John Grace wrote on Apr 28
th, 2021 at 7:07am:
have you ever noted things it can't do for you (longer throw, power, table size, etc)?
Thanks John, I knew you would pick up the ball.
Jon's question is really the key to getting what you want/need.
I have a small 1/3hp tabletop drill press, it's good for what it is but doesn't have the capacity for woodworking. Not enough quill travel, small table, limited throat capacity, low power.
I then bought a larger DP floor model, with a bit more power, larger table and more throat clearance and the same poor quill travel. It was an improvement but still not the "last" one I would need to be sure.
I then bought a radial DP with all the same specs as my floor model but the ability to tilt the head and the throat clearance went from 6.5" to 16.5".
All that to say, needs change/evolve over time. If you make pens, you may want increased quill travel. If you use large forstener bits often, more power may be in order and so on.
IMO the is no such thing as a woodworkers drill press. There have been attempts over the last few years but adding a laser and a couple of T-Tracks to the table doesn't quite cut it in my book. Electronic Variable Speed (EVS) is the next big thing but does come at a price.
Whatever you decide on, do yourself a favor and either build or buy a good quality table designed for woodworking. A table with more surface area, stop blocks and clamping ability will help any DP become more useful to just about any woodworking situation.
One last thing is budget. Today's DP's range from about $300 to $2300 roughly, which is a huge range. If you can't narrow down you features to a short list, you can start by using the price range you want to try and stay within.
Home Page 
Pages: 1 
