Nova DVR Drill Press

[patlaw]

I was seriously considering getting a Nova DVR Drill Press until I read the reviews on this site. While some of those issues may seem minor, they seem like the kind of problems that the company will probably solve in a newer model. I don't like spending big bucks for new equipment that has silly problems. Maybe I'll spend less on a drill press. I have a 1950 King Sealey what works, but the belt slips too much on low speed. It's possible to move the motor to tighten the belt, but then they are too tight to put it into high speed. Plus, there appears to be some runout on the quill. (I'm not sure how test test that, but there is some wobble in the tips of drill bits that I put into it.)

If you were going to buy a NEW drill press today, what would you buy? My brother gave me a brand new 1990s Delta tabletop drill press, but about five of the key components are missing. The Delta site lists them as unavailable. It would probably meet my needs if all of the parts were there. (He's going to look in his storage room for them, but they could be long gone.)

 

[Pop Golden]

Get yourself a used Shopsmith. I think it's the best woodworking drill press around. Variable speed, forward tilting table, fence included, and it's also a horizontal drill press. My 520 has gravitated to my drill press along with being a back up for my other stand alone machines. The going price for one is around $500.

Pop

 

[tvrgeek]

I did a bunch of research on this.
Most are too fast for woodwork. You want to get down to the 400 to 500 range for swinging bit circle cutters or Forsner bits
Many have small t-slot tables more tuned for metal work.
Many the table only tilts 45 degrees in each direction. ( watch for misleading spec, 90 degrees but they mean total)
Many only have about three inches of quill travel
Cheaper ones are too flexible and can cause issues if you are using it with Forsner bits to rough out mortises. That is why I upgraded from my bench-top Craftsman.

So,
I like the Delta, but horrible, and I mean horrible quality reviews
I liked the new Jet. But in two stores, the depth adjustment did not work correctly
Nova was too much money, as was the Powermatic
I bought a used Delta and had to do a lot of work on it. I should have bought the Palmgren. They are the only ones who actually specify run-out.
You can get a Grizzly or HF, and the run-out spec is "Yes" and "lots"

I bought a quality keyless chuck, but it is a real pain. There is not enough holding force in the spindle so I have to flip open the top and grab the sheave. So, back to keyed chucks. I guess keyless are really for the industrial gear driven machines.

 

[Cuthriell]

I was seriously considering getting a Nova DVR Drill Press until I read the reviews on this site. While some of those issues may seem minor, they seem like the kind of problems that the company will probably solve in a newer model. I don't like spending big bucks for new equipment that has silly problems. Maybe I'll spend less on a drill press. I have a 1950 King Sealey what works, but the belt slips too much on low speed. It's possible to move the motor to tighten the belt, but then they are too tight to put it into high speed. Plus, there appears to be some runout on the quill. (I'm not sure how test test that, but there is some wobble in the tips of drill bits that I put into it.)

If you were going to buy a NEW drill press today, what would you buy? My brother gave me a brand new 1990s Delta tabletop drill press, but about five of the key components are missing. The Delta site lists them as unavailable. It would probably meet my needs if all of the parts were there. (He's going to look in his storage room for them, but they could be long gone.)

The Taiwanese drill presses from the '80s and later are very good. I have had the same machine since 1981 and replaced the chuck early on with a good one and replaced the bearings several years ago. Mine is a stand model with 5 speeds and is slow enough for large forstner bits. They are still available with a multitude of names.

 

[robliles]

Mike, I've had the Nova DVR Drill Press for a couple of years and have been very happy with it. I read the reviews you reference in your original post and I have not had the problems they identify. There are a few minor things I wish were different with the drill press but isn't that the case with any major machine? It is an expensive machine but it also has a lot of features I like. After getting use to the control panel, it is easy to set up and use.

Good luck on whatever direction you decide to go in.

 

[Chris C]

I too have a DVR and have no complaints so far.

 

[Phil S]

I have heard many good reviews. In fact so many that I chose this to be the top prize in the raffle. So you can get this great drill press a for a $5 raffle ticket

 

[tvrgeek]

Just got my Northern sale catalog They have a generic 1 1/2 HP on sale. Personally, If I could not grab the quill fully extended and feel the play, and push on the table, I would skip it.

My used Delta is one of those supposed good Taiwan units. The motor sheave was machined off center. The PO put up with the vibration for 20 years! I was able to find a close one, new cogged belts and now it is pretty smooth. I keep thinking about picking up a used treadmill and pitting a variable speed motor on it. Too many projects.

$5 for a Nova. Guess I need to by some tickets. Actually it would be a lot more as over $500 you have to pay taxes.

 

[David Justice]

I have the Nova drill press too and my main complaint about it is that they have developed a great drill press head with tons of features and then just stuck it on the same column that all other drill presses are on. The mechanism to keep the drill press from moving around is that same thing that is on a Harbor Freight drill press. It's like they put no though into anything except the motor. It has always bothered me and has always made me think It's not worth what they charge because of that.

 

[MarkE]

I have the Delta 18-900L, gifted to me for Christmas a few years ago. It is a great machine and I have had no problems with it.
It seems the price has increased some since I got mine, it was (iirc) about $900, now $1399 at Lowes.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DELTA-8-Amp-16-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/4741618

The only thing I changed/added was a larger table I built with removable inserts.

Reading reviews on tools is a good thing to do, I agree. Reading the reviews in the link you provided, I saw only three, and only some minor inconveniences or preferences reported. All three reviews were overall positive.

I have purchased A LOT of equipment over the years and I can't ever remember buying anything that was without some little quirk or missing feature that would have made it perfect, or at least better. If your goal is to find the perfect... anything, your search will be long and futile.

 

[MarkE]

Just an FYI. When I win the Nova DVR DP in the raffle. My Delta 18-900L will be available. So, if you are not in a big rush...

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Just an FYI. When I win the Nova DVR DP in the raffle. My Delta 18-900L will be available. So, if you are not in a big rush...

Mark, I'll offer you $500 for the Delta right now. May as well go ahead and sell it to make room for the Nova.

 

[bob vaughan]

Does Clausing still make drill presses? They made some good ones back in the day and I thought they were still making machines.
The good Powermatic presses have been gone since the late 1990s and so have the good USA-made Deltas.

 

[Oka]

Clausing still make drill presses.

In general, a few of things that are important in a Drill Press.

#1. The spindle & quill should have min or no slop in them. The bearings need to be tight.
#2. The motor needs to be variable speed or be able to slow to 50-80 RPM. I rarely if ever used a drill @ 3300 rpm
#3. The table needs to be adjustable and easy to lift and lower.

Grizzly puts out a decent milling-drill or some other brand like that. The point is most of the drill presses out today are sloppy and if you need accuracy then you got to look at machines that can provide that. Toollots.com is an interesting site offers a bunch of types of equipment, fun to look at most is Chiniseum type.

 

[bob vaughan]

For me, I would put a 6" spindle throw on that list, at least for woodworking,

 

[tvrgeek]

Does Clausing still make drill presses? They made some good ones back in the day and I thought they were still making machines.
The good Powermatic presses have been gone since the late 1990s and so have the good USA-made Deltas.

Clausing makes $5000 gear driven industrial drill presses. Radial Drills | Drill Presses | Geared Drive | Belt Drive |

A belt drive below 50 RPM I do not know of. One could of course venture to do their own sheave replacement. I don't know where these "recommended" speeds come from, but even in steel, way too fast. The problem is purely pulley size. All the motors are 1750 RPM, so it takes a lot of work to step them down and would mean a much larger top cabinet and not just changing belt positions, changing belts. Some have done an external arrangement with another pulley.

The one I should have bought: Floor Model - 17 Heavy Duty 16 - Speed Floor Drill Press **3 PHASE**
I liked, but depth stop issues: 17" Drill Press
Delta feature wise I liked: Delta Machinery | A Legacy of Superior Quality
I liked this one too: Model 30-217: 17" VS Drill Press - RIKON Power Tools
Powermatic a beast, but a lot of bucks: PM2800B Drill Press, 1HP 1PH 115/230V

I hesitated on the Nova as I did not want proprietary electronics on something that should last the rest of my life. But, their controller is actually generic and one could fit any of several out there with a little effort. Bummer Rikon sells the motor for their lathe, but not for their drill press. I have thought about buying their lathe kit and putting it on my drill.

WHERE made is not important. To what spec and oversight is. All the tools are made by only a few companies. mainland or Tiwian. Even fewer do the cast iron. The difference is in machining tolerances and choice of components. Bearings, etc. For example, Harvey made both Grizzly low end and Sawstop Industrial table saws. They will make what you pay for.

Yea, I research the heck out of things but still made the wrong decision. Can't justify a second upgrade.

 

[patlaw]

Thanks for the thoughts. I guess I should have said that the one I buy will probably be DVR. After reading this discussion, I think I'm running my present drill press too fast. Maybe I should move the motor out to tighten the belts on lower speed. I've probably burned up some of my Forstner buts running them too fast. The King Sealey variable speed mechanism is supposed to compensate for changes in belt tension, but it doesn't work as well as it should. It uses a "spreading pulley" system. One of the two pulleys works fine, but I can't get the other one off to clean and lubricate it. I did some drilling with it yesterday with a new Forstner bit, and I didn't see the runout I saw with some other bits. Maybe I have to replace a bunch of bits, too.

If anyone has any other discussions or observations, bring them on. I really like a lot about the Nova, but I don't want problems after spending that much money. I'm not good at rebuilding mechanical things (I'm an electronics guy). That's why I've hesitated getting rid of the King Sealey. They're actually in demand, from what I've seen in the past.

 

[tvrgeek]

Strange, my links are changed from the text of the link to some embedded text.

Split pulley drives have been around for a long time and can work very well, though condition of the belt and sheaves is critical. Their range of adjustment is limited. I suspect DVR drive will show up in a lot of places. I can see it use for sanders, shapers lathes, drills, etc. Kind of like how brushless motors are taking over battery tools.

If you have not disassembled and cleaned your chuck recently, do so. Major point of variable runout. We forget they are a maintenance item. I am one of those weird guys who do both mechanical and electronics. My other hobby is rebuilding old British sports cars, though my professional training in in electronics, quality, and management.

 

[bob vaughan]

Take a look at your King Seely drill press again and consider installing a 3-phase motor plus a VFD rigged for 120 volt input. Being an electronics guy, you should have a comfort level with this.
A VFD rig will be a lot less expensive than a new Asian-made drill press. You've got pulleys that can be put on a low speed to keep the torque up for low speeds since electronically varying the speed way down on a 1750 rpm motor will result in a loss of power.

The VFD route has some qualifiers. You can't use a GFCI circuit because a VFD will run some current down the ground wire. The circuit you use MUST be grounded. This detail kept me from using a VFD in the basement of my old house although that's been fixed now.

On three drill presses I had, I installed DC motors and controls. That was nice. The worst down side is the very slight DC motor hum.

A Powermatic 1150 A was about $3000.00 twenty years ago. They later started putting VFDs on their presses like they did on their wood lathes. Finding a good USA-made drill press in good condition isn't as easy as it once was. There are fewer for sale and ,as you've noticed, the competition is rather stiff. Condition is also a factor because a good press will be at least 20 years old, and more likely 40-50 years old. That's a lot of exposure to potential abuse and misuse.

 

[tvrgeek]

And 50 year old tools are likely to be worn out. They actually have VFD for single phase motors. Just not reversible. About half speed is the most I would go.

Current Powermatic is $1600 Good, bad or indifferent.

Was not familiar with King Seely. Never came up in search. Current offering DC motor, 18 inch for $1600 18" Floor Model Indusrtial Variable Speed Drill Press Tap Machine | TOOLOTS