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NOVA Voyager Drill Press

9K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  Dutchy 
#1 ·
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,
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Toolroom


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,
Automotive design Bumper Automotive exterior Wood Automotive tire

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),
Wood Gas Composite material Metal Machine

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,
Gadget Font Office equipment Electronic device Display device


The ridiculous imperial measure was replaced by a mighty metric one,
Automotive tire Tire Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Bumper

Note: The Nova came with an easy to adjust button nut for any manual depth stop operations.

Repository for that stupid imperial measure,
Flowerpot Dishware Cookware and bakeware Serveware Gas

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
 

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#27 ·
Voyager Drill press, 3 months later.

I made the following reply to this PM I received from a fellow LJ to my blog about my first impression of the Voyager drill press.

I was wondering what your impressions are of the Nova after using it for
a couple months. What kind of run out and quill slop does it have?
Any info would be helpful and appreciated.
ANON.

I have post it here (wit da spelin cowected) in case it may give others a greater insight on the Voyager after longer (albeit still too short) use, without having to type it again and remember my taradiddles.

I summed up my first impressions so I'll try not to repeat too much. My main gripe was with NOVA support after reporting my issues with them. That gripe grew into being an annoyance which slowly percolated to pissed off. They did earn a "get out of Jail free" card when they advised that it was a new WEB site set up for the Voyager and had a lot of teething problems. At least the issue was NOT with Voyager support.

I will give you my long winded reply as I don't particularly want to wear the burden of any ill-fated decision you may make and unpredictably get accosted in my local car park.

My major concerns were,
1. Inaudible alarm sound. I have been advised that the speakers were at full volume and they are not sure whether it can be fixed or not. I am guessing that this could be an issue as at least it would need a hardware upgrade and with speakers probably micro soldering…. Not really an issue but a small concern.
2. With "electronic depth stop enabled" it took 4 seconds for the motor to start up after the factory pre-set depth of quill travel (≈8mm). This I thought to be a safety hazard and was not fixed in the 1st. Firmware Upgrade (1FU). After many NOVA advice combined with my pig headedness and failure to read the response PROPERLY, the 4 second delay can be negated by turning the alarm off in the menu. As the alarm was so soft and as I knew how many paces there are in 8mm, this was no issue. The only issue with this is that it should have been highlighted in the manual… did take NOVA to task about it.

With the 1FU, a lot of the niggling issues were fixed but following issues were introduced. I will emphasise that NOVA are aware of it and they advised that they should be addressed with the 2FU,
1. With the auto "depth stop alarm" activated and motor braking enabled the drill automatically went into reverse mode for the next operation and had to be manually reset using the menu. This was easily bypassed by turning the braking feature off.
2. With the "electronic depth stop reached" alarm set, the depth and motor stoppage was NOR activated in an entirely random pattern. I tried many combinations and took about 1 hour of videos (which I sent to NOVA) no cause could be detected. The issue was fixed by me turning the alarm off.
3. On release, the reverse spin on depth reached feature (if enabled) did about 5 or 6 revolution (at 900RPM). With 1FU, this was increased to 2 seconds (if enabled) which translates to around 30 revs at 900RPM and of course much more at higher RPMs. With a small drill bit a high revs, if the pressure is not released on quill feed after the motor stops and the 2 second reverse cycle is activated, you could actually continue drilling deeper though at a somewhat limiting pace in reverse. While this is feed control (by me) it did concern me. NOVA took note and they didn't clarify whether they'll bring back the previous few revs or introduce a menu selected time setting.

With all of the above "gripes" I have a satisfactory "workaround" and with the flexibility of firmware upgrades/fixes, I'm confident that those bugs will be rectified and enhance.

That is my summary of issue.

Am I happy with the Voyager? Yes, very much so with all its great features, now that the workarounds have been applied.

In all respect to NOVA, they did offer me a full refund, but even after a short use combined with my initial apprehensions and disappointments, I broke into a cold sweat with faced with the choice of giving up the good features of the NOVA. Unfortunately, as with my variable speed lathe, once I used it, become familiar with their features and work out was to circumvent their short comings, there is no way I would not replace it with the same or a better upgrade.

After all that crapola, here is the answer to your question.

Re the runout, measured against the body of the chuck, is .05mm.
As for quill slop, if you mean quill rotation in a backward/forward rotation before the motor resists… none… as outlined above.

Bottom, bottom-line. Is it "worth" $2,400 (Aus)… NO… but is a Festool or Rolls-Royce "worth" its cost… NO. But if you can part with the shekels up front, it IS worth the cost. With the availability of its additional or improved feature, it is difficult to cost the difference between the poor quality/featured cheaper alternatives.

Do I regret buying it NOW… an emphatic NO and would not hesitate in buying it again (but I don't need two), especially knowing what I do now.

Hope I have helped…

If nothing more you now should be sleepy enough to get a good night's rest. Just don't hold back on the doggy treats to justify the cost, unless you buy them for yourself.

LBD (aka Alex)
 
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