Looking to buy a decent used drill press

[Fyrme]

I have been shopping for a few days and have missed out on a couple vintage presses. I'm looking for some constructive advice on some I have found. What I have to choose from at this point locally are the following:

While not a Craftsman fan I know the older stuff is decent. There are 2 for sale within 40 miles of me The first looks pretty old the second I'm guessing 1990's?
The next one I can't ID the brand name anyone recognize it? I contacted the lister and they said they still had it buy never responded to the rest of my Q's
And the Third is a Delta. It had no price and I'm still waiting to hear back from the lister. I really like the R&P tables since I find my self having to adjust the table so frequently on my bench top press, due to the short throw and different bit lengths. Is that an issue on the larger presses? I'm not sure if any of these presses have that option.
Thanks!
Chad

 

[cnc-me]

That old Craftsman looks nice. I would stay away from the newer one.
Having 5 inches or more of quill travel is nice, and saves lots of messing around
with the table.

 

[Fyrme]

Any clue on how old the older Cman press is? I'm guessing '70's?? What decade did drill presses go to ****? This one is probably only about 20 min away. Might go have a look this morning.

 

[Big-Foot]

The second one looks a lot like one of mine. It is a JET. Not a bad unit and has served me well over the years...

Edit - actually, before I bought my Combo unit, it also pulled duty as a mill from time to time. Nothing real heavy duty, only aluminum, but still worked out well and there is no detectable wear in the bearings to date.

 

[Davefr]

I have that old CM and it's a PIA. (I later replaced it with a 17" JET as my "go to" DP)

If you make frequent table elevation changes it'll drive you nuts. You unlock the table and have to swivel it back and forth to get the least little rise. Maybe 1/8" rise for every few swivels. The R&P feature found in other DP's is far superior and I would not be without that feature.

The second problem with that CM is the belt. It's a non std belt that's barely wider then a rubber band. From what I read, CM discontinued that belt and it's very hard to find a replacement since it's not std. On mine the belt constantly flipped over. It was a very poor design.

The third problem with that CM is that you cannot tram the table.

Look for an older 17" Jet made in Taiwan (not China). Table elevation is quick and easy, 16 easy adjustable speeds, high quality and adjustable table tram.

Some of these primitive DP's look cool but the lack of speeds, precision and ease of adjustment kill the deal.