Craftsman 15” Drill Press (1995)
Yeah - I know - it's a Craftsman. A 15" Craftsman. This was purchased in 1995 (IIRC).
I thought long and hard about going with a Craftsman tool for the drill press. Here's why I settled on the Craftsman and didn't spend the $$ for a Delta or Jet. First of all $$ - the Craftsman was significantly less costly than the Delta or Jet, about half price if I remember correctly. Second, it's just about as accurate with very minimal runout at the tool. Third, it has all the features I need - easy depth settings, tiltable fence, light, 12 speeds, large capacity, floor tool, strong motor, etc.
After several years of serious use, I can honestly say this tool hasn't let me down a single time. This is the one (and only) tool I'd recommend purchasing from Sears.
Update Jan 2005:
I recently purchased and installed a drill press table from Woodpecker's (see pics below). I've been meaning to build one of these things for a long while, but it's always been low priority on my To Do List. So when this table went on sale for probably less than it would cost me to build something similar I grabbed one. It's been very helpful so far. The fence and scales are nice, and the larger table surface area makes it easier to hold large boards flat for drilling. Recommended. I also built a small spacer box to prevent drill bits from hitting the cast iron table, and it allowed the table to be installed off center slightly so that the mdf insert can be rotated to 4 different positions before needing to be replaced. Plus it give me a little cubby hole to store my most frequently used drill bit sets. Pics and a sketch of that box are included below also.
© Copyright 2006 Chris Billman