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Thread: Drill Press--New vs. Old

  1. #16
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    Funny that both David and Rod mentioned the table elevation as I was just going to ask about that. Does that seem to be much of an issue for those with old drill presses?

  2. #17
    Rob Will Guest

    Radial Arm Drill Press?

    Do you have room for a Walker Turner or Rockwell radial arm drill press?
    More reach than anything else, adjusts in all directions including a tilting head. This also gives you a large T-slotted table
    I just bought one for $400........one of my favorite tools.

    Rob

  3. #18
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    My Craftsman Commercial does not have a table lift so I put a 24" heavy duty spring on it to assist in moving the table up and down. It is not really a problem on most drill presses. Some of the real heavy duty drill presses use a hydraulic lifting device for raising the table due to the excessive weight.
    I like heavy because I do some very heavy work.
    David B

  4. #19
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    My vote is for old iron. I got a 1974 Rockwell drill press that is built like a tank, has 4 speeds and is all metal.
    Frankly I don't get the current craze for 12 or more speeds. I use one speed setting for roughly 90% of my drilling needs and have not had a problem. Of course I change speeds for the large Forstner or fly-cutter bits, but 12 speeds is overkill. Just my opinion.
    By the way; if you get a belt drive model, switch to link belts. Worth every penny.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Newman View Post
    After having read some positive reviews and having heard some good things from folks, I purchased a Jet JDP-17MF about a week ago. The Jet is usually more expensive but MSRP has been dropped by Jet to 379 for the summer.
    Hmmm--Woodcraft has 10% off on Saturday too.

    I like the external depth adjuster (the threaded rod style) over the kind that goes on the quill lever. My current one is the latter and is untrustworthy. Maybe the better machines are better? Jet, Craftsman, and the oldies that I've seen have the external. Delta and Ridgid are the other style.

    Rod, I hear you on the belt guard. I did see a cool looking retrofit on one while cruising ebay that was made of expanded metal and had a curve to match the "hat" on the top--I didn't think it distracted from that cool old drill press look.

  6. #21
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    I haven't missed not having a rack and pinion system for raising/lowering my drill press able. It would be nice, but not vital.

    The belt guard is usually the first thing to be missing from the older drill presses. Oftentimes, they were sold separately as an accessory. That was the case for my Walker-Turner drill press.

    That said, if you wanted to, you could make one. It really just a matter of building a hinged shield that bolts onto the drill press. There are usually holes meant for mounting the belt guard accessory. We are woodworkers, after all, no?

  7. #22
    So long as you can put an indicator on the thing and check for spindle play, run-out, and table squareness I prefer older equipment. It's heavier and tougher.

    On my old floor stand Walker Turner I have a single phase DC variable speed with reverse which is a rather nice thing.

  8. #23
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    I was eying the Steel City due to quill travel and other all around quality of build. A Delta 17-950 came up ahead of schedule with a great price and I got that. Have not had a quill travel problem so far and that was my only fear.

    I spent a small part of the money I saved on Woodpecker's LP drill press table that marries to this DP beautifully. It is also nice to have some of the more modern depth stops, locks, crank-table-raiser functions, etc. that come with a new DP. No offense to OWWM's. My dad's 60 year old beast is wonderful, just not as quick to setup and change around.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  9. #24
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    I'd say old, definitely, unless you are getting a Canadian General. I just don't think you can buy a well-made drill press nowadays unless you get a high-priced esoteric metalworking one. I have 2 DPs, the smaller Delta has the rack-and-pinion height adjustment, and the collar depth stop. Both of these features are liabilities in my opinion. The height adjustment cannot be precise, due to the inherent play in a rack-and-pinion system, and the depth stop is easy to defeat with a bit of force. The General has old-style everything, and it can be set up more accurately and in less time than the Delta. I have yet to see a new Chiwanese DP with balanced and machined pulleys, or a high-quality chuck like a Jacobs. If such an animal exists, then I would be willing to consider that one could obtain new (General excepted) with the same quality as old. Let me know...

    Bottom line is this: How well does it poke holes in exact places? This is mainly a question of spindle runout, chuck quality and quill bearing quality, all of which are primary concerns in older professional machines but are secondary in the newer imports, since bells and whistles are thought to be more important than the ability to put a precise hole in a precise location. I will stick with precision.

    I think a good test of a DP is making your own router subbases. I used to think my Delta was precise until I tried making those 3 exact holes. Polycarbonate and Acrylic are not as forgiving as wood. A friend of mine came over to use my hand tools in making a Psaltry (small bowed string instrument) and he made an excellent looking instrument with one exception... The pins used to mount the strings are not in their precise locations! He used a cheapo DP to drill the holes. It will not affect the tuning of the instrument, but it surely looks amateurish.

  10. OLD

    Get a Powermatic 1150. I don't think there was ever a finer 15" drill press.

    I had a brand new Craftsman that was pretty nice.... 4" quill, depth stop rod, 12sp, keyless chuck. The day I found my used 1150, my Craftsman was up for sale. No regrets.

    Out with the NEW


    In with the OLD

  11. #26
    I went with the Steel City Drill press and have been really happy with my choice.

    Here are some closeups I took for anyone interested.

    http://dontee.sistmllc.com/drillpress/index.html

    Hope this helps.

    DT

  12. #27
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    Well I'm this -><- close to buying either the Jet or Steel City, leaning towards the Steel City. LOML said to buy the Jet this morning, but I'm going to talk to her about the Steel City.

  13. #28
    I do agree that the older all cast iron/steel units are more stable and sturdier. One sure way to level the playing field a little is to outfit any newer DP with a decent keyless chuck. I don't mean an Albrecht or even Jacobs industrial, some of the import keyless chucks are of absolutely astounding quality. Runout almost non-existent compared with standard key-types.

    I bought a Delta 17-965 17" DP a few years ago. 4-5/8" quill stroke is a plus and the thing weighs ~200 lbs. The coiled return spring broke a couple of years ago, and being a great procrastinator, I haven't replaced it. I actually prefer having no return. I can use the quill locking bolt to put just enough drag on the quill to allow self-plunging into softer woods.
    Jack Briggs
    Briggs Guitars

  14. #29
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    Well, its a done deal. There is a Steel City sitting at Electric Tool in Toledo with my name on it. Apparently they just got a fax this morning too that said starting 9/1 it will include a free laser which they are going to get me anyway.

    When it came down to it, the new drill presses are great machines and by the time find an old machine, probably drive some distance to pick it up, restore it, etc. I'd probably spend about same amount of money money. I also like the additons the new ones have like the table elevation crank, belt guard, light, nice on/off switch etc. I could add all those, but that helps to drive up the cost.

    I did come really close to buying a Delta DP220 from the late 40's that is 15 miles from me. However it had a No. 1 morse taper and I was concerned about that when drilling heavy stock. It listed on Ebay with an opening bid of $200 if anyone is interested. The seller was willing to convert it to a buy it now auction at that price, but won't go any lower.

    Pictures forethcoming.

  15. I have a Craftsman 34" Radial Drill Press which as I understand it is designed for woodworking. The head telescopes, and tilts, with a rule placed on the casting to determine the angle.


    It's on an HTC mobile base, which comes in handy to access the cabinet behind it.


    I tried to find this drill press on the Sears site, but they no longer had it listed. Does that make it something to put in the old category? Just kidding.
    I like the old stuff. A friend of mine has the Walker Turner as shown by Wilbur's pic. I like the solid feel of it.
    The Craftsman I was shocked to see, fared very well in a run out test, as compared to other drill presses. As I recall it was about $425.
    I have yet to use the tilt feature, although I can see how that would come in handy when doing chair legs that insert into the seat, etc.
    I checked to see if it was truly square, using a Starret square, and it was dead on, so although I tried to phase out of my Craftsman buying habits from early on, when I didn't know any better, I do enjoy the drill press. I do have one complaint though, the depth stop, that you can see as the chrome collar at the base of the handle, does not lock in a setting well enough. After making repeated runs, it will creep the depth setting. I don't want to risk stripping out the threads on the locking screw. I am looking into ways to upgrade that, but haven't spent much time on it. It's ashame, they took what is otherwise a well made tool, and cheapened it with a chinsy depth stop.
    Last edited by Bob Feeser; 07-27-2007 at 1:12 PM.
    "Fine is the artist who loves his tools as well as his work."

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