New Drill press for the next 5-10 years under $1,500

[Alex Snyder]

I am a firm believer in buy it once without regrets, so I'm jumping into my first drill press with that in mind. I fully expect that I will want to upgrade it one day, but if I can get 5 years before wanting to upgrade.... nice!

Anyway, I'm looking to drill wood and maybe some soft metal on very rare occasions. The main push for the drill press is better accuracy. Running a hand drill for the last few years has gotten me by, but now it is time to do better. I build cabinets, desks, and do way more home DIY than I care to admit. Most of my drilling is done with Forstner bits.

Here are my thoughts on drill presses so far...

1. Powermatic 2800 is the current leader. I have a range of Powermatic tools already and am not only happy with the brand, but the dealer too. The dealer also sells Jet, Nova and Rikon. The 2800 has the features I want with the addition of not needing to mess with belts.
2. Nova Voyager is in second. It is pretty mindless. I prefer to spend the small mental capacity I have on project ideas instead of tooling.
3. Jet JDP-17 is third. Honestly, it looks cool and saves a little money. We're planning to get into providing customers video of the builds, so I'm "sprucing" the shop up. Functionally, I think this one lacks compared to the other two.
4. Delta 18-900L is in the running, but this one would probably be a Home Depot purchase. I'm okay with paying tax to make sure I have a neck I can choke nearby if things don't go well.

Important features (I think)...

• 5" or more Quill travel
• RPMs that can handle a spindle sander
• Laser
• Not messing with belts
• Decent-sized sturdy table
• FOF (Fresh out the Factory) & FOB (Fresh off the Boat is fine)

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm open to all suggestions.

[Keith Weber]

What are you calling "soft metal"? Aluminum? Or mild steel? Aluminum drills more like wood than steel, and you could any woodworking drill press to drill it. For steel, you want to be able to select lower rpm settings than you would typically use for wood. If you spin your drill bit too fast and with too slow a feed rate, you'll burn up drill bits in steel because of the friction heat. It's even more important with stainless. That stuff will work harden if you linger and let the heat build up. Once it does, good luck finishing your hole.

I'm not a big fan of any of the new offerings these days. Everything seems to be made in Asia and the fit and finish, runout and noise is horrible. I personally wouldn't touch that Nova DP. It over-complicates a simple machine and there's a much higher potential for that circuit board to pack it in just when you need it the most.

I agree -- changing belts sucks. With my Bridgeport mill. I change the speed for every tooling change, because it's variable speed. On a belt-driven DP, I tend to just leave the speed as it is unless it's really not working, or I have many holes to drill.

[Matt Day]

i know you're looking at new machines, but an old used Variable Speed Powermatic is the bees knees when it comes to drill presses.

[Alex Snyder]

An older machine could be the "upgrade" down the road. But for a first machine, I'd like to setup and go with a warranty.

[Larry Edgerton]

If you change table height often the Powermatic has the best mechanism of those listed. The others have a short crank at a right angle to the drill head that does not give enough force and interferes with any larger table that you install. You will be cussing it out every time you raise the table. The Powermatic has a crank angled back aaway from the table and so can use a longer crank. Why all these manufacturers stick with that stupid arrangement I can not fathom.

[Brian Tymchak]

I would drop the Delta from the list as the poor manufacturer support (service and parts) is becoming very well known. I would not buy a Delta product at this point.

[David T gray]

nova is by far the better of what u have listed no vibrations , very quiet . no runout mine has <.001 runout at 6 inch travel . its a smps so i unplug it when not in use. its also split head which is a huge upgrade.

[Steve Demuth]

I really like my Delta 18-900L. Mine came out of the box with minor fit and finish issues, which is pretty much what you get with anything made in Asia these days. Nothing of real concern though. I would personally avoid the Nova - putting a computer on a drill press makes no sense to me. Computers break even when not being used at a rate far greater than mechanical tools. And all an amateur woodworker will get from one on a drill press is a kind of pseudo-convenience - it won't save more than a few seconds out of a typical hour in your shop, and will probably teach you to forget to think about speed selection vis-a-vis tool and material, and in doing so, make your woodworking just a tiny bit more disconnected from human hands on wood as a creative task.

(And, yes, I know I sound like a neo-Luddite here, but I'm not really. There are over 300,000 computers or computerized devices on the network where I work, and I am responsible for making sure they collectively do what the medical practice wants them to do. They are a necessary part of operating a modern clinic and hospital, so we put up with the fairly constant attrition and need to repair. But on a drill press?)

[pat warner]

Not what you want to hear, I'm sure.
Drill presses are made for drilling not sanding.
Rule out that folly.

A drill tip might be 8-12" from the last bearing in the quill, (if a 5" travel quill is extended). As such, expect the drill to spin in funny circles, especially those that are slightly bent or skinny (<1/4"). Nice to have lots of quill travel but usually at the expense of accuracy. Better to use short drills and keep the table at the same height for all drill opps on the same hole.

The best variable speed is with a VFD and a 3 phase motor.
New, these things installed, may eat up your 1500$.

A laser is only good to +/- .010-.015". There are other ways of finding close centers.

I would be looking at old rebuilt machines. A lousy alternative, I agree, but ...........
I would also say that drilling wood on close centers does not require a new Clausing, just patience with an ordinary machine. And your 1500 limit is not bad for a wood press.

[Ben Rivel]

Went through the same decision making process myself a couple years ago. The NOVA wasnt out, but I wouldnt have gone that route anyway as I felt it was too expensive and hasnt been out long enough to become "tried and true" in my book. I went with the Delta 18-900L and so far have loved it. Got a great deal from AcmeTools using a 15% discount coupon they put out a couple times a year and got free shipping and no tax. Once a year they do a 20% off coupon too. Considered the Powermatic, but I generally dont like Powermatic/Jet tools and I looked at the digital speed control as just something more to go wrong and not really worth the extra hundreds of dollars the Powermatic would have cost me over the Delta. I did change the chuck on the Delta immediately to a Jacobs 14N Superchuck ball bearing, and sold the one it came with. Never even used the stock chuck.

[Mark Carlson]

I'd also pass on the Delta because of parts availability. My 1st delta drill press had issues with the switch and the variable speed control and parts are no longer available. I'd get the Powermatic at the dealer you like. Maybe you can inspect the drill press for runout on the floor before buying.

[Van Huskey]

While I generally subscribe to the old is better (a PM 1150 or 1200 would be an excellent choice, especially if it is VS) I ended up with a PM 2800B which I really like. TIR is acceptably low and it is designed as a woodworking press. Note the VS is completely manual using a Reeves drive, the only thing electronic is the readout and will function if the readout were to die.

I don't consider new Delta any more parts availability is just too sketchy.

That said after playing with the Voyager it is on my to buy list. The low vibration all the way up above 5,000 rpm, loads of power and bells and whistles I would actually use have me sold, as soon as the new shop is built one is going in. I would be more reticent if Teknatools didn't have years of building their lathes with DVR motors and supporting electronics but there is still a level of risk here, but I am comfortable with it. I will be adding a keyless chuck and probably a laser, I will likely try the new Wixey.

One has to keep in mind for Voyager money you can get a very nice PM 1200 VS but of the new DPs I think it is the standout.

[Wayne Jolly]

I bought the Delta 18-900L on new years day. I saw that Home Depot had it on sale for about $875. I went across the street to Lowes and they price matched it, gave me my 10% veterans discount, and provided free lift-gate shipping. Not too shabby/

It was delivered on time although it took about 10 days to ship it. She shipper dropped it off in my garage and it was undamaged. Assembly was straight forward, but it will take at least two strong men to lift the head onto the post, or some sort of hoist. It's heavy! I used an engine hoist.

One thing to look for is the chuck height. I replace a 15-speed Craftsman drill press and the chuck on the Delta is probably 3-4" lower than the Craftsman. This is probably necessitated by the 6" quill travel as opposed to the 3" on the Craftsman. If the drill press head unit was raised so that the chuck was at the same height as the Craftsman, it would be dangerously top heavy.

It does have belts that have to be changed, but Delta has done a pretty good job of making that task as easy as possible for a belt-driven system. It has a nice big table with a 4" (I think it's 4") replaceable insert. Twin lasers that I don't use very often, but nice to have when I do want to use them.

Overall, I LIKE IT!

Wayne

[David M Peters]

I've had the JPD-17 for over a year and am happy with it; I love the large woodworking-oriented table. I keep it @ 1000RPM for most tasks and will slow it down if I'm doing something with a larger Forstner bit, so for this hobbyist belt changes haven't been an issue.

The PM2800 is only about $700 more than the Jet and seems to have a better-enough feature set to warrant that bump. I'd say to spring for the PM! Very little chance you will be dissatisfied with it in the long run.

[Andrew Kertesz]

Got a Woodcraft flyer today, the Nova drill press is on sale for $1,299.00 with some free extras....