Has anyone used the Delta 17-950L Drill Press

[Brandon D West]

I am looking to buy this model and thought I would reach out to any users to see what your likes or dislikes are...

[Nicholas Lingg]

I like the Model I have that has the longer Quill stroke 4 7/8, I'm not sure of the Model # but I think they have one with a laser. My $.02

[Jeff Nolan]

I have the Delta 17-968 which has variable speed adjustment and after using that for a couple of years I could not imagine going back to a manual belt adjustment. I'm not sure if the 968 is still a current model but CPOWoodworking has it for $600 and it's going to give you more power and about a 1" more of quill travel.

[Brandon D West]

My problem is that I am trying to find the best bang for the buck. I would love the long quill range but I am limited by the amount of Christmas/birthday money I have. Dang money, always getting in the way of my plans!!!!

[Lance Norris]

I have the 17-950L. Ive been happy with it. I especially like the table. Thats why I bought it, for the table. Since then, I figured out that a 4" sheet metal takeoff fits the 4" hole in the center of the table. I hooked a 4" dust collection hose and a blast gate to it and then to my DC and its great for drilling and sanding. I really like this feature, even though Delta didnt make it for this. Be a little careful, because this press suffers, like every import press made today, from poor quality control. You get ones that have tight quills and ones that are sloppy. Check the one you are buying for slop with the quill fully extended. Dont accept one that has slop. Mine is tight. Ive seen sloppy ones and tight ones in the stores. Good luck. If you find a tight one, buy it. I think its a great press for the money.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I owned a 17-950L for about 1 week. Actually I owned 2 of them over that week. The first one that I got home had a lot of slop in the quill, so I exchanged it for another one. The 2nd one had a little slop, but it was acceptable. The reason that I returned it was I did not like the amount of vibration that the drill had. It probably would have been better if I put a liked belt on it, but I decided that it was not much of an upgrade from my 1950's craftsman. I ended up selling the DP on CL at the end of the week. I only paid $225 for the DP, so for that price I would say that it is a good machine, But if you have to buy at full price I would probably look for a better DP or something used on CL.

[jim gossage]

I have had one for several years and like it. Solid, accurate, speed changes are easy. My only dislike is that the on button is a little stiff and it needs to be pushed hard to turn on.

[Britt Kelch]

I for one cant complain about the machine it works fine for me, The table is a nother thing it has extremley small t-slots but can be worked around the other problem is the mortiser attachment it will not fit without making an adapter to fit the slota in the table I used a track and drilled and slotted not a fun project without a millimg machine. My vote is buy one and hope it is a good one I lucked out according to what I have read in this site. If it has to much slop return until you get a good one.

[Daniel Shnitka]

The vibration on a new Drill Press can be dealt with by letting it run for a couple of hours. The belts can be a little stiff when new. I have a 20-950 with variable speed and a 1 horse motor. The variable speed is a delight to use. All the tolerances are very good (run out , truly square or perpendicular to the table and parallel to the column, fit and finish. With 6" of quill travel which I have utilized on a number of projects as one previous. Over all rating: a very good. 4 out of 5 stars. It lost one star for the manufacture failure to get the product to market quickly after promoting it at the Atlanta show and taking all the free publicity from the trade and wood working publications.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I have the Delta 17-968 which has variable speed adjustment and after using that for a couple of years I could not imagine going back to a manual belt adjustment. I'm not sure if the 968 is still a current model but CPOWoodworking has it for $600 and it's going to give you more power and about a 1" more of quill travel.

++1 on the 17-968!

[David Winer]

I am looking to buy this model and thought I would reach out to any users to see what your likes or dislikes are...

I bought this drill press last year at a woodworking show--new but discounted as a floor model. It replaced ny old Craftsman drill press that was still o.k. but didn't have the features of the Delta.

To me the main feature of the Delta is its table--designed for woodworking with tilts fore and aft and side to side. I added] a Woodpecker table to it for the built-in clamping and measuring capabilities. I'm very pleased with the setup.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Brandon; I bought this drill press last week at LOWES for $150.00 new but as a floor model. It replaced my old G1200 drill press that was still o.k. but didn't have the features of the Delta. Check out Deals and Discounts Jack Wilson1 post "Thank You Thomas Stephenson" To me the main feature of the Delta is its table--designed for woodworking with tilts fore and aft and side to side. I going to add a custom table to it for the built-in clamping capabilities. It ok for woodworking but so so for metal too much run out. Just make sure all three pulleys are a lined, takes some time, but keeps the belt noise down.