Floor Drill Press recommendation
bluethumbwoodworks
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m looking for a 17 “ floor drill press with a crank rising table and variable speed would be nice but not absolute. The basic 17” Jet, which does not have VS, looks good, but there’s also some drill presses from Rikon that look good. I searched FWW but the last review was done in 2015 and only looks at the Rikon. Powermatics are out of my budget although look spectacular. A drill press is such a basic tool, I do not think all the high tech is necessary.
Suggestions?
Replies
I've had the Jet 17 inch for about 10 years. It's an OK machine, but nothing
particularly special. The chuck is OK, but has to be tightened carefully to avoid bit run-out. The laser centering widget is silly; I never use it. As you say, it does not have variable speed, but the belt changing is simple and quick. The table is small but does have useful T-slots. I've bolted the machine to the concrete floor as it is obviously top-heavy.
I think the Jet is pretty serviceable for the price. Pulley changes are a bit of a drag, but for me the deal-closer is the 5” of stroke—quite a bit more than any other machine in its class when I bought it, and a quick survey suggests that may still be the case.
The table is not huge, but the edges are flat rather than ribbed, so it’s easy to clamp stuff to it.
Agree that the laser is a joke.
I had a 15 inch Ridgid for many years. It was a decent machine. I just really disliked changing the belts around to switch speeds. More often than not I just left it on the previous speed.
I traded up last year to the Nova Voyager DVR. The electronic speed controlis wonderful. It has a ton of great features, on top of being just a nicer machine, top to bottom. It's pricey, but a big step up in every regard.
In anticipation to receiving a heap of abuse from HF haters, I have one of their floor models. I am a hobby ww'er, do not use it every day. The switch did die, got a replacement from somewhere, been fine ever since. A friend gave me a keyless chuck, minimal runout. I pretty much run one speed but changing the belt is no big deal when necessary. It drills holes in wood. What you buy depends on anticipated use.
If any redemption is possible, I just used a brace and bit to cut clean 7/8" hole with no tearout on both sides of a board.
Those Nova Voyagers apart, I feel that all the floor and benchtop drill presses are unfit for a woodworker's purposes. They're designed for metal workers really.
Resisting a splurge on a Nova Voyager, I have instead a high quality stand made with the 43mm euro-collar to take handheld pistol drills. I also have a clamp-to-the-bench collar of the same size, so a drill can be mounted at various angles, for drum sanding, rotary rasping, buffing and the like.
Two Metabo drills provide the power. One puts out 75 Nm of torque (a huge amount for a handheld drill) so will drill any timber; and large holes. It only has a (slow) single speed, though.
The other drill is an 1100watt (input) variable speed item that's also a hammer drill. It gets used for fast drilling, sanding and rasping. That's also the drill that goes mobile to do jobs around the hoosey.
Most pillar drills of the engineering type are not built to take sideways pressure on the chuck, as when drum sanding and similar. Hand held pistol drills generally have better bearings and chuck attachments for sideways thrust.
Lastly, the drill press thingy that these drills go into has a far larger up-down range than the 50-80mm typically found in an engineer's drill press.
Just sayin'. :-)
Lataxe
Wood Magazine seems to each month do a tool review They might have something newer than 2015 that could help you.
I love my Nova Voyager DVR. I added a table with a fence and replaceable insert. I've used it for both wood (mostly) and some HD metal work as well. Plenty of power at all speeds and the electronic depth stop is wonderful for most operations. The mechanical stop can be used if you like, as well. Now I actually use the correct speed for the operation instead of just cursing at the old triple pulley belt drive for speed changes I rarely did. The Nova drive is also an excellent radio jammer 8-).
Have you taken a look at the Delta 17"? I purchased mine about a year ago and it is very well built for wood working. table is generous in size and the table tilts in 2 directions. speed changes are easy with 2 belts and 1 lever to release. speed change chart are inside the cover. nice floor model, check them out!
keep checking Lowes for the sale. price is reasonable.
Don't forget the used market. Not a whole lot to a drill press so I was comfortable with purchasing used. I bought a Craftsman #11324611 at a garage sale for $100. Used for hundreds of holes so far - rock solid. Should be as it appears to be an old cast iron one made for the commercial space.
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