Is a decent $300 drill press (mostly for wood) possible?

[Itsjustdirt]

Hey guys,
Looking for a decent small to mid size drill press that will be used mostly for woodworking and some very light metal drilling. Any suggestions on what to look for in the $300 range? Or I asking for trouble spending this little? New or used is fine with me. Thanks!

 

[dogdog]

dunno I used mine for metal mostly.... just set it at the lowest speed... Mine is a Jet 14" and a cheap something brand smaller one.... by no means they are as rigid or accurate as a mill, but they are fine, it's how you use that drill press...

 

[lilredex]

Bought a forty year old HF #38142 less motor for $40 last year. Big and heavy and really happy with it. I added a 3/4 HP motor that I had.

Same as this one.

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/642

 

[fos373]

You should be able to pickup something of quality for that price. I picked up an older Delta for $250 a couple of years ago off of CL

 

[Packard V8]

FWIW, it's not necessary to spend anything like $300. Be patient, watch craigslist, go to estate/garage sales. I can find at least one nice Delta or Craftsman every few months for $75 - $150. If you were local to me, I've got a cherry Buffalo DP you could have for $125.

OTOH, some here have legitimate reasons to want to buy new. "I want it now." or "I don't want to spend my free time driving to yard sales." or "I work sixty hours a week and don't have time to chase used tools." "I don't care if it's Chicom; just will it do the light work I'll be using it for." All valid reasons to buy new.

jack vines

 

[Davefr]

Hey guys,
Looking for a decent small to mid size drill press that will be used mostly for woodworking and some very light metal drilling. Any suggestions on what to look for in the $300 range? Or I asking for trouble spending this little? New or used is fine with me. Thanks!

It should be easy to find a decent machine in that price range.

What's your location?

The early no name Taiwan machines are decent and usually plentiful on CL. You could even score a decent Delta, CM or JET.

If you're patient, it's even possible to get older USA machines within your budget.

If you want new, you're pretty much limited to Chinese junk.

 

[6PTsocket]

It should be easy to find a decent machine in that price range.

What's your location?

The early no name Taiwan machines are decent and usually plentiful on CL. You could even score a decent Delta, CM or JET.

If you're patient, it's even possible to get older USA machines within your budget.

If you want new, you're pretty much limited to Chinese junk.

I have an early Taiwan machine for years but it was no prize when I got it. The drive pulley was bored so cockeyed that it had to be bored and sleeved. The center pulley mounting hole is loose. There is now a shim in the table mount to square it up. It is a long gone Continental Machinery brand, a Calilfornia importer. But it is beefy and has adjustment for quill play and 6" quill travel. When I ordered it they only had one with a 3 phase motor so they pulled it off and put on Baldor 1hp. That is the best thing on the machine but the baseplate holes did not match so they drilled new ones. Yuck. Works pretty well, now. My point is that early Taiwan (around 1970) is not a sure thing.

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[dogdog]

LOL stay in topic for the OP, threads on this forum have the high tendency of just spin off to the COO..

 

[tarbellb]

I would rate the HF 13" drill press for < $279 as passable for wood. Replace the belts, and expect things to be a bit clumsy.

Echoing what others have mentioned, finding a older used machine is also a good route.

 

[anndel]

I needed one and bought a cheap benchtop Wen #4210 from Lowes. Used it to drill through several 2"x6" and 4" x 4". Made in China and $200 and after last summer's projects it still works so not disposable.

 

[bubinga]

Bought a forty year old HF #38142 less motor for $40 last year. Big and heavy and really happy with it. I added a 3/4 HP motor that I had.

Same as this one.

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/642

Brought that same one too for $50.00.
Guy only used it a few times, and the motor burned up.
He never bothered to return it.
Nice drill Press.

 

[Itsjustdirt]

Thanks guys. Any names of used presses to look out for or just grab anything that looks solid?

 

[tarbellb]

Rockwell, Delta, Powermatic, Craftsman, Cincinnati, Walker Turner, Jet, Arboga, Clausing, Dayton, Wilton, Buffalo

 

[kctyphoon]

$250 for a floor standing Delta with that x/y vise thing from Craigslist a while back.

 

[Aaron_W]

I guess it depends on what you are drilling and how much you are going to use it. I've got an older (15 years) Craftsman drill press and it works just fine. Similar Craftsman drill presses are under $200.

Mine is mostly used for hobby stuff, plastic, wood up to 2x4s, rarely might do a 4x4. Occasional steel up to 1/8-1/4", aluminum, brass.

It is a light duty drill press with a 1/2" chuck. I'd look for something bigger if I was making furniture or other large items, but for occasional use making random holes in stuff, it has been fine.

 

[bpjr]

Rikon is another name to add to the list.

I bought a 13" bench top "Northern Tool Professional Drill Press" about 7-8 yrs ago and been very happy with it. Used for non precision wood and metal home projects. It was a notch up from the HF press of the same size I was considering and cost $225. All metal parts, 1/2" chuck, 1/2 hp, 5 speed, metal stops and depth gauges (no peel n stick reference gauges) and battery powered lazer beam crosshairs for centering. I don't see it in their lineup now but its china made and probably like a lot of cheap china presses.

I also have a small 8" bench top china made press that was purchased used in the early 1990s, I can't remember the name but its likely a clone of current HF presses. This is my go to hobby press and mostly for model airplane stuff. Never missed a beat and has a sxxtload of use. I've found the small press is easier to use on small delicate parts than my larger press.

 

[bubinga]

The craftsman 150 is A good old workhorse too.

 

[FloorPaint]

If you're looking for drill presses on Craigslist, try using SearchTempest. It's not affiliated with Craigslist, but it allows you to search Craigslist across multiple cities in a single search.

https://www.searchtempest.com/

 

[NUTTSGT]

Don't forget to search GovDeals also. You'll find them from all walks of life there from schools, trade schools, colleges and maintenance shops.

 

[tarbellb]

If you post your location, these deal hawks are pretty good at finding CL gems...

 

[LoveSniff]

I bought a shop fox a few years ago. Runs pretty well as I've never had an issue with it. It has an oscillating function and can go from 550rpm up to like 4500rpm if I remember correctly. Not sure if the photo is allowed, but that's the one I've got.

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[Barnabas]

Check your local Habitat ReStore. I see old Craftsman and other drill presses at the ones around me.

 

[bubinga]

I bought a shop fox a few years ago. Runs pretty well as I've never had an issue with it. It has an oscillating function and can go from 550rpm up to like 4500rpm if I remember correctly. Not sure if the photo is allowed, but that's the one I've got.

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Looks A lot like the hf one I picked up used with the bad motor, that I linked to.
Post number 12.
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[MD Crafty]

One thing I really didn't understand when I first getting a drill press was that woodworking requires slower speeds out of a drill press then metal working. This is especially true if you're going to use forstner bits. I found some decent drill presses that had a minimum speed that was way too fast for most of my forstner bits.

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[LoveSniff]

One thing I really didn't understand when I first getting a drill press was that woodworking requires slower speeds out of a drill press then metal working. This is especially true if you're going to use forstner bits. I found some decent drill presses that had a minimum speed that was way too fast for most of my forstner bits.

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I thought metal needed slower speeds than wood?

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[bczygan]

Walker Turner $125

Buffalo $100

Big Delta Free

CraigsList for the first two. Outside a machine shop for the third.

Walker Turner has slo-speed which you need for big metal and Forstner.

Bill

 

[Packard V8]

One thing I really didn't understand when I first getting a drill press was that woodworking requires slower speeds out of a drill press then metal working. This is especially true if you're going to use forstner bits. I found some decent drill presses that had a minimum speed that was way too fast for most of my forstner bits.

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The above is mostly incorrect, but meaningless without diameters. Forstner bits come in tiny to huge diameters, as do conventional twist drills for metals.

Most drill presses will certainly go slow enough for Forstner bits up to 1". If using a 6" bit, well that's a different story.

Same with drilling metal. Most DPs will go slow enough to drill 1/4" to depth and 1/2" in thinner, softer metals.

jack vines

 

[Mikeske]

I picked this up a couple weeks ago for $125.00. Yeah its a 1984 Delta clone from Taiwan. Had lots of surface rust and needed a good cleaning. Once that was done and I replaced the belts and it is good to go. I spent about 5 hours cleaning and servicing it and it appears to be little used.

 

[jhnlngn]

I paid $100 for a Delta DP 220 off of Craigslist. It had some surface rust, but otherwise was in amazing condition. It was built in 1950 and the original belts were in perfect condition. You can't go wrong with an old Delta or Powermatic. Check in your area and you'll spend a fraction for a superior used piece of equipment than you will new.

 

[MD Crafty]

The above is mostly incorrect, but meaningless without diameters. Forstner bits come in tiny to huge diameters, as do conventional twist drills for metals.

It was a general statement that could use diameters, that's fair... but hardly a "mostly incorrect statement" good sir. I bring you numbers!
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/drill-bit-speed-hardwood-softwood-d_1451.html

Assuming hardwood as the primary purpose for woodworking, you'll see they dip down to 700 and under for a large number drilling bits in hardwood, especially for forstner bits (down to 200).

For metals, especially aluminum, you're past 1000 mostly.

The point is that I took this for granted and the bottom end of my first DP was 750 because I was a complete and total noob and did not realize this full scope. :/

Not the end of the world, and sure you can simply run things fast or use a hand drill, but I think people hand-wave or leave this kind of thing out and it's good information to know.

 

[montanafordman]

I needed one and bought a cheap benchtop Wen #4210 from Lowes. Used it to drill through several 2"x6" and 4" x 4". Made in China and $200 and after last summer's projects it still works so not disposable.

I was looking for a decent drill press and also got the WEN 4210 and am very pleased with it. I would love to have some vintage industrial age art in my garage but I don't have the time, money and space to devote to an undertaking worthwhile in that area at this time. Sometimes you might find that unicorn deal on the perfect slow speed vintage machine and still find its missing parts, or the runout is unacceptable and still need to source more machines, or lots of time to make it complete and serviceable.

What I needed was a small benchtop unit that could accurately drill typically less than 1/2" holes and the WEN 4210 fit the bill nicely. I borrowed a friends HF small drill press to try and was not satisfied. It worked "OK" but made a lot of noise and didn't run as smoothly and had a little more runout than I would like. I gambled on the WEN and it was leagues ahead of the slightly smaller HF model. Mine runs smooth and quiet, and when measured with a dial indicator has VERY little runout (and I mean negligible) when measured at the end of a shaft chucked in the drill press. I have not taxed it very much on drilling steel and most of my work will be in sheet metal and small projects using less than 1/2 holes but for my uses I'm happy with what I got. I paid only $140 from Home Depot (ordered online and shipped to store). I have been meaning to do a more comprehensive write up and will try to do just that when I find the time.

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[WWheeler]

i also have a WEN 4120. It's ok. Gets most jobs I need done. I'd rather have a floor drill press, will get one eventually.

FWIW I paid $110 for it on Amazon a year or so ago. Prices fluctuate quite bit on Amazon. For everything that I'm not in a hurry to buy I use 'the Camelizer' addon to see what the generally lowest price is for something and then set up a 'price watch' camelcamelcamel email alert for it. It's saved me lots of money over the years.

 

[Aaron_W]

i also have a WEN 4120. It's ok. Gets most jobs I need done. I'd rather have a floor drill press, will get one eventually.

FWIW I paid $110 for it on Amazon a year or so ago. Prices fluctuate quite bit on Amazon. For everything that I'm not in a hurry to buy I use 'the Camelizer' addon to see what the generally lowest price is for something and then set up a 'price watch' camelcamelcamel email alert for it. It's saved me lots of money over the years.

Wen seems to have hopped up in price recently. In March I was looking at their 4x6" bandsaw which was actually slightly cheaper than HF with a better warranty. Home Depot is just down the street while HF is an hour away.

Late April I'm ready to buy and the Wen saw had jumped up $50. HF had a 20% off coupon so it became $220 vs $290 so HF got my money.

I'm almost positive they are the same tool under the paint (most of these 4x6" saws seem to be copies of Jet's 5x6").

 

[bubinga]

Wen seems to have hopped up in price recently. In March I was looking at their 4x6" bandsaw which was actually slightly cheaper than HF with a better warranty. Home Depot is just down the street while HF is an hour away.

Late April I'm ready to buy and the Wen saw had jumped up $50. HF had a 20% off coupon so it became $220 vs $290 so HF got my money.

I'm almost positive they are the same tool under the paint (most of these 4x6" saws seem to be copies of Jet's 5x6").

That WEN looks like a nice little D/P

 

[Packard V8]

It was a general statement that could use diameters, that's fair... but hardly a "mostly incorrect statement" good sir. I bring you numbers!
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/d...od-d_1451.html

Use the references which work for you, but this is not one I'd quote. For example, it gives the same 500 RPM for your 1/2" and 1" Forstner, but the 1" has twice the rim speed. At 500 RPM, either the 1/2" is way too slow for optimum or the 1" is too fast for optimum; they can't both be correct. Having said that, unless one is continually boring deep holes in white oak or rock maple, either would function acceptably. Speeds in wood aren't as critical as in steel.

jack vines

 

[6PTsocket]

Use the references which work for you, but this is not one I'd quote. For example, it gives the same 500 RPM for your 1/2" and 1" Forstner, but the 1" has twice the rim speed. At 500 RPM, either the 1/2" is way too slow for optimum or the 1" is too fast for optimum; they can't both be correct. Having said that, unless one is continually boring deep holes in white oak or rock maple, either would function acceptably. Speeds in wood aren't as critical as in steel.

jack vines

A while back I got a chart from a magazine as a subscription incentive. It covered all kinds of bits, twist, spur, Forstner, spade, etc. All the common materials, steel aluminun, hard and soft wood,plastic. Bit diameter. It lead you to the correct speed. I found it so handy, I framed it and hung it behind the drill press. I never did subscribe LOL.

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[Maui]

The attached chart lists recommended drill bit speeds for different bit diameters and materials. For drill bits 1/4" in diameter and larger the speeds recommended for steel are substantially slower than those recommended for wood.

Maui

 

[Maui]

The file size is only 168 kb and it won't let me upload it. WTF?

Can anybody get either of these links to work?

http://images.meredith.com/wood/images/pdf/speedchart.pdf

http://images.meredith.com/wood/pdf/drill-press-speed-chart.pdf

 

[sberry]

I also like the looks of the little Wen for that kind of money, right out of the box. Tool shopping used is so much easier than it was way back. This is a good item to shop used for, a guy could get way more than his moneys worth.
Some people are good at this, had a cousin recently score a Hobart 140, cart, 80 bottle, a hood of some kind with most of the original spool of wire in it for 150$ I paid thru the nose for a lot of that stuff and if I wanted it now or in a reasonable time I bought new.
Some of these tools appear to be pretty fluid in some places in the market, some of these in this thread are really good deals. Same for air comps, today would certainly look used first. Maybe even parts and pieces in some cases.

 

[Diesel Mercedes]

If you post your location, these deal hawks are pretty good at finding CL gems...

Yup, they're practically professionals.