Grizzly Radial Drill Press – Any Good?
I’m in the market for a new drill press. After doing some research, I decided I’d really like to go with a radial type. Looks like Grizzly makes a nice one in both a bench-top and a floor model. I’m talking about model #G7945 / #G7946. They go for $150 for the bench-top model, and $180 for the floor model.
I really like the idea of being able to clamp the wood down and move the head of the drill press to make holes in a line. I also like the idea of being able to pivot the head 90-degrees and do a little bit of horizontal boring.
One thing I am wondering about is whether it’s better to go with a 12-speed regular drill press, or whether it’s better to get radial style but only have 5 speeds…
Does anyone own the Grizzly?
How sturdy is it?
Is the table a good design?
Other comments?
Thanks!
Replies
I am pretty sure I own the floor version of this unit currently, I have not found any major flaws with it. Even came with an undocumented light(well a socket to put a bulb into hidden behind the chuck).
I am by no means a heavy duty drill press person, but it has done some decent work for me in regards to drilling down 3 inches plus on a 3/16" wide piece of wood to make some hinges for me on a project...
One thing I am not too fond of is the track for the vertical adjustments for the table.. its designed to rotate around the drill as needed, just seems real flimsy to me.. but once I have it in place seems to be rock solid and not give me any problems....
Once again I am not a heavy duty user, but it works well for my purposes... and changing speed is a quick easy task....
as I look now though, mine is the 12 spd 14" drill press... but i would assume I just have more pulleys for the speed...
*EDIT* just looked, and indeed mine is the 12 spd version, and the light is documented on said version.. /shrug $20.00 for the light and 7 additional speeds? worth it to me... 7944 is what I have...
Edited 9/12/2002 12:31:25 PM ET by Grouchie
Matt,
Again this is just my opinion, but for the extra couple of dollars, if you can I think you'll find the versatility of the Radial worth a heck of a lot more then the couple of extra dollars.
Don
I have the floor model & it works great. I'm really glad I purchased it.
Matt, i'd be careful about buying a radial arm drill. i looked at the busy bee model, which closely resembles the grizzly, and it looked very flimsy, the arm looked like it would flex under a heavy load, and i don't think it would be anywhere near as accurate as a normal quality drill press. i'm not sure how well it could hold it's position and so you'd end up with oversized holes that weren't perfectly perpendicular. my 1930's rockwell only has a 14" swing, and when i bought it i didn't think it would be enough, but i haven't come across many situations where i've needed more. now there are some radial drills out there that i'd love to have as a part of my shop. they start at about 20 grand and up though. the one that i used had up to 6 feet (yes feet) between the column and the head. it was powered by a 9 hp motor. that could come in handy if i needed to drill a hole in the middle of a conference table though, right :) here's a pic of what one of these monsters look like, though it wasn't the same one i used. if i were you i would look at a traditionally designed drill press. hope this helps
andrew
WOW!!!
I am not sure but I don't think it's a good idea to look at a brand that may not have the same quality control & make judgements about another brand.
I have the Grizzly Floor model of this drill press. The first thing I did when I got it home was put my 2 1 /4" forstner bit in it & using scrap blocks of oak I started drilling & really putting the pressure to it pushing it to see of I could flex the horizontal arm I couldn't. I have had this drill press about 3 years & had lots of use out of it & no complaints.
Andrew,
I've used both the large and small radial drills and never had the problems you suggest with the small drills. I have more problems with the large ones. Large twist drills, 2 to 3 inchs, will lift the arm before the begin drilling into plate and when the arm won't go up anymore, the drilling begins. Just SOP. Even with this, the machines are still well within tolerance for drilling. If that doesn't get it, then the holes are drilled undersize with reaming or milling finished on a mill, but this is wood.
Don
I've never heard of the Busy Bee line of tools. I don't know if it's a good idea to compare Busy Bee with Grizzly, however.
Matt, I'm pretty sure busy bee is the canadian version of grizzly, if not i appologize. they come from the same factory, and one of the sales men at busy bee said that they are identical to grizzly except for a different shade of green paint and the name tag.
Andrew,
I'd take that salesman's words with a pinch of salt. If you check Busy Bee's web site, you'll see a few machines that are similar to Grizzly's, but a lot that are quite different. (Their big cabinet saw looks like a Bridgewood, but I doubt it is the same machine. Their smaller cabinet saws have a different fencw system than Grizzly.)
When the new Jet bench top lathe came out, I thought it was the same as my Delta Midi Lathe. Except for a few small details, they look the same, but they are very different machines.
(Reminds me of the Ford Grenada when they came out in the mid 70's. The ads said it looked like a Mercedes. Always wanting a Mercedes but never being able to afford one, I bought the Grenada. Suffice it to say that it did resemble a Mercedes, i.e. in physical appearance.)
Jeff
Edited 9/17/2002 12:30:24 PM ET by Jeff K
Matt,
If you look in Grizzly's catalogue, you'll see both the G7945 & G7946 won Editor's Choice awards from Popular Woodworking.
Jeff
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