Drill Press

[Fuganater]

So I'm looking for a Mini Drill Press. It has to less than 70lbs or it won't make it through the millitary mail I'll only be drilling through acrylic and aluminum. I would like to stay in the $100 range. All of the good ones weigh way too much and I'm not spending that much on one right now. I will once I'm back in the states and have a garage.

I'm looking at:
Northern Industrial
Craftsman
Buffalo Tools


Harbor Freight ones:
http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-...ess-38119.html (has some pretty good reviews)
http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-...uck-44505.html

Let me know if any of these are good or if you can suggest one better.

Thanks in advance!

[blueonblack]

I can't speak for any of those, but a friend of mine has the Grizzly 5-speed baby drill press and likes it very much. Less than $100 and shipping weight is only 45 pounds.

Good reviews on Amazon too, it seems.

[Fuganater]

That looks pretty good and shipping is only $16. The good looking HF one is only $10 for shipping.

Anyone else have some input?

[SXRguyinMA]

dremel and dremel drill press?

[Fuganater]

I don't want to worry about proprietary bits. I want to be able to hook up all kinds of bits and attachments to it.

[x88x]

I would stay away from the HF ones. My general rule of thumb is to only buy HF if either a) it's significantly cheaper than the competition, b) I expect to break it, or c) it's simple enough that there's not much a better brand could improve on (like extension cables and zip-ties, for example).

Of the ones you listed, personally I would get the Craftsman because I have used a lot of their power tools and haven't really been disappointed with one yet (general feel I've had is quality somewhere between Ryobi and Dewalt), and it's a much more powerful motor (6A vs 2A and 2.5A for the others) and a larger operating area than the Grizzly at least (I'm not seeing those specs for the others on their product listings). It is a good bit more expensive than the others though...so if I were to go with another one, I would get the Grizzly just because I haven't heard of either of the other companies, though the Buffalo does have good reviews.

[Fuganater]

I'm between the Grizzly, the Craftsman and the 1st HF ones right now...

Anyone else have some thoughts?

[x88x]

They're all fairly similar in specs, with the Craftsman beating out both of the others (as would be expected from the price). Here's the major points where they differ.

Swing (movement of the platform; determines max payload height):
Grizzly - 8"
Craftsman - 10"
HF - 8"

Motor:
Grizzly - 1/3HP
Craftsman - 2/3HP
HF - 1/3HP

Weight:
Grizzly - 44.85lb
Craftsman - 54.68lb
HF - 37.54lb

Warranty:
Grizzly - 1 year
Craftsman - 1 year
HF - 90 day

Also, the Craftsman has a laser guide, and neither of the others do.

I would rank them in in desirability in the same order they fall in price. The Craftsman is, I think, the best by a good chunk, but it's also the most expensive by a large percentage.

[Fuganater]

I'll just bite the bullet and get the Craftsman then. Ordering now Just need to get a vice for it and a circle cutter.

[Fuganater]

x88x your just too helpful to me. I can't even give you rep anymore lol.