# Drill Press for under $200



## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

I'm looking to get a drill press. As much as I'd like to fork up the money and get a really nice one, I can't afford it. I'm trying to find one for under $200. It seems like this budget leaves me with mostly generic brands. I originally planned on getting a Craftsman 21900, but they must be discontinuing it because there's only 1 in stock within a 300 mile radius of me (and I'm not willing to drive the distance to get it).

Any thoughts on what would be the best one for under $200?


----------



## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

Floor standing or tabletop?

But I have found the Ryobi stuff to be "good enough" for occasional use. And it is usually the least expensive of the options. I have a router, corded drill, corded jigsaw and circular saw from them.

I do not have a Ryobi DP though; I was fortunate enough to grab an older (US made) Craftsman 15" DP at a garage sale a couple years back. Estate sales are good for tools too.

I am starting to lose faith in Craftsman. Some of it is made in China now and total crap. I got a 30 gal compressor from them last fall and it did not work even the first time I tried to use it (bad regulator).


----------



## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

I wouldn't be opposed to getting a floor standing, but I don't think there any in my price range. So I was looking at benchtop models. In the past few years I started building up a nice collection of tools, and I always do a ton of research before buying anything. Craftsman hasn't made the cut yet for me. Reviews are generally poor for most of their tools, but surprisingly that drill press I mentioned had really good reviews. So I was willing to give it a shot.


----------



## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Check Home Depot and look at the Ridgid, I picked up one about 3 years ago for about $250 and have been very happy with it


----------



## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

papawd said:


> Check Home Depot and look at the Ridgid, I picked up one about 3 years ago for about $250 and have been very happy with it


I only see 1 Ridgid drill press on Home Depot's website and it's $500.


----------



## Seenya (Apr 11, 2010)

Grizzly has 2 bench top models for under $200. I have the radial drill press from them and love it.


----------



## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

I've bought a nunber of tools through online classifieds, and have been very happy with the results, as the stuff people are selling often haasn't been much used. I got my drill press for half price, virtually unused. Give the classifieds a look.


----------



## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

When I'm looking over the specs of these drill presses, I'm confused by the definition of stroke. As I udnerstand it, it's the depth it can drill. Wouldn't that all depend on how deep you have your bit set? And wouldn't it also depend on the height that you set the surface table? It seems to me that I can drill a 4" hole on any drill press if my bit is long enough, no?


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Kevin, try looking for the Delta DP300 12" bench top model reconditioned. Seems like I paid about $150 for mine.


----------



## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

kawisser said:


> I'm looking to get a drill press. As much as I'd like to fork up the money and get a really nice one, I can't afford it. I'm trying to find one for under $200. It seems like this budget leaves me with mostly generic brands. I originally planned on getting a Craftsman 21900, but they must be discontinuing it because there's only 1 in stock within a 300 mile radius of me (and I'm not willing to drive the distance to get it).
> 
> Any thoughts on what would be the best one for under $200?


Whatever you can get off craigslist. There are a couple of 13-15" floor standing drill presses currently listed in my area for that price range.

Given the vintage of some I'd expect them to work better than a current $400+ Delta (wood walked off the table on mine due to vibration until I upgraded to link belts).


----------



## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

kawisser said:


> When I'm looking over the specs of these drill presses, I'm confused by the definition of stroke. As I udnerstand it, it's the depth it can drill. Wouldn't that all depend on how deep you have your bit set? And wouldn't it also depend on the height that you set the surface table? It seems to me that I can drill a 4" hole on any drill press if my bit is long enough, no?


The 4" is how far the spindle can plunge when you haven't used up any of the travel for a mortising attachment.

With the table locked in position you're not going to drill a deeper hole, although it's possible to drill the first 3.75", unlock the table, raise it, line up the existing hole, lock the table, drill the next 3.75", etc.


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*No.*



kawisser said:


> When I'm looking over the specs of these drill presses, I'm confused by the definition of stroke. As I understand it, it's the depth it can drill. Wouldn't that all depend on how deep you have your bit set? And wouldn't it also depend on the height that you set the surface table? It seems to me that I can drill a 4" hole on any drill press if my bit is long enough, no?


Hey, Kevin; the spindle on a drill press is the shaft that the chuck is attached to. The smaller the drill press the shorter the spindle. The vertical travel of the spindle determines the depth of hole you can drill.
Yes it's true that you _can't_ drill a hole deeper than your drill bit is long, but the corollary to that is that you can't utilize the full length of a _ long_ bit if the spindle travel is limited.
In a some cases the drill press is impractical; say with ship's augers for example.
Delta 11-950 Parts List and Diagram - Type 1 : eReplacementParts.com
Cheers,
-Dan


----------



## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

I bought my floor model 15" Jet DP off of Craigslist for $225. I am very happy with it.
You will find many badly priced drill presses - the high and the low on Craigslist (mostly too high). You will also find the pictures usually absent of the what will tell you the whole story. 

Previously, I had a bench model Mark1. Piece of junk. After setting up a piece on the table, if I lowered the table the alignment was way off -- the chuck didn't hold the bit parallel to the column. That's something you want to test for.

Set your price slightly higher than $200. And don't be afraid to make a cash offer.

And check out Pat Warner's website for some other insights.
ROUTER WOODWORKING (look for the section on drilling)


----------



## jruimy (Jan 14, 2012)

I found a 10" Ryobi benchtop DP at Home Depot for 79.95. (Canadian-probably cheaper in the U.S., or at least the same price). It's fine for me as I use it only occasionally and the price is right.


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Harbor Freight has bench models starting at $67.99. I bought one for around $50, probably around 20 years ago, it still works just fine, and does what I need it for. I even bought another a few years ago, to set up for two different jobs at the same time. So, you won't find me looking for another one unless both of mine die. That's one option.


----------



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

JOAT said:


> Harbor Freight has bench models starting at $67.99. I bought one for around $50, probably around 20 years ago, it still works just fine, and does what I need it for. I even bought another a few years ago, to set up for two different jobs at the same time. So, you won't find me looking for another one unless both of mine die. That's one option.


I have a Harbor Freight drill press and while it's not the best out there it does drill holes straight. That ain't bad. :surprise: I did have to make a depth stop for it because the one on was no good but that was an easy fix.

Don't forget they have a 20% off coupon almost every week.










https://www.harborfreight.com/13-in-16-speed-bench-drill-press-61786.html


----------



## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

Ending today, HF has a coupon for their 10" bench top for $110. There's another coupon for the 2hp dust collector at $170 too.


----------



## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

I just looked at it online and the regular price is $140, so if they allow the use of a 20% off coupon on these when they're not on sale it's only $112 anyway.


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I have a WEN 12 inch benchtop. It is about that price range and on comparison, identical to a Jet for much more. I am very happy with it. Ordered it through WalMart and it arrived in perfect condition at my local store. What I like most about it is the fact it has a digital readout on RPMs and does it without belt changes. It's roughly in your price range. I had a Delta before that that was about $60, but the plastic switch housing broke off early, and the darn thing only plunged about 2 1/2 inches. The WEN 12 inch is quite tall for a bench top. Anyway, I really like it, the continuous speed control in particular.

Compare prices on different sites, I've found WEN on sale fairly often. The orange DP is the WEN, the grey is the Jet. They are identical.

The other recommendations for buying on eban, etc. are also very good. I tend to like new tools since I have no interest in fixing tools that are past their prime--unless I can try them out first.

My deux centimes, anyhow.


----------



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

DesertRatTom said:


> I have a WEN 12 inch benchtop. It is about that price range and on comparison, identical to a Jet for much more. I am very happy with it. Ordered it through WalMart and it arrived in perfect condition at my local store. What I like most about it is the fact it has a digital readout on RPMs and does it without belt changes. It's roughly in your price range. I had a Delta before that that was about $60, but the plastic switch housing broke off early, and the darn thing only plunged about 2 1/2 inches. The WEN 12 inch is quite tall for a bench top. Anyway, I really like it, the continuous speed control in particular.
> 
> Compare prices on different sites, I've found WEN on sale fairly often. The orange DP is the WEN, the grey is the Jet. They are identical.
> 
> ...


Tom you sure are tempting me to buy one of those. I hate having to change belts. :frown:


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

hawkeye10 said:


> Tom you sure are tempting me to buy one of those. I hate having to change belts. :frown:


Me too.


----------



## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

Wow, Tom, that looks like a nice one. I looked it up on Walmart and didn't see it, but it's $236 at HD and $234 at Amazon, with Prime shipping.


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

hawkeye10 said:


> I have a Harbor Freight drill press and while it's not the best out there it does drill holes straight. That ain't bad. :surprise: I did have to make a depth stop for it because the one on was no good but that was an easy fix.


Hmm, my depth stops have given me no problem, so far. On the other hand I don't use the dept stops that much either.

I've not done any comparisons on the drill press, but way back when I was looking for a decent bench saw I looked at a lot of brands and models. Then I noticed, two or three of the big brand name models looked a lot like the HF saw. Checked closer, and one was a lot like the HF saw, in, r quite a few ways, really minor differences. And one could have been a HF saw, except for the color. The HF was around $ 50-60, and its big name twin was $300. The other saw was something over $200. I bought the HF saw, a carbide tip blade, and good to go. Got the saw around the same time as the drill press, and it is still being used, altho raising and lowering the blade now has gotten very difficult and time-consuming, so when I find where I put it to be 'safe', I will put on a large sanding disc, and it will be a dedicated disc sander, and another saw will take over sawing duties.


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

@hawkeye10 Sorry, goofing off yesterday. There is a speed control on the right side, a lever you push up or down to change speed, as you do that, a digital readout gives you the RPMs. It also has a nice laser that seems accurate, although I still want to do the final alignment by eye. It has a small LED, but the light comes from behind the drill so it casts a shadow on the workpiece when lining it up. I'm thinking of mounting a small goose neck lamp to an L bracket bolted to the top cover. A small LED spotlight in it will light up the work area. $12 for a lamp, 50 cents for a bracket and done.

The 12 inch is close to a foot taller than my old Delta, so you could use a long bit and rack the table down to drill a deeper hole. I haven't tried it with a mortising attachment, but it is pretty standard design, so I don't see why it would be a problem.


----------

