Need opinion on drill press

[Owen]

I REALLY need a drill press, Harbor Freight is down the street and most everyone says not to buy the ones there, I know why too.

But what is someone on a pretty tight budget <$400 to do? Most drilling will be on max 1/4 steel and 3/8 aluminum. But even those instances will be really rare.
Thanks,
Owen

 

[bmwpower]

Craftsman has to have something in that price range.

Also, consider used. Several people have obtained good deals on here for stuff like.

 

[Luckydevil]

Home depot has a lot in the $100-$300 range...

http://www.homedepot.com/

just type "drill press" into their search bar.

 

[dink]

Support your local tool/ hardware store (that doesnt mean the big boxes) and buy from them....they will have something for you there

 

[smooth72]

Craftsmen Drill

I went to Sears in July look at the workbench drill press in craftsmen sales flyer for $ 89, I called my boss/CPA/wife to get permission .wned: I told her that they had a larger bench mount press for $129. She said are you sure that it was heavy duty enough and if I was going to spend the money that I should make shure I get one big enough, , man I love this women. So I saw they had a 15" floor mount drill press on sale/close-out for $269 12 speed with laser trac. Since it was on display they said they could give a 10% discount and the sales person ask to run my Craftsmen card he said he could give me another 10% . When buying any Craftsmen tools always have them run your card, I have got 10% off many times even If it is not advertised. You might see if they have any of these left.

 

[krooser]

Buy a old, used MADE IN USA drill press on Ebay...there are several sellers right in your neighboorhood who always have these listed...you won't even have to pay shipping. A 50 year old Rockwell, K&T or other make will last another 100 years with a little care. These things are bulletproof and a great conversation piece as well. Look under "Business and Industrial"...you can buy 'em all day long for under $400.00.. the pic shows a Walker-Turner similar to one I bought last year for $80.00...yea, It was dirty...needed paint...and a plug...but it worked fine. I sold it in a weak moment BUT I'm looking at another one right now.

 

[Owen]

Awesome, thanks guys. Old/used and long lasting is what I guess I'm looking for. So any of the famous names you can list will help.

I want to avoid Craftsman...I bought their MIG welder a while back, it blew a circuit and I took it in and had it repaired under warranty. It took close to 3 months for them to get their part shipped from Taiwan or Thailand wherever it came from. The same nite, it blew again! I was so pissed and smashed it with my BFH.

I now have a Hobart MIG and a Lincoln TIG, they rock!
Owen

 

[kartracer55]

JET is the best your gunna get as far as imports go. You can get the 17 inch one for 399 online. The USA made stuff is way better than jet but way more expensive too. Our drill press will be a jet when we order it this winter.

Jim

 

[smooth72]

I want to avoid Craftsman...I bought their MIG welder a while back, it blew a circuit and I took it in and had it repaired under warranty. It took close to 3 months for them to get their part shipped from Taiwan or Thailand wherever it came from. The same nite, it blew again! I was so pissed and smashed it with my BFH.

I now have a Hobart MIG and a Lincoln TIG, they rock!
Owen[/QUOTE]

What I try to do when I buy a Craftsmen power tool is to find out what manufacture they subed out to. ... I Have a Miller Mig that is better than my welding capabilites, but I have learned to grind well

 

[kartracer55]

Lol. I wouldnt be surprised if thier 9 inch bench model is made by ryobi. It looks alot like the one they sell in home desperate. I also read that craftsmans have alot of chuck runout, enough to be noticed in metal, not so much wood.

Jim

 

[trevorhinze]

It is a bit Ironic that you smashed your Craftsman welder, then replaced it with a Hobart, since Hobart has made most of Craftsman's welders for at least two years now.. On second thought it is actually a Miller since all of the Hobart welders under 300 amps are made in the Miller factory in Appleton Wisconson last I Knew, but at least they are still made by Americans!

 

[kartracer55]

It is a bit Ironic that you smashed your Craftsman welder, then replaced it with a Hobart, since Hobart has made most of Craftsman's welders for at least two years now.. On second thought it is actually a Miller since all of the Hobart welders under 300 amps are made in the Miller factory in Appleton Wisconson last I Knew, but at least they are still made by Americans!

Youre completely wrong. Craftsman Welders are made by Century. Century Is a company Affiliated with Lincoln, bcause in recent years, lincoln bought them. They make thier stuff overseas. Co connection to Miller/Hobart.


Jim

 

[Owen]

I made sure my Hobart was made by Miller when I bougght it 2 years ago, what happens after that, well I have no control...

 

[kartracer55]

yup, Miller makes hobart. The problem with alot of Hobart machines is the tapped voltage settings, where as Millers, while a bit more expensive, they have Variable voltage settings.

Does this matter for the average welder? Probably not, unless you are either A very skilled and can handle all the adjustability, or B, you are welding for Nasa.

Jim

 

[Owen]

JET is the best your gunna get as far as imports go. You can get the 17 inch one for 399 online. The USA made stuff is way better than jet but way more expensive too. Our drill press will be a jet when we order it this winter.

Jim

Back to the subject of drill presses...my Northern Tool catalog has some Jet ones, the 10" one is $154. The 16" is $174. I think I may settle on one of these two, most likely the bench model as my garage has barely enough standing room!

But if these are imports as well, wouldn't it be better to get a HF one so shipping is zero?
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...ductId=200308399&R=200308399&issearch=1557350
$56 ground
Hmm, it's on sale lower than catalog, this may be the one?

The floor press
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...Id=-1&productId=36681&R=36681&issearch=155736
$127 ground

Wait, these aren't JETs, only the one in the corner is! (in the catalog)

Back to square one...
Owen

 

[Owen]

Amazon.com has a JET JDP-17MF / 354169 Drill Press for $399 no tax and free shipping...

Another one,
JET 354165 15" Bench Top Drill Press
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...l//002-1308542-0119242?v=glance&s=hi&n=228359

This costs twice as much as the Northern Tool one I mentioned above. Pretty much the same specs too...

Stepping back into reality, I may get this one unless anyone has any advice on why not to?
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...ssearch=1557350

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, I dont know what Jet model is in northern, I dont recognize the#. Keep in mind a 10 inch drill press has 5 inches from the bit to the column, so its pretty small. Id look for at least a 15 inch model. Jets "JDMF17" is probably thier most popular. NT equipment is pretty much the same as HF, or at least I am told. You know, Heavy Cast Iron castings, crappy finishing, inaccurate, low quality... you know, Harbor Frieght in a nutshell.

HF/NT is the bottom of the barrel. Next you have Grizzly. People have been pretty happy with grizzly, Not Jet, but its better than HF.

All of the models are pretty much the same, its just that Grizzly and Jet have a higher quality control than HF. JET has even better qc than grizzly.

Basically, when you buy HF, you can expect to have to tear it down, clean of casting sand and cosmoline, then put together, and hope it works. With Grizzly, you may only need a bit of tinkering to get it to work well. With Jet, you just put it together.

Jim

 

[Owen]

OK, so the two Jet ones in Amazon are $50 apart...what am I paying $50 for? The more expensive one has a little more spindle travel, an its a stationary vs a bench top. Can't tell what the swing is...
Owen

 

[kartracer55]

whats the model number? Anyway there are two seperate 17 inch models, one with abuilt in light, another without it. I believe that MAY be the model your looking at, but I dont know. Can you post the link?

 

[Owen]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...60/002-1308542-0119242?v=glance&s=hi&n=507846
and
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e&s=hi&n=228359

 

[kartracer55]

The first one is the 17 inch model, and thats the one I would get. The second link doesnt work, but I noticed that the 15 inch model is $50 less, so im guessing thats the other one you had mentioned. Id say go for the 17 inch model. Its a bit more capacity for only $50 more.

Jim

 

[Jared]

I am going to look at a used drill press tomoro, what should I Check?


Thanks Jared

 

[kartracer55]

Well, Id look at the quality of the castings (table and base, mainly table) is the table nicely machined or is it rough and "cast" looking? Does the quill travel smoothly? Does the chuck operate smoothly? Does the chuck look like it was made in a chinese prison camp? Look at the overall quality, see if you can get them to run it too. Listen for rattles. Also If you can run it, perform the "nickle test" sit a nickle on the table, and check to see if it really moves around due to the vibrations.. this is a sure sign of crappy manufacturing. You can expect to haveto change the facotry belts though, no matter what brand.

What wouldbe great is if you had a dial indicator to check runout, but thats pretty excessive. Usually, the more expensive the brand, the better quality your gunna get.

Jim

 

[cunninglinguist]

yup, Miller makes hobart. The problem with alot of Hobart machines is the tapped voltage settings, where as Millers, while a bit more expensive, they have Variable voltage settings.

Does this matter for the average welder? Probably not, unless you are either A very skilled and can handle all the adjustability, or B, you are welding for Nasa.

Jim

I'm not sure that statement is totally correct. Miller and Hobart are brother and sister of a parent company; kinda like Chevy and Pontiac.

I'm not sure if they use the same plant.

 

[kartracer55]

I'm not sure that statement is totally correct. Miller and Hobart are brother and sister of a parent company; kinda like Chevy and Pontiac.

I'm not sure if they use the same plant.

Now Entirely correct, your right, but Mostly correct. They share many of the same internall parts.

Jim

 

[trevorhinze]

It turns out that I was wrong about Hobart making craftsman welders as was pointed out earlier in this post, but this I am sure of. Miller and Hobart are both owned by the same company. Ill. tool works (ITW) which also happens to own the Smith company which is known for its gas welding regulators and torches. All of the welders that you or I would buy...Under 300 amps are made in the same factory in Appleton Wis. All you need to do is go to any welding store that sells both and look at them side by side. There may very well be Subtle internal differences but the similiarity is undeniable, in fact all of the drive roller assy, the torch and the handle on the Hobart I just traded in actually had the miller logo on them, and allmost all of the part numbers are Miller numbers. I am not saying that they are exactly the same in any given amp range, but they are very similar, and I can only assume that future models will share more and more common parts.

As for the drill press since that is actually what this thread is about, I really like my Grizzly drill press, and it is an import but it has given me great results for the money. If I had the chance to buy a used piece of real american iron at a good price I would go that route though

 

[kartracer55]

Owen, what kind of drill press do you think your gunna wind up with?

Jim

 

[Owen]

For some reason, I'm not getting notified each time a reply is made here...will have to check my settings...

Anyway, I guess the Jet? I want the stationary model but will really have to make room for it. I read about the Ryobi's and their runout, tried calling some local used machinery places - no luck...

BTW, if the links didn't work, go to the seach box and enter JET Drill Press. There's only two right now.
Owen

 

[Owen]

Before I do buy, can someone list up some models better than the JET? Just so I can know what I could've had

 

[kartracer55]

Rockwell(later delta rockwell, and even later they turned to delta) was a big manufacturer of industrial tools. Even OLD craftsmans were good stuff. Basically,if it was made in the usa 25 years ago or more, its quality.

Jim

 

[Owen]

Thanks! Well, Amazon has one for $314 with free shipping. So would you recommend this over the JETs?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...ck_6/002-2646426-5198428?v=glance&s=hi&n=1000
If the link doesn't work, then search for
Delta DP400 Shopmaster 16-1/2" Floor Drill Press
Owen

 

[kartracer55]

Im goign to puirchasea drill press this winter, and It will be a jet. Deltas get mixed reviews. Thier quality has def. gone down from "back in the day" Some people are very happy, others arnt. A big complaint with them is a rattle with the belt gaurd/cover on the head. I have used a delta, and it is pretty nice, but I have used a jet, and I liked it a little more.

Jim

 

[kartracer55]

The best thing you can do is go look at them in person, and see them run. Any woodworking store (woodworkers warehouse) should have them. Sears might also carry delta. I know There is a place called force tool here in NJ that carrys both machines

Jim

 

[Owen]

Yeah, I've read reviews by people saying they were noisy. That's ok, since the music is always blasting in my garage anyway!

Sears.com didn't have anything so I will just have to drive over there and see what they have. Will also look up some woodworking stores.

Thanks for the advice!
Owen

 

[Owen]

Just ordered this one from Northwest Power Tools. Free shipping too! The other one from Amazon would take 1-2 weeks for shipping.
Thanks to everyone!
Owen

 

[kartracer55]

Owen, which brand/model did you wind up with?

good call noit getting it from amazon too... they are a PITA

Jim

 

[Royalblu]

Owen, It appears like it may be to late but I have a 4yr old or so Craftsman that has served me well. I just sold my house out near Riverside and just do not have room for it.
I put it on casters for mobility. I used it for both wood and metal.
If you want to know what you could have had, look at a RF31 Rong Fu mill.

 

[kartracer55]

Craftsman Drill presses tend to have alot of run out... I ran one of thier floor models in the store. It had a visible amount of runout right at the chuck jaws. Fine for wood, but borderline for metal

Jim

 

[Owen]

Owen, It appears like it may be to late but I have a 4yr old or so Craftsman that has served me well. I just sold my house out near Riverside and just do not have room for it.
I put it on casters for mobility. I used it for both wood and metal.
If you want to know what you could have had, look at a RF31 Rong Fu mill.

Thanks for the offer but I've had bad luck with Craftsmans! You should keep it, never know when you need it and buying a drill press is harder than buying a car!
Owen

 

[kartracer55]

Owen, WHat brand did you get?


Jim