Drill press changes speed quickly

General International’s new drill press (model 75-165M1) is well-suited for woodworking. With a speed range between 280 and 2,100 rpm, the drill press can slow down for big Forstner bits and turn fast enough for smalldiameter brad-point and twist bits. Speed changes are made by moving a lever, and a digital readout on the front displays the speed.

 

It has a 17-in. swing, and a 3⁄4-hp motor with enough power to drive a 2-in.-dia. Forstner bit 2 in. deep in hard maple. While drilling this hole, however, I noticed some belt slippage, so I had to use a slower feed rate. It took 29 seconds to drill the hole, substantially longer than with the best drill presses in my recent review.

 

The 12 1⁄2-in.-square table has flat edges on all four sides, which makes it easy to clamp down workpieces and fences. The table is solid cast iron and there is no through-hole or drillable insert under the quill, so you’ll need an auxiliary table over it when drilling through-holes.

 

There was very little runout in the quill, and a locking collar on the quill lever made it easy to set the depth stop. On the downside, the quill has only 3 in. of travel (the reason we didn’t include the 75-165M1 in the head-to-head test). This means you’ll need to adjust the table’s height more often to accommodate bits of different lengths and workpieces of varying thickness. The task is made less difficult by an accurate laser pointer.