| Review by Dan Pleska | posted 279 days ago | 849 views | 0 times favorited | 5 comments |  |
- Steel City 17-Inch Drill Press
- Brand: Steel City | Category: Drill Presses
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I was looking for a drill press with a long quill travel and found it in the Steel City 17” drill press. At 6” it has the longest quill travel that I could find in its price range. It was a little more expensive than the comparable models, but I got it at a show and with the $75 dollar rebate at the time it brought it to within dollars of the competition. With all other specifications being similar, the quill travel was what sold me.
It probably isn’t any secret why it looks like the Delta, since the guys that started Steel City used to work for Delta.
I wasn’t looking for a high dollar drill press with loads of features. I don’t change speeds very often, so the manual belt change was acceptable. The tilting table has a positive lock at 45 degrees in both directions, but the table can be rotated to 90 degrees. I used that feature to clamp the bow back for a Windsor chair and make a tenon of the ends with a tenon cutter. The 3/4 hp, 1725 rpm, motor has plenty of power. The 1/2” chuck mounted on a #2 Morse taper is removable and sometimes does double duty on my lathe.
All in all, I’m very satisfied with this drill press and recommend it.
-- Dan, West Virginia, http://www.danpleskaCreations.com
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5 comments so far
Woodchuck1957
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172 posts in 304 days
posted 279 days ago
Dan, from what I can tell the 17” Steel City drill press you bought is probably your best bang for the buck in a 17” drill press. They gotta be selling like hot cakes. I wouldn’t be a bit suprised if it is Steel City’s best selling machine.
-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?
Bruce
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61 posts in 315 days
posted 279 days ago
Pretty cool, Dan. Have you had it long? Where, what show did you get it at? Check your email.
Lori
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57 posts in 464 days
posted 272 days ago
I agree with you that the Steel City DP was a good deal. I did alot of research, I only wanted to buy a DP once. The Steel City had everything I could want for the best price. It came with a free laser, which I admit I wouldn’t have bought, but find to be a wonderful addition. I also don’t change speed often, so the manual belt changes are not really a big deal for me. Still I find the wide range of speeds available to be a great feature.
-- Lori
iannlb
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8 posts in 319 days
posted 261 days ago
Good power, big, heavy and suprisingly well made laser.
-- Iannlb
timrowledge
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18 posts in 73 days
posted 48 days ago
I got one last january; Midland Tools delivered it to my workshop door for me and the delivery guy even helped me unpack it. I love it. The long travel quill saves time when changing drills since I don’t have to keep moving the table up and down and realigning. It’s solid and quiet. The laser is amazingly useful and quite precise. All in all a real deal.