# Glad I picked this Drill Press



## Delta356

Congrats with your drill press. I saw that at my local ROCKLER and looks to be a great drill press.
The Wood workers table is a bounce…

Thanks, Michael Frey 
Portland, OR

FREY WOODWORKING INC.


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## tierraverde

Tim,
Send or post pics of the old drill press. I might be able to give you some tips.

Jim


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## Rick_Boyett

I've been thinking of upgrading my DP350 to this drill press.

How well does the laser work for aiming? Is it dead on? What if you change the table height?

Thanks


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## tjackele

The laser adjusts with an allen wrench and is easy to access with a picture on both sides to indicate what moves the laser (two screws on each side). When the table top is raised or lowered, I need to adjust the laser a little, but only because it wobbles a little with turning the crank.

It actually is dead on and the instruction is good. Once set for a given table height, it doesn't matter what the wood thickness is, or any support you may put under it, the laser is still dead on.

When I tested, I get the table height and placement right, then with the Forstner, or wood bit I Plan to use and press off, just mark the entry point on a scrap. I use that mark to align the lasers if needed. Less than two minutes to do and it stays right until I raise/lower the table.


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## Dusty56

Are you saying that you readjust the laser every time instead of centering the table to the laser ?


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## tjackele

Actually, I only moved the table once, and the first time I did readjust the laser. Your point is right, though that you could just move the table and lock it down in position with the laser on and align the point of drill entry to the cross hairs.
I have not done it that way yet. Most of my boards have been the same thickness.
Also that first time, the laser had been aligned at the store, I did not assemble it and adjusted the cross hairs since it wasn't right to me.

Your method sounds good to me.


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## roundguy

I bought one of these on sale a few weeks ago. Setup was pretty simple.

I followed the manual for adjusting the lasers, and I am able to move the table to any height and the lasers are still properly aligned.


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## rum

Also just got one.

Pros:

6" quill throw is a win
speed range is great (I had set a range of 200rpm on low end to something at least approaching 3000rpm on the upper end, as I do use both small and LARGE bits).
love the table, so much better than my old metal worker round style for wood (plus its shiny w/ some paste wax). The tilt feature is very easy and handy. The indexing pin on the side<->side tilt to get back to 90 is also well thought out.
run out at the taper when turned by hand = 0 (literally, I had to check several times to make sure I had indicator contact)
run out fully extended 0.5/1000 (turning by hand)
also measured while running at 170rpm (lowest), ~0.5/1000 at the top and ~2.5/1000 at full extension
belt changing/tension system. Every mentions easy of changing belts, but you also get perfect belt tension for free, this was an unexpected benefit that I like a lot.
depth stop adjusters, these are some of the easiest I've used/seen. I also really like the "depth dial", its not 100% accurate, but for 99% of what I do its perfect.

Cons:

front pulley was ~3/1000 out of round (luckily the floating belt tension makes this a non-issue)
MT2 taper, I'd have preferred to get a machine with an MT3 taper, but fit and finish reports on the delta won
Chuck is just ok, but all factory chucks are mediocre so consider that neutral

Competition on my short list:

Dayton (grainger) 20" (5PHC4)
Jet JDP-20MF
general 75-260
palmgren 80174/80172

I actually spec compared about 25 drill presses (on 10 objective and a handful of subjective criteria) and narrowed it down to that short list (I can't remember quite why but the steel city manual change pulley press was just on the other side of the top 5 line).

If I could have gotten my hands on it first, I might have gone with the Dayton/grainger, the specs were definitely "better" (or at least substantially beefier) and the price is competitive. Unfortunately there are none local and I was uncomfortable with out seeing it and being unable to find any user reports. The other three look like great DP's as well, a few things lined up and this one looked like the winner so I went for it.

Overall quite happy, a great press.


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## thiel

Is it crazy top heavy? Thinking about this press but worry that it could crush a small country if tipped over…


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## Ken90712

Great review I have this and the powermatic in mind


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## tjackele

Thanks to rum, you seem a lot more thorough and analytical in your pick than I was, nice work!

Thiel,
I am able to move it myself by tipping it and did not lose control so far. It did not get away from me. I sure want to put it on wheels, but it hasn't moved in quite a while so that will have to wait.

For ken90712,
I think you would be happy with either one. What convinced me was the 6" travel on the Delta. I would imagine the electronic speed control with the Powermatic would be a big help too, so it is a question more of what is top of your list.

I have used it a lot for the rocking chair designed by Scott Morrison and it worked great for the angles including vertical for the holes in the legs and other angles for the headrest. Still happy after all this time and use.


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## yowzor

any thoughts about the jet 15" drill press either bench top or floor model. From reading the reviews it seems that the floor models are more versatile, but a little heavier?


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## Holt

I've also got this drill press. If you mount the base to a piece of plywood per the instructions, it's very stable. After assembly but before I attached the plywood, it seemed pretty top heavy to me, I would have been nervous about using it without the plywood…


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## OggieOglethorpe

I also have one of these, and even in a mobile base, I'm not worried about it falling over.

I chose it over the PM2800 for two reasons. Nothing I saw or felt on the PM during in-person comparisons made it worth the extra money, and I prefer the simplicity of a belt drive. I've never drilled a hole where I absolutely HAD to have a speed between what was available on the pulleys on the 900L.


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