Shopping for the Hamer of drill presses for my workshop. It will primarily be used for a variety of guitar projects and occasional random things that turn up around the house. Need advice on:
* Brands to look for and brands to avoid. I'd love to hear any personal experiences with units made by Skil, Grizzly, Shop Fox, Jet, Wen, Craftsman and Ryobi because those names keep coming up in online reviews.
* Pros and cons of bench-top versus stand-alone units, particularly related to guitar work tasks. I have not ruled out buying both types for my workshop FYI, but I want to get one that will carry me for now on most projects.
* The current budget is $500 or less, with "less" always being a good thing. Since stand-up units are more expensive, I can dig a few Bens deeper if that's the press deemed the best.
* I see its ability to convert to a drum sander as being a significant asset if not a necessity. I guess on-the-fly conversion to other useful woodshop power tools would be a cool perk.
* Is there a "too little" and what's overkill (if that's possible) as far as depth ability when drilling?
* Do I really need a laser sight? A convenient chuck key storage bay (I've never lost a chuck key in my life)? What do I really need outside of precision drilling, variable speeds, solid work platform?
Question
Jeff R
Shopping for the Hamer of drill presses for my workshop. It will primarily be used for a variety of guitar projects and occasional random things that turn up around the house. Need advice on:
* Brands to look for and brands to avoid. I'd love to hear any personal experiences with units made by Skil, Grizzly, Shop Fox, Jet, Wen, Craftsman and Ryobi because those names keep coming up in online reviews.
* Pros and cons of bench-top versus stand-alone units, particularly related to guitar work tasks. I have not ruled out buying both types for my workshop FYI, but I want to get one that will carry me for now on most projects.
* The current budget is $500 or less, with "less" always being a good thing. Since stand-up units are more expensive, I can dig a few Bens deeper if that's the press deemed the best.
* I see its ability to convert to a drum sander as being a significant asset if not a necessity. I guess on-the-fly conversion to other useful woodshop power tools would be a cool perk.
* Is there a "too little" and what's overkill (if that's possible) as far as depth ability when drilling?
* Do I really need a laser sight? A convenient chuck key storage bay (I've never lost a chuck key in my life)? What do I really need outside of precision drilling, variable speeds, solid work platform?
Thanks in advance!
4 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.