Experience with Delta 959L drill press
Lyptus
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Has anyone had any experience using the new Delta 17″ 959L drill press? It looks great although it only has a 1 3/4″ diameter quill which means that the Delta mortising attachment won’t fit on it. The Delta 950L has a 2″ quill and the 20″ model also has a 2″ quill. Beside the mortising attachment not fitting, is the difference in quill diameter an issue when using a drill press for woodworking purposes. Also, is the larger 20″ model with a 1 hp motor and variable speed control worth the $200 difference in cost? It seems that most woodworkers get by with a 1/2 hp motor on their drill press.
– Lyptus
Replies
Look for run out in the Quill in any drill press delta should be good equipment. The variable speed is worth the extra bucks.
I have a floor model and love it I have had it for just over two years now. #17-968 16 1/2" Industrial it's very nice.
I have the 20-950 (variable speed with big table, 1hp motor) and I am very satisfied with it.
Its a bit of a monster to put together because the head weighs a ton, but it works great. I haven't looked at the 959L, but I replaced a similar sized press with the 950 - its like night and day - almost like going from a contractors saw to a Unisaw.
So, is there anything the 950 will do that my old press wouldn't? Probably not, however changing speeds is obviously much more convenient, and the huge table makes pretty much everything easier. There is no sense of loading the press, even when I use a 2" Forschner bit.
So even though I am going to give away my old press, I don't regret having bought this one at all.
You make a good argument for the 20-950. What was the deciding factor for you given that you had an adequate drill press already? Given the size of the table on the 20-950, is it difficult to raise and lower?
Well, the press I had was adequate and functional but a major pain from time to time. Like most presses, it has a tiny table. I made a table top for it, but then its kind of hard to mount a vise, etc., until you remove the table. Its top heavy and unstable, though I could have made a base. It is underpowered for some operations, but you can deal with that through patience.
And so on. Realistically, it was the first or second machine I ever bought. I didn't know good from bad, and bought what I could afford and sneaked it into the house at night. Now I can buy pretty much what I want, and one day I just got fed up with it.
Also, a trip to Buffalo meant I could buy a great press for what a good one would cost in Toronto, thanks to the C$/US$ move.
Anyhow, the table is no problem at all to move. I suspect it is because they gear the oversized crank handle accordingly.
I think that we all wish were Canadian these days. Thanks for you feedback about the table. Another thing I wondered about was the 6" quill travel. I've heard so many woodworkers discuss the value of long quill travel but I can't imagine a time where I would need much more than 4" of travel. However, since I've never owned a drill press maybe I am missing something.- Lyptus
You know I never even though about the quill travel. I'm rarely drilling holes that deep and I usually adjust the table, etc., so there is a conveinient 'stroke'.
So, probably bigger is better, but it wasn't that important to me.
If it were an issue, I could probably find a longer bit or use a handrill to finish the hole or somesuch.
Any issues so far with the 20-950 or anything you're not happy with? I've not seen one at retailers in my neck of the woods yet ......... a little leery of ordering a new design sight unseen.
I've only used it a few times since I put it together and tested it out.
I have a brutal chest cold and have had to do some stuff outside the house, so no woodworking till thats all done.
The one complaint I have is with the gooseneck light. Its too limp so it kind of droops. You would thing that for such a pricey unit, they would have spent an extra dollar for a decent gooseneck.
Oh yes, and the assembly instructions made little sense to me, so I sort of gave up on them and figured it out. There are instructions to install a laser and stuff, which the unit doesn't have though maybe the X-5 version does. Basically, they show poor pictures of the assembly process and the instructions themselves are pretty vague.
The speed change, etc., is smooth and it runs quiet. I didn't check run out and all that stuff because I don't think 10ths of thousands of an inch matter than much in wood woorking.
Well, you convinced me to get the 20-950. Since I've never owned a drill press before, I feel like this is a very indulgent purchase. However, I don't own a truck or a big car so I pretty much had to have it shipped. Amazon offers free shipping on the 20-950 but not on the 17-959L (nor does anyone else that I could find). So with shipping, the price difference is only about $150.00 Seems like it is worth $150.00 to get the longer quill travel, higher hp, larger table, and variable speed. The only sacrifice is the laser, space, and of course the extra bucks. Even though I'm just a hobbiest, I regret that I purchased a Jet contractor's saw initially instead of a Unisaw. At least I won't have that concern with the drill press. I just hope my marriage can survive this :)- Lyptus
I hope I'm not too late to be of help. I have the 959L and am extremely pleased. Amazon does have an 800 number for the tool department. You may get your free shipping if you can talk to a live person.
have you gone to http://www.deltamachinery.com and when you get your tool dialed up, you will see a buy online option. you might find another dealer with a better price, delivered, than amazon.
I have not yet checked my delta mortising attachment. My recollection is that it can accomodate 3 different quill sizes. As for the table size, I am still adding an auxillary table with fence. I believe the one I made for the long-gone bench top model I had came from a recent FWW. Very useful.
I plan on putting a full review on amazon as soon as I finish putting it through the paces. So far, I am definetly liking the laser. I put in the wrong size bit to drill some pilot holes last week. Made life a little easier fixing my mistake to get the larger bit centered on the re-drill. The laser on this series is attached to the power supply, unlike earlier models that are battery operated.
Best of luck.
Thanks for your feedback and I'm glad to hear that you like the 959L. I already ordered the 20-950 model so there is no turning back now. I did search the web pretty actively prior to my purchase but did not find the 17-959L available with free shipping. How do you find changing speeds with the belt and pulley's?
Sorry to hear you did not find it. I stumbled into it by clicking on the Buy Online from the delta web page. There, a list of merchants popped up and I was off to the races. I got lucky even further, because the shipper they chose has a terminal about 5 miles, and the driver took a little lift gate truck.
As to your question, I don't mind changing the speeds with the belts. They put an easy to read diagram inside the cover for the various speeds. Tension adjustment is easy, and seems to hold where you set it.
And I took a quick check just now, and I am able to get the delta mortising attachment onto the quill.
Best wishes.
I am assembling my 20-950 drill press now. Do you have any tips on how to get the head onto the pole? I'm a reasonably strong person but the head probably weighs about 120 - 140 lbs. and all I've been able to do so far is stare blankly at it in the box it came in. I'm thinking about either asking some neighbors for muscle help or using a pulley hoist and asking my wife for help.
Also, do you know which end is up on the toothed bar that attaches to the pole. Delta's directions stink and I had to figure out most of the assembly on my own. The toothed bar has a non-toothed section on each end and one section is longer than the other. I'm guessing that the longer, non-toothed end, goes up and the shorter end goes down but I'm not sure.
Thanks,
Lyptus
(Disclaimer - I haven't assembled a 20-950 so this suggestion is not based on direct experience. I am planning to acquire one though so I expect to face the same problem.)
Assemble the drill press horizontally, then tilt it upright. Rest the head on it's side or back on several blocks of wood on the floor, and lay the pole down. Slide the pole into the head and secure it. With the head resting securely it's stable and there isn't any danger of dropping it and/or injuring any one. Once the head is secure to the pole tilt the drill press upright.
"Also, do you know which end is up on the toothed bar that attaches to the pole."
The untoothed portions fit into grooves in a collar (top) and the base casting (bottom). On my drill press (not a Delta), the two grooves are not the same shape, and it's pretty obvious that the rack can only go in one way--there's a tab at the top end of the rack that slides into a slot in the collar; that slot doesn't exist in the base.
-Steve
The foam package it is shipped in will cradle it for horizontal assembly. You can break the foam away that blocks accesses to the whole for the head. Install the pole the casting that supports the table but not the table and foot. Then have enough people to safely stand it upright
I also worked alone and, and agree that like most assembly instructions they are almost useless. From memory:
I installed the column on the base, and then the the bottom ring on the column. Then I put the base and colum assemblyon the ground (horizontal), supported by some pieces of styrofoam the unit was packed in so the 'head end' was a few inches off the ground.
Then I slid the toothed bar through the table support and installed this assembly on the column. I installed the shorter non-toothed end 'UP' because I figured that would allow greater travel for the table in the working end of the movement.
Then I installed the top ring (all pretty loose). Now I was ready for the head.
I brought the head near the column, also supported it with styrofoam. I slid the head onto the column and tightened it up (I would align it once I got it upright).
I have a chain block hoist. A block and tackle, or even a strong ratchet strap would do for the next step. I carefully attached the hoist to the head and raised it to about 60 degrees, at which point I could push it upright by hand, taking care it didn't fall over.
Then I removed the hoist and walked it to the final installation point, aligned it, installed the table, etc..
All in, it is a two or three man job without a hoist or something. I'm pretty strong, but no way I could lift that head high enough.
Sitll - its a pretty impressive machine, no?
Now let me tell you how I delivered and installed my 600 lb Laguna HT-18 all by myself.
When I put the 17-959L together, I just followed the instructions, which were simple for that model. It always amazes me how companies can have such different literature for such similar models. The column was mounted to the base, then the head was installed while the column was upright.
I had help from my lovely assistant to lift the head onto the column. We staged it, setting it first on a B&D workmate, which allowed us to regrip, then I think we set used the top step of a 4' stepladder as the 2nd stage. That made it easy to get a good grip for the final lift to the column.
on the 17-959, there are two set screws in the head to hold to the column, make sure you back these out sufficiently.
So, how did it work out for you?
DO you like the press? I remain pretty impressed by mine ...
The assembly went smoothly thanks to your all’s advice. I connected the base to a 21” x 30” piece of plywood, connected the pole to the base, and then aligned the pole horizontally with the head and pushed the base/pole assembly into the base. To do this, I placed the head (still in the styrofoam package) on a stack of 2x4’s to raise it level with the horizontal pole. With the help of my neighbor, we lifted the head and raised the press to its upright position. We then “walked” the press over to its permanent station. The press operates smoothly but I haven’t measured the runout as of yet. Speed change is smooth and the dial is easy to turn. The height is perfect, most of the my work will be done at chest level so no need to stoop. On the down size, the spindle locking lever stripped on my first trial cut so I asked Delta to replace it (which they agreed to do). Raising the table is smooth but when lowering the table, it skips one notch every fourth turn so it lowers with a staccato movement. Also, with the table raised up, the bar vibrates against the pole when the drill is on. Are you experiencing these issues too? Any possible fixes? I decided to place the toothed bar with the longer, untoothed section on top because that still allows me to raise the table to the base of even my smallest bit. - Lyptus
Press tables usually go up and down differently because of the weight, but mine doesn't skip or anything like that. Of course, I have my tooth bar upside down relative to yours so I don't know it thats a difference. I did fiddle with the 'drive mechanism' a bit before I figured out how things went together. Any chance your gear is too lose in there?
I don't notice any vibration from the bar - I have the top collar on pretty loose - its supposed to move when you move the table side to side. Maybe yours is too lose or not loose enough? It does bow a bit then the table is up top, but this seems to be a characteristic of all presses I've used.
Piccioni,
I loosened the collar holding the toothed bar to the pole and that eliminated the vibration (Delta calls is the toothed bar a "comb"). I allowed more play in the handle for raising and lowering the table and that at least has minimized some of the skip.
I spent a few hours yesterday drilling holes, testing the press out to ensure it works as expected. I noticed that at both extremes of the speed range, 200 rpm and 2500 rpm, the drill is pretty noisy. I also noticed significant vibration between 700 rpm and 800 rpm. Have you noticed similar issues? I suspect that the belt might be a little loose. I will contact Delta to see if there is a way to either tighten the belt or I may ask for a replacement.
- Lyptus
I can say for certain the press is very quiet at slow speed, a bit noiser at high speed, but I sort of expect that. Its smooth at high speeds - I drilled a hole into metal with my smallest drill which is about 0.050" and it went ok. Like an idiot I broke the drill after I made the hole, though.
I checked my toothed bar (comb) and I indeed installed it with the long end up, not down as I wrote above. I don't know if it matters, though.
I have just started to set my 20-950 up and I will start with I think it’s a good drill press. It has several issues that appear to be quality control type things. I will be contacting delta about it Monday.
The work light is plenty stiff on my unit and holds position fine. The speed control is stiff and slow to change I can’t determine the cause of this yet. The table is flat but very rough ground it appears to have been reground around 1 edge and the whole top has a coarse texture to it from the grinding. The table support has indexing holes drilled for stops at 90, 45 etc but it has been drilled off and only 2 of them will engage. There are cuts in the insulation in the wiring from the motor to the control this is in a position that had to occur at the factory.
The manual has many issues there is no parts break down some thing that could be an issue if you ever need parts. The manual states failing to maintain it properly could be bad for you and it. But the only maintenance the listed is keep it clean and wax the table.
I will update this after talking to delta Monday
Delta was contacted and is suppose to contact me tomorrow. I will update this again then.
Edited 12/3/2007 5:44 pm ET by slo
Any feedback from Delta yet?
Just to update on the issues I had with the drill press delta was great and agreed to send all the parts required to correct the problems. They had said it would be March before they had some of them were available to my surprise I received them the day before Christmas.
What is the speed range on the 20-950? The specs on the Delta site are obviously wrong (given as 200 to 250 rpm) and these same wrong specs have been mindlessly duplicated by the various retailers.
I looked at the manual and it doesn't give the speed range either.
The only thing I could find is a picture in the manual of the speed dial that didn't really settle anything either since it appeared to have two speed ranges on the dial and I can't find anything that tells how switching from one range of variable speeds to another would be accomplished.
Thanks.
The speed range is 200 to 2500 RPM. In tuning up my press, I think the working range is more like 250 to 2000 RPM. If you adjust the dial too far to either extreme the press starts to vibrate due because the pin in the pulley spindles makes contact with the speed belt. I would consider the 17-959 if I had to do it over again.- Lyptus
I've purchased the drill with expectations of a 500$ item and that's what I received. I do use this product a lot and it is a very nice drill for the home or garage only drawback I encountered was the table.
In my eyes, it is built very cheaply but I'm used to being around 5000$ clauses. But for all the wood and metal I drilled so far I haven't stalled it lol. All these tool needs is a little TLC and some homemade hardware. I think on all these types of tools they scimp on the hardware. Overall it really does the job.
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