# RYOBI vs SKIL Benchtop Drill Presses



## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

*RYOBI vs SKIL vs CRAFTSMAN Benchtop Drill Presses*

*RYOBI Model # DP102L*
I realize this is a Ryobi, swore after my $40 Ryobi circular saw woes I'd steer clear of the brand, but it's a simple drill press for $129 @Home Depot. Decent reviews (4 out of 5 stars).  I like RIDGID but thus far can't find a desktop 10", don't see needing much bigger for my use. *3 amp motor* 










10 in. Drill Press-DP102L at The Home Depot

*SKIL Model # 3320-01*
Then I found this one on Lowe's and while it has 0.2 amps more, it's generally about the same, with laser like Ryobi. Boils down to SKIL vs RYOBI I guess. May go look at it tomorrow, curious if anyone has used either. *3.2 amp motor*










Shop Skil 3.2-Amp 3050-Speed Drill Press at Lowes.com

*Craftsman 10'' Bench Drill Press with Laser Trac® (21900) *
Just came across this one, not a fan of anything Craftsman aside from handtools, sockets, ratchets, etc, but it's a contender and wow a *6 amp motor*.










Craftsman Laser Trac Drill Press: Get It Done with Sears





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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

If you've got some time--drill presses (and radial arm saws) seem to come up on Craigslist on a pretty regular basis. They get bought, often rarely used, and they are too heavy to ship so they need to be sold locally. You need to shop carefully, check for run out, etc. But...it's a good spot to stretch your funds.

Mine is a 1980's model, 13" swing with a heavy incuction motor, 3/4" chuck. Spent its life in a machine shop. I think i paid $50 or $60 for it. I could probably chuck a 10penny nail and drill a hole with it--not that i'm going to try!!


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## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Do yourself a real big favor and and do not purchase any of them. They may be OK but the quality of your work depends on your tools, if not go to Harbor Freight and by one for 49.95 on sale and with a coupon. Skill at one time was a really good brand but if you look at the brothers of Black and Decker products - De Walt and B&D, you see that Skill is the low end marketing solution for the masses. Craftsman while once a a valued supplier not for manufacturing but for having good specs for others to build products by are now a front for the Chinese where Sears merchandisers pick one from column A, B, C, etc. Save your money and get a Rikon, Steel city or even (may God have mercy on my soul) a Rockwell. Ryobi is like the others there is the cheap side and the expensive side - the cheap side as you and my grown PhD son found out is ugly. You pay for what you get in life, and one does not escape pain of cheapness,


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

I have bench Ryobi which looks similar to the picture shown but not exact.

Point is that it's only useful for drilling holes in polystyrene.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Any of the three should do you well. At the same price, I would probably go with the Craftsman for the more powerful motor. Second choice would be the Skil.

If you dismiss Chinese built out of hand, there is not much left. My Grizzly table saw was built in China. It is as good today as it was 17 years ago when I bought it. My Craftsman/Ryobi router is still working fine and it is also 16 or 17 years old. My Craftsman drill press works very well.. about 10 years old!

Here is a quote I found on a forum.. have not been able to verify origin but...

RIKON Power Tools is a division of Richen Enterprise, Inc. headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. Our products are manufactured in Germany and China. We have warehouse facilities in Massachusetts, Washington, and Illinois.

Here is link about both Steel City and Rikon..

Asian Tool Tour: Woodworker's Journal

Chinese tools are generally as good or as bad as the QC team requires.. no QC you will probably get junk!

Quality of work still requires attention to detail and acquired skill. Although quality tools do make it easier. For A hobby shop I don't think you would be disappointed in any of those choices!

Quality needs to be assessed on a per tool basis rather than country of origin... check the origin of the parts in your Ford or GM vehicle!

For A hobby shop I don't think you would be disappointed in any of those choices!


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## Ben I (May 21, 2010)

If you do buy a used table top make sure the table adjustment is rack and pinion. Friction locks are a pain.

Just my opinion.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I have both a bench top craftsman and a floor model Grizzly. I started out with the bench top, and was happy with it. I was given the Grizzly, and I now rarely use the craftsman. The bench top DP wasn't bad at all, but the flexibility of the floor model is great, if you have the floor space for it. If you keep an eye out on craigslist, you will find even floor models under $200.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I agree, Harbor Freight. They're likely made in the same company any way. I've got two of these, one going on about 16-17 years old, the other about a year or so old. Both work fine. Drill Press - 5 Speed


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## senebraskaee (Apr 29, 2012)

My experience with Ryobi is so bad I have thrown several of their still running tools away rather than foist them off on some other unsuspecting soul on Craigslist.
If you have time and patience, there are some great buys to be had on Craigslist. There are a lot of never or seldom used items every day and I have purchased a number of older but like new items (jointer, radial arm saw and others) for a fraction of retail.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Dmeadows said:


> Any of the three should do you well. At the same price, I would probably go with the Craftsman for the more powerful motor. Second choice would be the Skil.
> 
> If you dismiss Chinese built out of hand, there is not much left. My Grizzly table saw was built in China. It is as good today as it was 17 years ago when I bought it. My Craftsman/Ryobi router is still working fine and it is also 16 or 17 years old. My Craftsman drill press works very well.. about 10 years old!
> 
> ...


Thank you for the great info and for everyone's replies, the Craftsman hands down is the best of the bunch. I realize there are better made out there, but for what I'm doing and with the reviews on this particular model, it's hard to pass vs my current hand drill and trying to wing-it while not screwing up. Lady put my name on 1 left, heading to pick it up now along with a Porter Gable 14pc Forstner set.


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## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Motors rated in AMPS or WATTS are not the way to determine power. IF you take any electric motor and put really bad bearings in it the amps will go up and the ability to turn a drill-bit will go down. All amps mean is power taken from the grid, not an indication of what it will do. Cheap drills, vacuum cleaners and other items with incandescent bulbs are also quoted in watts, with the watts from the lamp and brush motor included in the overall total - again this means nothing as to what it will do for you. In your postings, I have either missed or it was never stated what you wish to do with this drill; are you a model maker that uses a 80 sized dill bit or do you want to cut 1" holes in 1/2" steel plate. What you need should be the determining factor as to the drill and it gee-whiz, I'm going to break soon, features.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

rwbaker said:


> Motors rated in AMPS or WATTS are not the way to determine power. IF you take any electric motor and put really bad bearings in it the amps will go up and the ability to turn a drill-bit will go down. All amps mean is power taken from the grid, not an indication of what it will do. Cheap drills, vacuum cleaners and other items with incandescent bulbs are also quoted in watts, with the watts from the lamp and brush motor included in the overall total - again this means nothing as to what it will do for you. In your postings, I have either missed or it was never stated what you wish to do with this drill; are you a model maker that uses a 80 sized dill bit or do you want to cut 1" holes in 1/2" steel plate. What you need should be the determining factor as to the drill and it gee-whiz, I'm going to break soon, features.


I don't think what happens to the amperage draw when parts fail should be the basis for choosing machines! On an induction motor the amperage does give a very good indication of the power output. Maybe less so on a universal motor. It certainly is not an indication of quality. The 746 watts per HP is a defined standard. It is NOT a number I pulled out of a hat.

I do agree that a machine should be chosen to match the job, but being that the OP was looking for a bench top drill press on a wood working forum, I doubt that 1" holes in 1/2" plate steel was what he had in mind. Although I can't really know his intentions!

The main point about amperage and HP was that you can not directly compare ratings of universal motors and induction motors. Even if the true HP is the same, the torque is not.

So, if not by amps/HP, how do you suggest that we determine the relative power of electrical motors?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Dmeadows said:


> I don't think what happens to the amperage draw when parts fail should be the basis for choosing machines! On an induction motor the amperage does give a very good indication of the power output. Maybe less so on a universal motor. It certainly is not an indication of quality. The 746 watts per HP is a defined standard. It is NOT a number I pulled out of a hat.
> 
> I do agree that a machine should be chosen to match the job, but being that the OP was looking for a bench top drill press on a wood working forum, I doubt that 1" holes in 1/2" plate steel was what he had in mind. Although I can't really know his intentions!
> 
> ...


Spot on & thanks, on a router forum for woodworking the requirements were clear. Wouldn't use this for the steel projects I do. The drill I went with meets requirements for now.


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