First impression of my new Nova Voyager drill press.
I have just upgraded my old variable speed drill press to a Nova Voyager. I shall try to give an unabashed summary of the machine; however, at $2,400 (Aus.) I may be a tad biased with a tendency to justify my extravagance.
The drill press installed,
There is one prerequisite to owning a Nova Voyager drill press. You need a wife with expensive taste in shoes, dresses and handbags (most of us have one of those)… and a good supply of vino. Then all you need to do is prime yourself with plenty of vino and summon up enough guts to be able to say to the missus, "you cannot make furniture using shoes, dresses and handbags" and then you duck… Fortunately that comes naturally to a Ducky.
Now if you manage to survive the ensuing melee, let the dust settle, clean up the blood and you finds a few thousand dollars not earmarked for shoes, etc…, you can then partake in the purchase a Nova Voyager drill press for your selfish egotistic self (in the words of the missus).
Now speaking from experience, I don't think it is worth 2 ½ thousand Aus. dollars (or thereabouts), however, I do not regret purchasing it and I am quite complacent with my extravagance… the kids weren't too happy either (more on this later). The Nova may not be twice as good as my previous drill press, however, it certainly leaves it for dead (and the previous one was no slouch).
For a full list of its features you can read the brochures on the Internet, however, I will try and paraphrase its pros (that most other drill presses lack) and submit my cons.
Pros:
• Electronic variable speed at an instant.
• Electronically set material height (zero mark).
• Electronically set depth (1mm increments).
• Automatically stop at set depth… allow for the point angle.
• When depth reached and stopped, reverse rotation for ease of withdrawal.
• Auto start when lowering quill.
• Reverse feature.
• Full 150mm quill travel… actually its 152mm, but who's bragging.
Cons:
• Display screen up too high for short arses like me.
• If you forget auto-start, involuntary start of the drill when setting zero height scares the bjesus out of you.
• Stationary motor provides little resistance which makes one-handed keyless chuck operation difficult. The motor/spindle rotates when you try and tighten the keyless truck with one hand. Consequently you may need to use two hands, bummer.
• No built-in light. No big deal as most don't have one and a separate movable bright light is often better.
• Table handle arm is an awkward shape and may conflict with existing custom-built tabletops. Tabletop may require modification to accommodate arm.
• Supplied with a bloody imperial ruler which had to be replaced with a much saner metric one.
Problem with the supplied table crank. Immediately had an argument with my favourite drill press tabletop,
Solved the argument by putting it in the naughty corner and replacing it with a Jet arm I bought for my old drill press (for the same reason),
Even then I had to give the table top a complimentary corner trim. The Nova arm would have required radical surgery.
Set the depth for 19mm timber.. the +2mm was to compensate for the point angle of a 10mm twist bit,
The ridiculous imperial measure was replaced by a mighty metric one,
Note: The Nova came with an easy to adjust button nut for any manual depth stop operations.
Repository for that stupid imperial measure,
I shall spare you the trauma of a picture of the suppository for the same.
I have not fully put the drill through its paces, however, on first impressions it certainly meet expectations, bearing in mind the listed first impression cons above. Having said that, most cons can be addressed by familiarisation with extra food and beer to make me grow taller.
As with all drill presses, no matter how expensive (or cheap) it is, an important factor in its performance is the quality of your drill bit. Before you sacrifice your valuable shekels on the Nova, if you haven't already, waste some shekels on quality drill bits.
I certainly can recommend this drill to any serious woodworker, however, I do not suggest you swap it for your kids (or grandkids) education… bugger their inheritance.
While this press will not be every bodys cup of tea… I sleep in comfort knowing I'm a coffee drinker…
I have just upgraded my old variable speed drill press to a Nova Voyager. I shall try to give an unabashed summary of the machine; however, at $2,400 (Aus.) I may be a tad biased with a tendency to justify my extravagance.
The drill press installed,
There is one prerequisite to owning a Nova Voyager drill press. You need a wife with expensive taste in shoes, dresses and handbags (most of us have one of those)… and a good supply of vino. Then all you need to do is prime yourself with plenty of vino and summon up enough guts to be able to say to the missus, "you cannot make furniture using shoes, dresses and handbags" and then you duck… Fortunately that comes naturally to a Ducky.
Now if you manage to survive the ensuing melee, let the dust settle, clean up the blood and you finds a few thousand dollars not earmarked for shoes, etc…, you can then partake in the purchase a Nova Voyager drill press for your selfish egotistic self (in the words of the missus).
Now speaking from experience, I don't think it is worth 2 ½ thousand Aus. dollars (or thereabouts), however, I do not regret purchasing it and I am quite complacent with my extravagance… the kids weren't too happy either (more on this later). The Nova may not be twice as good as my previous drill press, however, it certainly leaves it for dead (and the previous one was no slouch).
For a full list of its features you can read the brochures on the Internet, however, I will try and paraphrase its pros (that most other drill presses lack) and submit my cons.
Pros:
• Electronic variable speed at an instant.
• Electronically set material height (zero mark).
• Electronically set depth (1mm increments).
• Automatically stop at set depth… allow for the point angle.
• When depth reached and stopped, reverse rotation for ease of withdrawal.
• Auto start when lowering quill.
• Reverse feature.
• Full 150mm quill travel… actually its 152mm, but who's bragging.
Cons:
• Display screen up too high for short arses like me.
• If you forget auto-start, involuntary start of the drill when setting zero height scares the bjesus out of you.
• Stationary motor provides little resistance which makes one-handed keyless chuck operation difficult. The motor/spindle rotates when you try and tighten the keyless truck with one hand. Consequently you may need to use two hands, bummer.
• No built-in light. No big deal as most don't have one and a separate movable bright light is often better.
• Table handle arm is an awkward shape and may conflict with existing custom-built tabletops. Tabletop may require modification to accommodate arm.
• Supplied with a bloody imperial ruler which had to be replaced with a much saner metric one.
Problem with the supplied table crank. Immediately had an argument with my favourite drill press tabletop,
Solved the argument by putting it in the naughty corner and replacing it with a Jet arm I bought for my old drill press (for the same reason),
Even then I had to give the table top a complimentary corner trim. The Nova arm would have required radical surgery.
Set the depth for 19mm timber.. the +2mm was to compensate for the point angle of a 10mm twist bit,
The ridiculous imperial measure was replaced by a mighty metric one,
Note: The Nova came with an easy to adjust button nut for any manual depth stop operations.
Repository for that stupid imperial measure,
I shall spare you the trauma of a picture of the suppository for the same.
I have not fully put the drill through its paces, however, on first impressions it certainly meet expectations, bearing in mind the listed first impression cons above. Having said that, most cons can be addressed by familiarisation with extra food and beer to make me grow taller.
As with all drill presses, no matter how expensive (or cheap) it is, an important factor in its performance is the quality of your drill bit. Before you sacrifice your valuable shekels on the Nova, if you haven't already, waste some shekels on quality drill bits.
I certainly can recommend this drill to any serious woodworker, however, I do not suggest you swap it for your kids (or grandkids) education… bugger their inheritance.
While this press will not be every bodys cup of tea… I sleep in comfort knowing I'm a coffee drinker…