm/4,1165.html

It's more than I wanted to spend, but a lot of machine for the money. After shelling the motor in my 2 year old HF drill press, I don't mind spending money on a decent press.

It says "scratch and dent" and "currently out of stock" but if you are willing to wait, this is probably a very good drill press.

Charles

 

[Uncle Buck]

Same chant I always have, patience, the local Craigs list or classifieds and you can find great old used american iron in time, but that is what I always do!

 

[Hoot]

I'm going to vote for Steel City. I looked around for quite a while before buying and the Steel City drill press got some decent reviews from the woodworking community.

 

[wilbilt]

Same chant I always have, patience, the local Craigs list or classifieds and you can find great old used american iron in time, but that is what I always do!

Ditto that...I found a great old Walker-Turner for $55 on craigslist. It was located about three miles away!

 

[nissan_crawler]

It says "scratch and dent" and "currently out of stock" but if you are willing to wait, this is probably a very good drill press.

Charles

Same chant I always have, patience, the local Craigs list or classifieds and you can find great old used american iron in time, but that is what I always do!

It's out of stock, because I got the last one. The "scratch and dent" I asked about before I bought it. They replace ANYTHING that could affect use. I even asked if it fell on the side and bent the handles for the spindle if that counted, and they said they would be replaced, even. So, it's a paint issue, or the tin for the belt cover is dented. Even at that, they said they only sell the best of the scratch and dent stuff online (sight unseen). The beat up stuff they will only sell direct out of their store (no bitching about it that way). Either way, I don't care too much.

I've been watching craigslist for over a year, have never seen a decent drill press on it. Actually, I've never really seen much decent at all on it around here. I check it every night when I get home from work. I've gotten a few deals on it, but nothing on tools.

 

[dxdexter]

floor model, at least 3/4hp, 4"+ quill travel, table built for coolant, preferrably under $650 or so.

I'm having a hard time finding much good. So far, I'm liking this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150245393897&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

Any other candidates, or any input on the shop fox brand?

As with most imported machine tools, that drill press is re-badged by numerous manufacturers. I have seen the exact same one many times and they generally make appearance changes such as in the handle shape, paint and belt cowl, but the dimensions and specifications are the essentially the same. Some have a light and some a laser pointer.

I bought my Craftex version for a little over $500 two years ago and added a coolant reservoir under the table. I like that the table is surrounded by channels that contain and direct the coolant down the center hole. The drill press has plenty of power, but if I had to do it again I would not buy an Asian drill press. The spindle had .000" of run-out right out of the box, but the crappy chuck had .003".

A few weeks ago I hooked a piece of 1" plate that was not clamped and it swung and hit the upper ring that retains the vertical table rack and broke it in half. I was amazed to see this part was cast instead of machined from solid steel.

If you have the time, then wait for a good used USA, Canadian or English model. I have seen two such models since I bought mine and they went for $250 a piece. One was a Canadian General model that sells for $1800.

Link to my drill press: http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=0742210510081886238&NTITEM=CT026N

 

[Uncle Buck]

It's out of stock, because I got the last one. The "scratch and dent" I asked about before I bought it. They replace ANYTHING that could affect use. I even asked if it fell on the side and bent the handles for the spindle if that counted, and they said they would be replaced, even. So, it's a paint issue, or the tin for the belt cover is dented. Even at that, they said they only sell the best of the scratch and dent stuff online (sight unseen). The beat up stuff they will only sell direct out of their store (no bitching about it that way). Either way, I don't care too much.

I've been watching craigslist for over a year, have never seen a decent drill press on it. Actually, I've never really seen much decent at all on it around here. I check it every night when I get home from work. I've gotten a few deals on it, but nothing on tools.

I will grant you several things, first there is no arguing you got quality with the Wilton. Second, the scratch and dent sounds like a great idea to me. Third, if you did not find anything worth having in a year it sounds like you still found a way to get a high quality drill press on the cheap. It all sounds good to me!

 

[dxdexter]

I will grant you several things, first there is no arguing you got quality with the Wilton. Second, the scratch and dent sounds like a great idea to me. Third, if you did not find anything worth having in a year it sounds like you still found a way to get a high quality drill press on the cheap. It all sounds good to me!

I would have to say that the Wilton is just an over priced version of the Shopfox. You are probably just paying for the name and getting the same machine.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I would have to say that the Wilton is just an over priced version of the Shopfox. You are probably just paying for the name and getting the same machine.

I must say I do not have a clue, perhaps correct.

Edit (There are some noticeable differences between the two, first the Wilton has a MT3 instead of the larger MT4 of the Shop Fox, Second the Wilton does have one very important feature of a low end of 150 RPM whereas the Shop Fox is a tad higher on the low end. Also, on the high end the Wilton does have a greater range on than the Shop Fox, though I doubt most would find much use for that high an RPM very often. I doubt the differences are really that great and Like as not one would work as well as the other for most folks use.)

 

[OldCarGuy]

The Shop Fox looks seems like a great value. The description says it has 12 speeds (from 210 to 3300 RPM’s) and a number four morse taper spindle with a 5/8" chuck. That’s mighty impressive! It must have a double pulley arrangement. I cannot imagine having back gears at that price. The low end RPM is fantastic; but I don’t expect much use at 3300. It’s only short comings is that it only has 4.75" spindle travel.

I’m still prefer good old American Iron. I have less than $300.00 in a Delta 20” floor model drill press that has 7” quill travel that I purchased last year. Though its’ low end RPM is nowhere as slow as the Shop Fox’s.

 

[kbs2244]

Just remember that wood working and metal working are a world apart when it comes to drill speed.
Be sure you get one for what you do.
Or spring for a VDC motor so you can do both on one machine.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I would have to say that the Wilton is just an over priced version of the Shopfox. You are probably just paying for the name and getting the same machine.

I'm paying for the slower speed, main reason I bought the Wilton. I do wish it had longer quill travel, but I'll have to deal with that. There's nothing used here, and this was by far the cheapest option around. I just don't have $1500 to be dropping on a drill press. A 2 year warranty will be nice, too.

 

[edl]

[...]
As with most imported machine tools, that drill press is re-badged by numerous manufacturers. I have seen the exact same one many times and they generally make appearance changes such as in the handle shape, paint and belt cowl, but the dimensions and specifications are the essentially the same. Some have a light and some a laser pointer.
[...]

NC - Dexter is quite right - an example of the same drill in different dress and $100 cheaper can be found here http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39955 - i have this drill press and have been very satisfied with it - i think it meets the specs you described - throw on a 15% coupon and buy quality tooling with the savings!! FWIW - thx, ED

 

[nissan_crawler]

NC - Dexter is quite right - an example of the same drill in different dress and $100 cheaper can be found here http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39955 - i have this drill press and have been very satisfied with it - i think it meets the specs you described - throw on a 15% coupon and buy quality tooling with the savings!! FWIW - thx, ED

Not the same. Wilton has a quality ball bearing motor, more spindle stroke, motor can be wired for 220 (which it will be). I'm also going to assume (although I haven't looked at the Wilton one yet) that it has much less spindle play. I looked at the HF one and was less than impressed. Considering I spent $250 for the HF press that shelled in 2 years, I'm not going down that route again. Each to their own.