I’ve searched the internet, and the newsgroups, and can’t find anyone who has experience with the Central Machinery DP that Harbor Freight sells for around $150. It is a floor mount DP with something like 15″ swing, and 1/2 HP (from memory here). It is a great price, and I got to look at it in person, and it looks okay. If you have any opinions, let me know.
Tom
Replies
My Electrician has one of their floor mount dril presses, not sure which one and it seems to work OK. Nothing fancy, but functional.
I am like joneill in that I bought the bench dp and the shaft is out of round. It is a pain because when you want to drill an accurate hole it is off. This is one of the reasons I would never trust HF (Central Mach) equiptment; to have paid $150 and have this degree of inaccuracy would have been even more disappointing.
I also saw it in person and was quite surprised with its quality. I bought one of the small benchtop models for $40, and there is a slight wobble in the spindle. Works fine for my needs, but if I had paid $150...
P.S. my brother-in-law calls me Big Country
I have the $150 (on sale) floor standing model.It has worked without a single problem for a couple of years now. I'd recommend it!
Mike Agee
I was hoping someone would endorse it. Especially since woodworking isn't very demanding on drill presses. I couldn't believe no one included it in any of their reviews. Thanks for your responses.
JoNeill: so why did they start calling you Big Country? I'm 6'6", but I'm from Chicago. I guess I wasn't city-enough for the guy that started it.
Tom
You get what you pay for. A $150 drill press is a $150 drill press. The chuck will wobble. The quill is not tight. The motor will not last. Its hard to change speeds. The depth stop will break. Is that one better than other $150 drill presses? Maybe. If you're going to use it once a year, no problem. I bought a similar one. It looked good. Had about a dozen problems with it. Also have a 60 year old Walker Turner. Ugly, but entirely reliable. If you're planning to use it a lot, spend the money and get something good.
Well, I'd like to point out that your old Walker Turner probably didn't even cost $150 to buy, so judging quality on price would be a mistake. I have seen (and used) the Delta DP, and could be convinced it is better than the CM. I have also seen and inspected the CM one, and changing belts, working the plunge, even yanking on the quill, the only differences I found were the depth stop, light, and the ease of moving the table. I do this somewhat for money, but even if I didn't, I don't like throwing money to the wind, if I can be satisfied with less out my pocket, I will. When I do see something for roughly 1/3 the price, something goes off in my head that says this machine might not be as good. With a drill press that is designed for metalworking, a reduction in quality might not be felt as much--accuracy in woodworking isn't on the same scale as accuracy in machining. I'm trying to find out what specifically is wrong with this DP from people who may have used it, or know a lot about buying drill presses. Thanks to those who responded already.
Sorry if this turned into a rant.
Tom
On the advice of the late ToolDoc I bought the CM lathe, and have been quite pleased. I had trouble wiht the original toolrest, but HF fixed me up right in no time, very responsive. Moreover, from every observation I could make, it's the exact same tool as the Jet for $500. (I got mine for less than $200 out the door, with a 1 year extended warranty.) The only exception to that is the switching and the adjustment levers--the Jet's are clearly better. Paint job's better too, I guess. Really, check it out; I can't see any difference. Consider the possiblity that these machines are made by a single manufacturer overseas, painted and outfitted to a resellers specs, and sold with price based on name; that seems to be true, to me.
Now some of that HF stuff is clearly crap. Some of it is a very good bargain. If they're willing to support a customer well, I'm willing to look over their tools very closely, and maybe even buy some. I'm encouraged to go look at this drill perss myself.
Charlie
I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Edited 2/12/2004 12:37:15 PM ET by CharlieD
Well, my Walker Turner did cost me more than $150 used. A good unit which I suspect was fairly expensive in its day. It will outlive me by at least another generation. The import drill press I got as a second machine looked fine at the store. The chuck falls off all the time. The quill spring broke and likewise the depth stop. I can smell the motor cooking if I use it for any length of time. All those can be fixed. A good motor and chuck and quill stop will cost near what the whole unit did. The cast iron seems fairly decent, but they have to save money somewhere to make something that cheap. All the things wrong with mine were not immediately obvious in the store. No, I don't particularly care for the small Delta. Their industrial line is fine, but not the cheaper home shop items. If I were buying another primary machine, I'd look for a good used one first. A brand-name chuck and motor. Failing that, maybe look at more expensive new ones. A $150 drill press is essentially a disposable item. Mine isn't a "lemon". I had hoped otherwise, but its the quality I should have expected for the price. They're all made in the same few factories, regardless of who sells them. Maybe you'll get lucky. Your $3 motor will not burn out and your $3 Chinese chuck will be every bit as good as a $75 Jacobs.
Do you really use your drill press that often? I do mostly solid wood furniture, and won't use the drill press for any mostising, or any other standard shop procedures...I just don't see it as something that will get enough use to burn out the motor. I have gotten along fine without one for four years, but I do admit they are handy, and sometimes they are necessary, but in my shop, with my work that doesn't seem to happen too often. Maybe that will change, and I will use it a lot and burn it out when I get one, but I'd hate to have a $400 delta that I use once a month.
Tom
Bob,
I'm just curious,have you ever used the Harbor Freight DP? I've had the model in question for a couple of years now and it has never overheated,smelled of smoke,had serious alignment issues or even had the chuck fall off. The service I get from the local store can't be better. It has performed very well in my shop, from drilling your average holes to using large forstners.Would I like a little more power? You bet. A prettier paint job? Sure. Better owners manual? No big deal,most of us here have been at it long enough to be able to assemble a DP on their own. It is also plenty accurate for woodworking.
Now,I don't always buy the cheapest nor most expensive.I look for the best value for my woodworking needs. I have Lie Nielsen Planes and I have a HF DP ,so what?
They both do exactly what I need.
PS: I took the money I saved on the HF DP and bought one of my LN planes.
Mike Agee
Have not used that specific drill press, but all the times I've bought Harbor Freight products, they've consistently been out of stock, shipped the wrong item, or sent poorly finished and low quality equipment. There's no store near me. It would be an ordeal I don't need to buy another one of their products. Have not bought anything from them in years and do not plan to do so again. I have Delta, Jet and other major-brand stationary tools. Probably half new and half used. I've been reasonably happy with them. I also have a couple low-price import items. Drill press, metal-cutting lathe. The motors more-or-less run and turn something, but that's about it. They don't work well enough to actually use for anything.
Well, the local store has the 16" model on sale for $180, and the 13.5" on sale for $150. I am going to pick one up sometime this week or next, and will post my thoughts when I get a chance to putz around with it.
Tom
Well...
My thoughts 17 years later are that this drill PRESS is still going strong and I've never felt limited by it.
The table could be better, and having an electronic variable speed would be nice, but it has worked out pretty well.
The size is a little big for my shop, and I sometimes wish I had gotten something smaller.
OMG, you got what you paid for!! A drill press that drills! Who knew. I have a floor model HF drill press, too. Switch quit several years ago, got replacement. drilling holes like a champ again.
Yep. The drill press is pretty terrible when it comes to cross cutting!
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