Powermatic PM2800B Drill Press Review

[Jamie Lynch]

Or you can throw caution to the wind and get yourself a REAL drill press...


That's a 4 head Powermatic 1150 which was in hindsight probably a bit heavy for my little F-150

JeffD

Now that is cool!

[Brian Lefort]

I went with the Delta and couldn't be happier. 18-900L

[Jeffrey Kibler]

Just to keep everyone updated I still have not received my replacement drill press. Powermatic was nice enough to let me hang on to this one while I wait and I have used and abused it. I will say that if the new one doesn't vibrate like the old one, I will absolutely love this drill press. I really like the features and I love how easy it is to change the speed. Never changed the speed once on my old drill press but now that the rpm's are just staring me in the face, and it is so easy, I do it all the time. I plan to update this thread again once I get the replacement.

[Jeffrey Kibler]

Well after months and months and months of waiting the new PM2800B arrived. There is a good and a bad side to this story.

First the bad. I was told the new drill press would be inspected before shipping, and it was, but they missed the fact that the shaft that holds the speed change handwheel was not threaded at the factory. So I got the drill press all set up with the last step being to put that handwheel on, and I found the shaft not threaded. I was frustrated to say the least and was more than happy to tell Powermatic how unhappy I was.

Now for the good.... Powermatic tools have clearly degraded in my opinion, but they still have really good customer service. The part for the drill press was overnight shipped to my door and they set up an appointment for a service center to come out and install the part. I didn't take them up on the service center offer, but I probably should have because I literally had to disassemble the drill press to replace the shaft.

So although the first drill press was garbage, and the second one had what I will call a minor problem, I now have a drill press that works very well and I'm happy with it. I'm also happy with the tech support/customer service. After putting it through its paces I think it is a good drill press with some cool features. I think for $1400 they could have sprung for a better chuck but the one on there works, it just isn't great quality. I had to play with the fence a lot to get it to adjust easily, but now that it does I absolutely love it. I will say that on my old drill press I never once changed the speed of it because it seemed like a huge hassle with the belts. Now I do it all the time and I love how easy it is and how much better the bits perform at their recommended speeds.

If any of you have questions about the drill press feel free to ask. Now that this journey is done I will sum everything up with three simple ratings:

Satisfaction with my experience getting this tool - F
Satisfaction with PM customer service - B
Satisfaction with the tool now that I have one that works - A+

[Paul McGaha]

Jeffrey,

I'm glad that in the end you have a drill press you like. Hope it gives you a lot of years of good service. Really sorry for all the trouble you had to go thru. I'm actually really big on Powermatic and have several tools that I couldn't be happier with but I think if I had had as much trouble with a tool as you had with this one I think I would have just gotten my money back and bought something else.

Attaboy for sticking with it.

I saw a Powermatic 2800B at a nearby Woodcraft store (Springfield, VA). It is a beautiful tool. I don't know, with this particular tool, maybe it would be a good strategy to buy one that's already set up and working properly at a store. I know that's not easy for everyone.

From what I've read about it if you can get a good one it really is a very nice drill press.

Best of luck with it.

PHM

[jack forsberg]

FWIW I recommend buying a drill press, (or any machine), based on the quality of the machine itself and for the most part ignoring all the gadgets and add-ons . Sure lights and fancy tables are nice to have, but they don't really affect the machines use. Buying a good quality basic machine and adding your own light and aftermarket table if you need one, would likely provide a better service life. I also inherently distrust most electronics on machines.....just one more thing to go wrong

just my opinion though....good luck!
JeffD

Jeff its the $1400 that gets me. I mean I picked up an old delta from the 40S with a no plastic on it and change the bearing(very easy) put a nice new chuck on it and a VFD and it got more features than this new press.and it only cost me $400 total for the machine and upgrade.You got to be kidding that people put up with this crap after shelling out $1400.

here my old press from the 40s that is just so much better than anything new in that price range.








video of it mid way through the rebuild and before the bearing were changed.



the finished machine video with speed range from 0 to 7200 rpm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIEwVt3kswU

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack,

Some of us don't want to take time to overhaul a tool, myself included. I have the skills to overhaul a DP, but I prefer to spend my time working with wood not chasing down bearings, other parts and spray paint, etc.

There were some good tools manufactured in the past, there was junk manufactured then too.

While in some areas of the continent you may find good buys on Craigslist, that hasn't been the experience in my local area.

There is nothing wrong with paying good money and expecting to get a well manufactured product in return.

[jack forsberg]

Ken

the good thing about old machinery is all were left with is the good stuff as the junk is all gone.

no new paint here and the rebuilt took less time than it did to deal with this new press. I agree that there is nothing wrong with shelling out money for a good tool. it just appears to me this in not a good tool at all for the money. I am sure most are unaware how easy it is to get good tools is all. i was woodworking on my press in a week end. Setting up tools is woodwork Ken IMO.

Jack,

Some of us don't want to take time to overhaul a tool, myself included. I have the skills to overhaul a DP, but I prefer to spend my time working with wood not chasing down bearings, other parts and spray paint, etc.

There were some good tools manufactured in the past, there was junk manufactured then too.

While in some areas of the continent you may find good buys on Craigslist, that hasn't been the experience in my local area.

There is nothing wrong with paying good money and expecting to get a well manufactured product in return.

[Phil Thien]

Beautiful old Delta press, Jack. Those things are awesome!

[David C. Roseman]

Jeffrey, congratulations, and thanks for the update. It's nice to know the eventual outcome of an experience like yours.

Jack, impressive job on the old Delta rebuild! I especially like your mod on the depth limiter, as it will also work on many other DPs.

Ken, your point on taking time to rebuild an older machine is well taken, even for a tinkerer like myself. But it's sure fun to watch a talented guy like Jack go about it.

David

[Jeff Duncan]

I think Jack and I share a passion for well made tools. Old tools don't necessarily need work to make them go. My 2 daily user presses were both used and both plug and play and I have less than $1k invested in both. One can go out and buy a used Powermatic 1150 or 1200 or even a Clausing ready to work for $1400! Having said that I also realize some guys just want new tools and that's their choice. Regardless of new or used most machines are going to require some adjustments when first put into use and maintenance over time. So any ideas that buying new means just plug it in and use it is not necessarily accurate. I purchased several new Powermatics in my first few years starting out and all were well made machines, though pricey for what you got! Over time I was turned on to older industrial equipment and never looked back To me having the best quality machine I can afford makes my work just a bit easier and more enjoyable. At the end of the day though if the machine, new or used, does what you need it to and your content with what it cost, well that's what counts right?

Jack, I love your brass work....trying to make all your machines look British aren't you

good luck,
JeffD

[John Coloccia]

There is nothing wrong with paying good money and expecting to get a well manufactured product in return.

Exactly. It's so frustrating to spend a good amount of money and end up with a basket case that still doesn't work correctly. This isn't just a woodworking problem, though. I saw this over and over in my engineering days. I can't even begin to list the number of detectors, sensors, analyzers, and other widgets....some very very very expensive widgets...that either just flat out don't work properly or have other major issues....don't meet specs, firmware is botched up, critical features don't work, etc etc. Some vendors are responsive. I had laser/TEC driver chassis from Newport that had some rather interesting firmware bugs I found. Within a short period of times....2 or 3 weeks...they fixed the problem and sent me enough PROMS to update every driver we owned (lots of them).

Agilent was the same way. There was a certain value that I needed to get in real time from their polarization analyzer. I called them up and was put in touch with the production manager on their manufacturing floor. Within 15 minutes, we identified exactly what I needed and we were able to identify a way to modify the unit in house to tap one of the detectors directly and get what I needed. Fantastic service.

Some other vendors? Eh....not quite as easy to work with

[Tai Fu]

Things happen... just because you paid a lot of money doesn't mean problems won't occur. The most important thing is how the vendor handled the problem. There are so many factors outside of their control when manufacturing items that sometimes things just don't work the way they should.

[Dave Macrae]

I made the mistake of buying a PM2800, it is a train wreck, the reeves drive vibrates like crazy, the belts have lumps, the chuck run out was 9 thou, powermatic replaced the chuck now its 4. The fit and finish is rough. It doesn't even have an on off switch.

[glenn bradley]

The 2800B is supposed to have addressed the many disappointments of the 2800.