Looking for advice and recommendations on a bench top drill press. Currently looking at the WEN 4210T 10” bench top press. Does anyone have this press/have thoughts on it or other recommendations?
thank you for the review! I am only a hobbyist so I probably wont be doing too much heavy work with it. Mainly drilling holes and the occasional mortise. I saw a Rikon at a similar price range, but its only 8". I may look into the reviews on that one as wellI have the WEN 4210 and have been using it since late 2017. I am not sure how the 4210T differs but I will give you my thoughts.
First thing for what I paid and the space it takes up, I am happy with it. I think I paid like $120 and going from no drill press to drill press by any means is a big improvement.
The following all applies to my specific 4210, I would look up to see if any of the specs differ with the T version.
The good parts:
The less than good parts:
- Price
- Compact
- No complaints about accuracy once I added a table
If you get it and find your table is dished -- What I would suggest for the table is to make it out of something thin but very rigid, I used two layers of 3/4" MDF because I had it but I think something else (plywood?) could be thinner without eating up table-to-chuck height. Leave an overhang around the front, left, and right of the table so you can clamp to the auxiliary table instead of the metal table, because the metal table only has a thin wall to clamp to which is annoying. I would recommend extending out the table height crank shaft if you can so you don't have to cut out a notch in the table to still be able to turn it. I put a set screw into the table so I could adjust the forward/back tilt but you could easily shim it with something that doesn't compress much.
- The cast iron drill table on mine was "dished" in the middle enough that it was affecting the squareness of drilling. I had to add an auxiliary table to correct this. I have some thoughts on this below.
- Limited spindle travel. I think it can only plunge about 2-1/2". This has caused a lot of complication making larger things like my workbench. You can can drill in stages but the chuck-to-table distance is not that much since it's compact and the auxiliary table eats into that distance too.
- I wish it could go slower than ~600 rpm to use circle cutters more safely.
- It is not very heavy so if you do something that causes it to vibrate excessively the chuck CAN fall off. I think this can happen to any drill press where the chuck just fits on a taper but lighter ones will vibrate more. Practically this only has happened to me when I am trying to hog out waste with a forstner bit and use bad technique. If you need to drill overlapping holes to hog out waste try to have >50% (ideally 60% or 70%) of the circumference be drilling into wood rather than unsupported to keep it from vibrating. I suspect if you bolted it down to something heavy properly this would not happen anywhere near as frequently, mine is just sitting without being bolted currently.
- No spindle lock
- I do not really ever use the laser to be honest
- I wish the table could tilt forward/backward; it only does side to side. Mine was not square forward/backward when tightened so I had to account for it in the table (see below) although maybe you could shim it somewhere else.
What I ended up using to test squareness of the table was ordering a precision hardened metal rod and comparing to an engineer's square but there are a lot of other good methods.
I want to say that I still use this thing all the time and once I added a table it has done very well within the constraints of its size and how much I paid for it. The only thing that might genuinely get me to upgrade is the spindle travel/chuck to table distance.
Found this craftsman in Fuquay, but it looks newer than I think you were suggesting @tvrgeek ?Eric,
I went on FB market place and saw this one down in Southern Pines - older Taiwanese model. I had the floor standing version of this for a long time, paid $100 at an auction and sold it for $150. It is NOT a Jet or a Delta, but still a pretty good DP. IMHO.
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Do all the things @tvrgeek told you to - check the motor, extend the quill to look for slop etc. I think this has a 1/2 HP motor, I saw another one and it had a 1/3 HP and I just think they are under powered...
Just another viewpoint:
Even if just starting and an occasional hobbyist, you will probably have a drill press forever. ( A little hard for dorm rooms, but I have seen them). The most expensive tool is one you have to replace. So, back to older quality tools, or pay the bucks for newer quality tools.
I have started to consider a benchtop radial over my floor standing, but stroke is the issue. I really want 5 1/2 minimum. It would be of the heavy industrial weight.
Going to look at the craftsman tomorrow, agreed to $80 if it looks solid. Think it’ll be okay for my first oneJust another viewpoint:
Even if just starting and an occasional hobbyist, you will probably have a drill press forever. ( A little hard for dorm rooms, but I have seen them). The most expensive tool is one you have to replace. So, back to older quality tools, or pay the bucks for newer quality tools.
I have started to consider a benchtop radial over my floor standing, but stroke is the issue. I really want 5 1/2 minimum. It would be of the heavy industrial weight.
Mainly looking for a ma CJ one to help me drill square holes. I just finished building a folding Adirondack chair, and have a friend who wants a couple for themselves. I figured a drill press will make this project a lot more streamlined. I started out making cutting boards and have just now moved on to larger furniture piecesEric - you've gotten a lot of good advice, but help us understand your needs and wants:
*what projects do you have in mind for the drill press (now and in the foreseeable future)?
*what's your budget? To tvrgeek's point, no sense looking at $1200 machines if your budget is $100.
*what other constraints do you have: space, must be portable,.. (you mentioned you are looking for a benchtop, which eliminates 50% of drill presses, being floor standing)
*anything you specifically need or want in the drill press (variable speed, tilting table, laser,...?)
I'm in the 'buy used' camp for 90% of my woodshop machines. Good ones will outlive a couple owners...
-Mark