Griff Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 So I am looking at getting a drill press just don't know much about them and what to really look for when purchasing one. I would like a floor model press but would be open to a bench top model if it were of decent quality. My budget is pretty tight so that holds me back a little. I would like to stay married so about 250 is my max right now lol. I've been checking craigslist and hitting lots of rummage sells! Tomorrow a church near by is having a huge tool sale so any Information I can get on older used models and what to look for when buying those would greatly be appreciated! The one drill press I've seen for a decent price is a porter cable floor style drill press for 315 so have been putting back a little to get closer to that but the wife may get upset with that much spending. Just curious on what you guys think and any fast help on older model drill press and what to look for at the rummage tomorrow! Thanks in advance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov163 Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 I have a Craftsman benchtop model and, at least for me, it's enough. Handy for drilling a series of holes with stops to register from for accuracy. I'm sure other guys will have a different view. I mounted mine in line with my miter saw station, but mounted the base backwards. I can turn the table to the back so it doesn't interfere with other procedures I do more often. See the pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted July 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 16 minutes ago, prov163 said: I have a Craftsman benchtop model and, at least for me, it's enough. Handy for drilling a series of holes with stops to register from for accuracy. I'm sure other guys will have a different view. I mounted mine in line with my miter saw station, but mounted the base backwards. I can turn the table to the back so it doesn't interfere with other procedures I do more often. See the pic. That's a really cool idea turning it to the back!! What's the length of travel on the plunge?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov163 Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 I've never checked but I think it's about 4-5". Doesn't sound like much but how often do you drill deeper? My decision was strategically based on space. I set it back so I can use the benchtop which gives me about 8' right and 4' left. Still get full use of the drill press. Can't remember where I stole the idea, so it's mine now, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 15 hours ago, Griff said: So I am looking at getting a drill press just don't know much about them and what to really look for when purchasing one. I would like a floor model press but would be open to a bench top model if it were of decent quality. My budget is pretty tight so that holds me back a little. I would like to stay married so about 250 is my max right now lol. I've been checking craigslist and hitting lots of rummage sells! Tomorrow a church near by is having a huge tool sale so any Information I can get on older used models and what to look for when buying those would greatly be appreciated! The one drill press I've seen for a decent price is a porter cable floor style drill press for 315 so have been putting back a little to get closer to that but the wife may get upset with that much spending. Just curious on what you guys think and any fast help on older model drill press and what to look for at the rummage tomorrow! Thanks in advance. Pretty sure I have that PC one you saw. At Lowes right? It's a very good drill press for the money. The only issue I've ran into is that it's annoying to put a drill press table on. But I managed it. I'd recommend it. As for the money... You'll never regret having 4+ inches of travel, and the floor standing aspect is great. I think it's justified. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted July 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Cliff said: Pretty sure I have that PC one you saw. At Lowes right? It's a very good drill press for the money. The only issue I've ran into is that it's annoying to put a drill press table on. But I managed it. I'd recommend it. As for the money... You'll never regret having 4+ inches of travel, and the floor standing aspect is great. I think it's justified. Hey Cliff, Thanks for your insight I figured the 300 for the porter cable wouldn't be a bad buy. I like porter cable all the tools besides the 20v drill I had have really been great tools and ive had no issues with any of them. How are the stops on it? Is it easy to chuck a bit in it? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 12 minutes ago, Griff said: Hey Cliff, Thanks for your insight I figured the 300 for the porter cable wouldn't be a bad buy. I like porter cable all the tools besides the 20v drill I had have really been great tools and ive had no issues with any of them. How are the stops on it? Is it easy to chuck a bit in it? Thanks again. For depth stop it has this thing you turn to microadjust it up or down, and then you can press a button to move it without turning it. Seems fine to me. I don't know if I'm using it right when I do it, as I tend to not pay attention to actual measurements, just mark a line, then set the stop where that line is. I have no problems chucking bits in it either. I've never owned any other drill press so I can't compare but it seems super easy to me. I've heard that you can replace the entire chuck portion with something else if you want. One of the youtube reviews I looked at on it explained this. It was not an upgrade I felt I needed personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 Cliff and Griff. Makin' copies. High five to the first guy who gets that reference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 Eric. Eric Germany. The Germinator. Eric the Germinator. Makin copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted July 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 6 hours ago, Cliff said: For depth stop it has this thing you turn to microadjust it up or down, and then you can press a button to move it without turning it. Seems fine to me. I don't know if I'm using it right when I do it, as I tend to not pay attention to actual measurements, just mark a line, then set the stop where that line is. I have no problems chucking bits in it either. I've never owned any other drill press so I can't compare but it seems super easy to me. I've heard that you can replace the entire chuck portion with something else if you want. One of the youtube reviews I looked at on it explained this. It was not an upgrade I felt I needed personally. It sounds like a good pick really I think I would like the micro adjustment. How is the power?! Does it ever seem to bog down? I need a drill press and a mortising machine but I've been thinking about just buying a drill press and get ting the mortising attachment for your drill press. Any one ever used a mortising attachment for your drill press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 So far I've had no power problems. I've used it on purpleheart with no prob. I've used it to drill itself even. I tapped the cast iron table to make my mods to it. I heard bad things about mortising attachments. Seems to be more trouble than they are worth. So I thought of getting the powermatic benchtop model ($500) but I think I've decided to just get a domino at some point instead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 2 minutes ago, Cliff said: So far I've had no power problems. I've used it on purpleheart with no prob. I've used it to drill itself even. I tapped the cast iron table to make my mods to it. I heard bad things about mortising attachments. Seems to be more trouble than they are worth. So I thought of getting the powermatic benchtop model ($500) but I think I've decided to just get a domino at some point instead. Thanks for the info I will probably look into getting that one I've had my eye on it for a few months now the only festol product I've even considered is the domino that thing is just bad awesome!!! I was looking into getting a grizzly mortising machine after I get my drill press! Thanks for the information again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted July 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 On 7/23/2016 at 10:32 PM, Cliff said: So far I've had no power problems. I've used it on purpleheart with no prob. I've used it to drill itself even. I tapped the cast iron table to make my mods to it. I heard bad things about mortising attachments. Seems to be more trouble than they are worth. So I thought of getting the powermatic benchtop model ($500) but I think I've decided to just get a domino at some point instead. Hey Cliff you still have your Delta table saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus A Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 I wanted that PC press for a long time, but they have been out of stock for months at every store near me. I found I had 200$ in gift cards to Home Depot and recently they started carrying the WEN drill press (http://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-8-6-Amp-15-in-Floor-Standing-Drill-Press-with-Variable-Speed-4225/205769834?keyword=wen+4225). So I ordered it and had it shipped to store to save on the shipping costs. I picked it up put it together this week, and it seems to be a pretty solid unit. I like that is has an RPM readout (whether it is accurate is another question). It was $391 when I ordered it, so the price already went up by $45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 4 hours ago, Griff said: Hey Cliff you still have your Delta table saw? Yup. I've penciled in a Sawstop for late 2017/early 2018 in my life calendar 4 hours ago, Cygnus A said: I wanted that PC press for a long time, but they have been out of stock for months at every store near me. I found I had 200$ in gift cards to Home Depot and recently they started carrying the WEN drill press (http://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-8-6-Amp-15-in-Floor-Standing-Drill-Press-with-Variable-Speed-4225/205769834?keyword=wen+4225). So I ordered it and had it shipped to store to save on the shipping costs. I picked it up put it together this week, and it seems to be a pretty solid unit. I like that is has an RPM readout (whether it is accurate is another question). It was $391 when I ordered it, so the price already went up by $45. Did you actually go to the stores? The Lowes in my town showed them out of stock for 2 months. They were never out - their website just sucks. My wife's parents bought me one for my bday. It was a complete shock since I thought they'd quit carrying it. Anyway, hope the Wen works for ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus A Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 On 7/25/2016 at 6:04 PM, Cliff said: Yup. I've penciled in a Sawstop for late 2017/early 2018 in my life calendar Did you actually go to the stores? The Lowes in my town showed them out of stock for 2 months. They were never out - their website just sucks. My wife's parents bought me one for my bday. It was a complete shock since I thought they'd quit carrying it. Anyway, hope the Wen works for ya! I did. Many times I checked and they always had a floor model but none in stock. I heard elsewhere online they might be discontinued, but suddenly after picking up the WEN, they are in stock. Go figure. I am happy with it so far though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_Engineer Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 8 hours ago, Cygnus A said: I did. Many times I checked and they always had a floor model but none in stock. I heard elsewhere online they might be discontinued, but suddenly after picking up the WEN, they are in stock. Go figure. I am happy with it so far though. They were out of stock in all 3 locations in town here for several months. Went to the next town over to get mine 4 months ago. Was walking through my local Lowes this past weekend and they had two more. Maybe they aren't discontinued? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 I'm as happy as I can be with this style of drill press. You will always get a slight wobble in the chuck, most of the time you will not notice it but on long drill bits you will. I don't use a fence in those situations and let the job move with the bit. As I said, only slight but it is definitely there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted August 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 On 7/29/2016 at 3:30 AM, davestanton said: I'm as happy as I can be with this style of drill press. You will always get a slight wobble in the chuck, most of the time you will not notice it but on long drill bits you will. I don't use a fence in those situations and let the job move with the bit. As I said, only slight but it is definitely there. I like that drill press table!! Did you make that yourself? On 7/28/2016 at 8:29 PM, AJ_Engineer said: They were out of stock in all 3 locations in town here for several months. Went to the next town over to get mine 4 months ago. Was walking through my local Lowes this past weekend and they had two more. Maybe they aren't discontinued? Just a quick tip if you look at a floor display model and all the parts are there Lowe's will sell you the display model usually for 10% off most the time they are brand new out of the box I bought my Porter cable jointer and planer that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 4 hours ago, Griff said: I like that drill press table!! Did you make that yourself? Just a quick tip if you look at a floor display model and all the parts are there Lowe's will sell you the display model usually for 10% off most the time they are brand new out of the box I bought my Porter cable jointer and planer that way No, I was going to but it was cheaper to just buy this. Think it is a Rockler product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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