drill presses-Delta vs SCTW

[Jay Yoder]

If you guys could pick between the Delta 17-959 and the Steel City, which one would it be? I looked at both and the SC has the split housing and greater depth, but i liked the look and feel of the Delta 959. both come with lasers, for whatever it is worth. My concern is the salesman stated that he was hearing that B&D is trying to spin off delta within 6 months...the SC has 5 yr warranty and 2 year for the Delta...seems they are very comparable. i need to make decision by the 20th...

[Ron Bontz]

I have a Delta 959L I bought a year or so ago. I have no real complaints. Just little things. I like the table design, but I think the 24" wide table version which is on 20" press would have been a better move on Delta's part. The split head design is a plus on SC's end but then again what bearings are in there to begin with? The quill travel may be longer but is the shaft larger in Dia.? Is there any play in the shaft as it passes through the pulleys on top. My Delta has play and this lends itself to oscillating if using a large hole saw. The pulleys are also out of round/balance. Something I can fix. I do not know what B&D are going to do with Delta but it was confirmed they were going to cheapen Porter Cable by one of their reps. I guess I would say give Steel City a good hard look. I've heard some here were very happy with them. I should also note that some of the store reps really push the SC's hard. A little too hard for my thoughts. Best of luck either way.

[Jay Yoder]

Ron,
I think u noticed the same thing i did about the SC. I kinda wondered if the shaft was a smaller than the delta. What sort of runout numbers are you talking about? I really like the beefiness of both. The table looks reall great on the Delta too. Was it tough getting it lined up? I was also looking at the 950L but i did not care for the rotary depth stop at all. The quality and capacity was not there either. Last thing i want to do is spend this much $ and not be happy with it!

[Pete Janke]

I also spent a lot of time looking at both models before buying the Steel City at Woodcraft. I added a Woodcraft mobile base and a Rockler table. The drill depth is great and was a buying point for me. I thought the laser would be a gimmick, but once dialed in it is a real time saver. I use it quite often. Not a cheap tool, but should be the last drill press I buy.

[Eddie Darby]

Just to make things worse ... Steel City is suppose to be coming out with a variable speed DP in November. It's the same as their present 17" model, but with a variable speed unit instead of manually adjusted pulleys n' belts.

Wixey is suppose to be working on a digital depth gauge, and the Steel City laser ia an add on, so they might be nice upgrades to keep in mind.

[Fred Belknap]

One difference between the SC and Delta is the belts. The SC uses serpetine belts as Delta uses V belts. I don't know if one is that much better than the other. I have the SC and it is a good machine. It has 6" of travel but most of my bits are around 3"or 4". I like the quill lock on it.

[Lori Kleinberg]

I have the SC and have been very happy. I researched and read about dp until I was blue. The one thing I knew I wanted was this to be the last one I bought. I think I got a keeper.

[Pete Clifford]

I have the SC and it is a good machine. It has 6" of travel but most of my bits are around 3"or 4". I like the quill lock on it.

I also have the SC DP. As Fred notes, the quill lock/depth stop is very quick and easy to use. After using the "threaded post with quick release" kind of depth stop used by SC, I would never use the "rotary dial" depth stop used by a lot of other makers. Having said this, I can't remember what type of depth stop the Delta uses.

[Jay Yoder]

Sounds like the leader right now (based on feedback) is the Steel City. It is neck in neck with the 959. The SC has deeper drilling capacity and also warranty is better otherwise they seem very comparable. I also looked at one of the delta 950L drills and was less than impressed. But the 950L was about $160 which is significant. I thought it just "felt" cheaper and i did not like the rotary depth stop at all. The guy told me that he had someone return one b/c it was "not accurate" enough. The guy who returned it was a clockmaker but that still raised flags to me. Has anyone put the SC mortising attachment on the SC? how good is the laser on it? I dont do alot of mortises, but i could justify the attachment, versus a stand alone unit.

[glenn bradley]

I was after the SC when a great deal came up on a Delta. The Delta is good and I liked saving $250 but if the deal hadn't been that good I would have gone SC. The Delta table is really slick, their depth stops are so-so. The SC has the travel but the Delta is as long as most of my bits and I have not missed it.

The future of Delta is questionable in my mind. Having a nice offering like their new Unisaw won't carry a line of other weak tools if they go that direction. I can't see buying another of their machines till things settle down one way or the other. JMHO.

[Denny Rice]

Another vote for the Steel City...I like it alot and unlike the Delta the Steel City comes standard with a 5 year warranty, the Delta has a one year warranty. Something to think about.

[Cary Falk]

Another happy Steel City owner here also. When I looked at them a year ago, I believe the SC was cheeper. I don't know how they compare in price now. It really came down to the Delta Table or the SC Quill Travel. I decided that I could always add a table but would have to get another DP to get more quill travel in the future.

[David Song]

I was at Woodcraft two days ago and when asking few question about Delta Belt sander, the owner of the store told me that Delta has extended their warrenty to 5 years. Now I don't know if that's just for this sander, but perhaps on a drill press too.


btw, I was there to pick up my Steel City Drill Press and it's laser that I ordered. This is my first drill press and I hope it to be my last.

I spoke to Steel city when I phoned them two weeks ago. The person on the phone told me about the Variable speed drill press coming out in the late fall. However the price was going to be definelty higher than their standard drill press. which makes sense.

[John Thompson]

The price point on the new Steel City Variable has not been set yet... but somewhere around $200 difference is what we quoted at the Steel City booth as IWF.

Sarge..

BTW.. I'm selling my drill press and getting the SC also.. I would have taken home the one we demo'ed at IWF but... it was sold to gentleman who committed to the floor model before the Show even began.

[Lance Norris]

Jay... I know you didnt like the Delta 950L. I have that DP and so far I like it. The accuracy is good enough for my needs. I like the Delta table alot and thats why I bought it. I feel its an excellent value. If the Steel City DP had a similar table, I would have bought it instead.