Are there any good inexpensive bench drill presses

[brstevns]

Are there any good inexpensive bench type drill presses? Something that would hold up to case trimming and drilling occasional hard steel ?

[Javater]

I know harbor Freight usually has something and they always have 20-25% coupon.

[brstevns]

Are the Sears models any good?

[Boolit_Head]

The harbor freight units are not good. I picked one up at a garage sale and the quill broke in the pulley. The depth gauges were plastic. All in all a pretty shoddy unit.

[Electric88]

I also have been looking for a decent inexpensive drill press. Not sure on the Craftsman, but I'm thinking about getting one. I have also heard decent things about WEN brand drill presses.

[Boolit_Head]

I'd trust the Grizzly units before Craftsman.

[kenyerian]

Don't know how the new craftsman are but the old ones last forever. I would look around for an used one.

[Ithaca Gunner]

About all you're gonna get new for under a grand will be a light bench model with a taper quill. Any would probably hold up to what you plan for it, if drilling treated steel is done slowly with cutting oil. Ask to test the one you buy before purchase, chuck a pen in it, start the motor and lower it to paper/cardboard and see how big of a print it leaves. A simple tiny dot would be great, a circle...tell em to keep it. For trimming I just use an older RCBS hand crank trimmer with the handle detached and run it with a 1/2" hand drill. Works great.

[Soundguy]

I have a HF unit from 5-6 ys ago.. not superior quality.. but it works. biggest issue is the belt. get a good belt. can't speak for the ones they sell now. probably different from year to year.

I also have a 20+ year old benchtop ( kmart ) drillpress.. pretty much same features as the hf one. still goin.

neither are precision.. both drill.

IMHO.. the bit you use, technique and cooling fluids, and selecting the correct speed makes more difference than the actual press itself.

[dragon813gt]

I would not buy the HF model. I bought one and took it back as soon as I opened the package. Granted it was damaged in the box but the quality was poor.

I ended up buying a Skill from Lowe's. I needed it for a job the next day, don't ask, otherwise I would have bought another brand. Now here is the best part. The HF and Skill are the same tool just made to different specs. Packaging was exactly the same. Instructions were the same just a different brand logo on them. Same excessive amount of rust inhibitor all over everything. The Skill was finished to a higher level but had less speed options and it cost more. For light work it's more than adequate.

[brstevns]

Thanks for the input, have to look into the wren.

[Traffer]

I have two HF benchtop presses. One is about 10 years old, the other is new. Both need to be handled with care but do the job. The head on the older one is cast iron. The new one is aluminum. The new one has a bit better motor. The old one cannot be run continuously. After about 15 to 20 min you have to shut her down to cool. Don't know the exact duty cycle of the motor. But they do work. I use them a lot. Nearly every day.

[brstevns]

Anyone using the Wren 4212 model ?

[Soundguy]

I have two HF benchtop presses. One is about 10 years old, the other is new. Both need to be handled with care but do the job. The head on the older one is cast iron. The new one is aluminum. The new one has a bit better motor. The old one cannot be run continuously. After about 15 to 20 min you have to shut her down to cool. Don't know the exact duty cycle of the motor. But they do work. I use them a lot. Nearly every day.

I use the cr@p out of mine, farm use.. No babying..

[tdoyka]

i have an older craftsman and i have ryobi(sp) bench drill press. the ryobi is good enough, but i like the older craftsman.

[paul h]

I've had a Grizzly G7943 for almost 20 years and it has been a very good bench top drill press, but the chuck that comes with it should be upgraded.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-S...ce=grizzly.com

I'd avoid the baby drill presses as they are cheaply made, but the mid sized units are pretty solid.

[bruce drake]

You said good and inexpensive. You will look long and hard to get both in the same package with the quality needed for working on firearms/metalwork or quality woodwork.

I'm still saving up for a good bench or freestanding drill press. I'd rather outsource my work until I can afford a proper setup.

http://www.mydrillpress.com/category/reviews/
Go hear and read some current reviews on most of the major brand drill presses.

[Soundguy]

I'm still saving up for a good bench or freestanding drill press. I'd rather outsource my work until I can afford a proper setup.
.

My farm work would grind to a halt and my animals would starve if I had to outsource every time I needed to make a hole in something, or wait.

[Wolfer]

I have a small grizzley. Don't know the model off hand but it's probably the cheapest one they have or very close to it. It's not a milling machine but it does what I would expect of it.

I do have a wen bench grinder that I use to grind my lathe bits on. I am very impressed with how smooth it runs compared to its cost.

[izzyjoe]

I picked up a delta bench top model for $75 in a pawnshop about 10 years ago, I have used it hard, the chuck fell out once when I was trying to use it a milling machine. I used some loctite to glue it back in place, and it held so far, my milling days are over with it. But it still does anything I ask of it.