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Drill Press Recommendations please

Thanks all for the input.
Glenn General Canada is becoming more competitive from a price feature point in comparison to say Grizzly etc. But its all pretty much the taichi stuff Grizzly has.
I like the features of the Delta but for my uses the price is a deterent and even more so in Canada. Note this would cost way more than my table saw did so it puts my hobby tool collection out of balance in my view not that i would not like one. In this category of machine the weighting the non value added elements of the final cost have in the equation are significant.
1) current exchange rate adds 10%
2) Freight adds at least 5%
3) sales tax adds 13%

The above make importing from the US on this item pretty unattractive regardless of brand.
I can "engineer " eliminating #3 and reduce #2 but it would require other costs to achieve which offset the savings.
Its not that i cannot afford the right machine, the issue for me is timing and value in terms of use.
Were i settled and in my next shop where i could get the use i think it would be a no brainer. But to get the best i can and then watch it rust away would be painful as it has been on other items.
I have concluded that i will go for a intermediate step of buying a temp fix that i can pick up directly locally and hold trade it out when i get settled in a new shop.
Going to try stop by a few places today and see what is physically on offer now that i have a way better awareness of features.
Once again had i been a member here prior to purchasing my Borg special, i definitely would not have purchased at the level i did. At the time my knowledge of drill presses was that they drill holes period.
If you want a good laugh i will tell you i honestly wondered initially if there was something wrong with mine because it had such an extremely short stroke.
First thing i realised was how bad the swing was and then guys here are fitting tables etc and i was thinking heck if i fit a table i dont have any depth of swing to drill anything. And on and on. To say i learnt the hard way on this one is putting it mildly. I nearly had a hernier when i discovered it had a dreaded reeves drive. Its no suprise to me it turned out like it did. Ever since learning what a reeves drive does on the lathe and reading the experiences others had with them i just waited in anticipation of the day it was going to give problems.
So i am way better equiped to shop for a intermediate replacement today thanks to all you guys.
We as a group must be the manufacturers worst nightmare. But they probably still catch many newbies same way they caught me. Lol

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
I believe Delta is made in the same China factory as Grizzly. Used to have a link to the factory, will look for it later.
BTW, Grizzly is having a sale right now. Might wash out shipping charges.
 
Jim that's a good idea but that would lead me into other temptations for which i would get into serious trouble with Linda. :)

But i do have an alternative plan. Shipping internally in the USA is only around $79 on a DP from Grizzly. So i might use one of the private mail box companies in Niagara and a DP shipped there and then go down and spend a weekend in Niagara and bring it back duty free. :)

With this in mind i am looking at this machine right now. Anyone have one of this model. Its a good short term compromise for me. In comparison to its General Tai chi counterpart here, its got a 3/4hp motor versus the 1/2hp of the general and i like how low the lowest speed setting is at a claimed 140 versus 280 of the general. There is a General that goes for $399 with 16 inch swing with spindle travel pretty much the same at 3&1/8" versus 3&1/4" but i think the speed issue and motor hp win out on the Grizzly. They probably come out the same factory. General does have a nice on off switch which will stay off if power fails while drill i in operation, i can see that being a good safety feature just not sure its a critical item on a drill press. If i happened to cause motor load to trip the mains by doing something stupid on the DP first thing i would do is shut off the switch unplug and then go to the panel and before plugging in make sue the DP bit is free of whatever i was doing.
I also think on the future resale side having the extra HP will make it easier to out this unit later when i move to a new shop.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Speed-Heavy-Duty-14-Floor-Drill-Press/G7944

What i would like to know that is of concern to me is what I can expect as far as run out is concerned. Does anyone know what a reasonable specification for run out would be. I plan on calling Grizzly to check what they say it should be but that will only be a number to me. It was the one aspect that aggravated me on my bench top cheapie. Have not come across any mention of this in anyones specs so far.

Also anyone got or use a keyless chuck on their drill press? Anyone used this actual chuck and got any feedback on it? Or any educational input on keyless chucks as a rule ? Wondering whether to get one at the same time as the DP.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/1-2-Keyless-Drill-Chuck-JT33/G8581

Thanks for the input i really appreciate it. I got a big dose of buyers remorse from my last impulsive benchtop buy now have a chance to improve that with your assistance and knowledge.
 
Rob, I have ONE Grizzly machine - 513x2 band saw - love it.

I have never really heard any "significant" complaints about Grizzly.

That G7944 does have the quill stop adjustment that I spoke of earlier.
That alone is a biggie to me.


Sooo - Quill stops
Grizzly reputation - looks like a winner to me.

I would NOT buy Delta either - even if they are made in the same factory.
 
I don't have that chuck but did get one of their keyed chucks (I think its http://www.grizzly.com/products/Plain-Bearing-Chucks-0-1-2-JT33/G8628) - which actually had the salubrious effect of virtually eliminating the runout I experienced on my old jet DP. The chuck I'd gotten with the (heavily used) jet was pretty beat up so its not super surprising that a new one was better.

Note that you also need to buy the JT33-MT2 arbor http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drill-Chuck-Arbor-MT2-JT33/G1435 (while technically you can press the arbor out of the existing chuck its way not worth it imho unless you have a press and even then.. marginal).
 
Leo Voisine said:
That G7944 does have the quill stop adjustment that I spoke of earlier.
That alone is a biggie to me.
Click to expand...

(downloads manual in hopes that just maybe they added an actual quick lock but sadly no). Errrmmm... That actually looks like one of the more painful to use depth stops I've seen. My Jet is "ok" it uses lock nuts as well but they are at least bigger knurled hand nuts and don't need a wrench (newer models look about the same based on the manuals whatever that's worth). The delta is probably one of the best I've seen - you can push a release on the side to quick release them and move for gross adjustments and then turn for fine adjustments. The general appears similar (again based on pics in the manual..) to my old Jet.

Honestly if I had to choose between a 14" floor model and a 17" benchtop it would be a hard call... I'd probably go with the benchtop but would need to evaluate what I needed to drill carefully. Having the extra depth between the quill and the post is really nice. Very occasionally I want to drill something tall - but the general 75-100 is 26" to the base which is pretty good and would cover most of what I need....
 
Alan Bienlein said:
The precision comes in your layout. I know everyone here will disagree but sorry it's the truth
Click to expand...

Not being argumentative but, if your layout is perfect and there's 1/16" of slop in your quill, nothing will save you :). My Delta has slop up and down due to poor machining. This makes getting a consistent depth a constant challenge no matter how good my layout is. there is also a reasonable side to side slop (maybe under 1/32") which is another annoyance.

Leo Voisine said:
Speeds - it's a bunch of sales hype. Unless you are drilling metals - speed doesn't really matter.
Click to expand...

Interesting viewpoint. The proper speed match to the bit geometry assures proper spoil clearance among other things. I do agree that the deeper the hole, the more critical this becomes. When drilling deep holes I prefer the bit to clear the spoil itself as opposed to me running the bit in and out to to perform that task. We all approach these things differently which is why we get so many varied answers to questions. This diversity just increases the value of the forum IMHO since one responder is probably more like the person asking than another might be. :)

Ryan Mooney said:
That actually looks like one of the more painful to use depth stops I've seen.
Click to expand...

That style is a close cousin to my 1940's Delta Milwaukee. You can replace the nuts with push-button speed nuts for a very serviceable mechanism.

speed nuts.PNG
 
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glenn bradley said:
That style is a close cousin to my 1940's Delta Milwaukee. You can replace the nuts with push-button speed nuts for a very serviceable mechanism.

View attachment 82134
Click to expand...

And where do you get these? I search the internet, found them but all distributor were foreign countries and looked like they were over $40 apiece!! I'd love to make this upgrade if possible and reasonable. I hate screwing the nuts on mine up and down, up and down, with my stiff old hands.
 
I bought those Delta parts from ereplacementparts.com for my Grizzly. The threaded rods are not the same and I have to fabricate a new rod holder before I can use it. Some day.
 
Well i managed to fit in stopping by a local machine dealer and got to look at a few General taichi machines and another brand available here called King Canada. Not going to touch either with a barge pole. I could not believe the King Canada units some did not even have depth stop or quill stop. Talk about stripped down to basics. Also now i am in two minds as to what to do. The height of these floor mount models leaves a lot to be desired. I dont consider myself super tall, i am 6ft but i dont wish to be hunched over when drill on a floor mount drill press.
I will be looking to put a mobile base on mine but will look to keep that low as possible dont want to be raising the center of gravity more than it already is. So i cannot expect much increase in height from that.
Beginning to think a bench top has a few merits at least you get to set the height of the bench.
After this experience i am thinking there is no buying a Drill press blind. The images all look great then you see it up close. On some of the Generals the belts and pulleys looked like a kiddie version they were so value engineered. I can see getting parts being an issue if one wanted a replacement belt.
Have no idea other than the reeves drive issues why Delta has stopped making the Shopmaster series because aside from the drive and other natural size issues like swing and stroke the features on it were pretty good. But i can see where they were having difficulty with the price point competing with floor mounts on the low end. Well the hunt continues unfortunately there are not many machine suppliers here that stock a wide range of hobby stuff. Finding a Delta like Glenns to look at in the flesh seems to be out of the question.
The Home Depot dont even have a table saw or drill press on the floor other than the model making or contractor stuff which fits on the shelf. And it looks like we got Home Depot inflation taking root again. I did get to buy one of the rigid osc belt sanders a year ago for $199 as they were in the US. Now i see its back even higher than it was before at $279. I mean $79 increase in just on a year. Does that say something about labor rates in China or what? Thats a 40% price increase in a climate where the exchange rate has only declined 10% and inflation has been around 2%. Sharks.
 
Leo Voisine said:
Rob, I have ONE Grizzly machine - 513x2 band saw - love it.

I have never really heard any "significant" complaints about Grizzly.

That G7944 does have the quill stop adjustment that I spoke of earlier.
That alone is a biggie to me.


Sooo - Quill stops
Grizzly reputation - looks like a winner to me.

I would NOT buy Delta either - even if they are made in the same factory.
Click to expand...


Mine is the 7943 bench top model. Big misteak. Should have gotten the floor model. Much greater versatility for small amount of extra money. No complaints at all with the DP. The key is the pits, however. It is spring loaded and a real PITA to use. Replace immediately.
 
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