Drill Press?

[JR_Charger]

Looking for something for occassional use. Wondering if the Harbor Freight stuff is good enough? I need to drill through some square steel tubing which I'll mount sway bar brackets too, like this -

 

[Darter6]

H.F. will be ok. They actually have good stuff.
I have a small Craftsman and have drilled thousands of holes over the years.Probably same as H.F.

 

[Paul_B]

Some of the HF stuff is ok. For most hobby and DIY people they work great.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Get the floor mounted one!

 

[65CopCar]

I would instead recommend a good old used used one. Plenty of good used ones around for good prices.

How big do you want? I agree with a floor mounted one.

 

[65CopCar]

I don't know what your price range is, but here is a very nice older one that I am referring to. As an example. This type can be fairly routinely found for $200 - $300 in decent shape. I have a similar one I inherited from my dad.

FS: Delta DP-600 17” Floor Model Drill Press

This is a recently completed rebuild – it is a Delta DP-600 17” floor model drill press from the early 1950’s. It came to me with a serial number of 105-1580 which puts it as a 1952 build. It has been completely disassembled, cleaned and painted. The drive system is a Wagner Electric 1/2 HP 3...

www.practicalmachinist.com

 

[kiwigtx]

Harbour Freight quality should be fine for small stuff.... HF = Hobby Freight.

 

[70rrclone]

I have a hf bench mount 5/8 Chuck drill press. It has worked great for 15 years. My only regret is not getting the floor mounted one.

 

[R413]

Look around for a nice used one from USA. Drill press is not a high priced item.

 

[dadsbee]

They'll all work! The question is do you really need a drill press for 4 holes?

 

[j-c-c-62]

Well, the if the purpose is to drill a nice hole in metal, I suggest get the biggest drill press you can afford, first thing I look for is how large is the quill, larger diameter often being stiffer, truer and better. New or used, grab it by your hand and see what play/slop you can feel in the quill. A larger part/work table is seldom big enough, and get a nice size proper vise. You can usually judge your operator skills and expertise by how many holes you inadvertently drill in the vise and the table. Small drill presses used seldom hold their value for resale, the larger ones do much better it seems. I don't favor typical non electronic variable speed units as I find them problematic long term. I have now only one, a Powermatic 20" drill press bought new for home use. Being I also have a Bridgeport Mill, I have most of my bases covered on generating holes where I need them.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

HF is good and they have a 90 day full refund return policy so if you don’t like it take it back. Plus they have a lifetime warranty on all their hand tools. I’m not sure if a drill press is considered a hand tool, but I think it would be. I returned a pneumatic floor nailer well used when it finally gave up, and they gave me a new one.