Adequate Hobbyist Drill Press?

Well thought I had found an outstanding deal a Grizzly 750lb 240VAC press but after offering to pay full price of $750 the guy never responded and pulled the ad down.

I am now considering ordering a 4277 WEN 17" 12 speed press through Home Depot. Has a low speed of 150 RPM. Weighs a bit more than the HF @214lb. reviews are good but no mention of the column thickness or if any mounts are made of aluminum.
I did find a comment that it may be a Taiwan drill press. Also their parts menu lists Everything to repair. WEN also provides a 2 year warranty, versus HF's 90 day.

Anyone have this model or comments on WEN, don't think I have anything with their branding.

wenproducts.com

WEN 4227T 13-Amp 17-Inch 12-Speed Floor Standing Drill Press

4-3/4-inch spindle travel makes drilling through 4x4 boards easier than ever Three-spindle design provides twelves speeds from 150 to 3150 RPM High torque performance perfect for metal, hardwood, softwood, plastic and more 14-inch by 14-inch cast iron work table pivots up to 45 degrees in both...
wenproducts.com wenproducts.com
 
455dan said:
Well thought I had found an outstanding deal a Grizzly 750lb 240VAC press but after offering to pay full price of $750 the guy never responded and pulled the ad down.

I am now considering ordering a 4277 WEN 17" 12 speed press through Home Depot. Has a low speed of 150 RPM. Weighs a bit more than the HF @214lb. reviews are good but no mention of the column thickness or if any mounts are made of aluminum.
I did find a comment that it may be a Taiwan drill press. Also their parts menu lists Everything to repair. WEN also provides a 2 year warranty, versus HF's 90 day.

Anyone have this model or comments on WEN, don't think I have anything with their branding.

wenproducts.com

WEN 4227T 13-Amp 17-Inch 12-Speed Floor Standing Drill Press

4-3/4-inch spindle travel makes drilling through 4x4 boards easier than ever Three-spindle design provides twelves speeds from 150 to 3150 RPM High torque performance perfect for metal, hardwood, softwood, plastic and more 14-inch by 14-inch cast iron work table pivots up to 45 degrees in both...
wenproducts.com wenproducts.com
Click to expand...

Amazon sells the 4227T, and lists the country of origin as China.
 
Nesse1 said:
Amazon sells the 4227T, and lists the country of origin as China.
Click to expand...
Thanks, yep I see that.
I saw the Taiwan reference in an old comment on the model.
Still worried "If" I order it it will have a thin walled tube, so asked for some clarity on the column and lack of Aluminum support pieces.

I do like the manual with actual replacement part numbers, Play reduction adjustment for the quill, the 2 year warranty and low150 RPM.
Still interested in the HF 20" drill press @ almost 300lb. has to have heavier castings than the mid model.
 
I've got an old Craftsman "Commercial" DP with the split head for quill take up. It is a good feature as it allows me to take out virtually all clearance. 50 year old press, still tight, no chatter.
 
pontiac428 said:
Dan, what's to keep you from picking up this one?
spokane.craigslist.org

Drill press - tools - by owner - sale - craigslist

Very heavy has power feed and forward/reverse quill #4 taper 3 phase motor everything works
spokane.craigslist.org

Put a VFD on it and call it a day.
Click to expand...
Mmm, I saw it and thought it might be a bit too heavy duty.?

Everything I have is 120 or 240 VAC. Also I was planning on setting it up under my loft section which has a max height of about 9 feet.
The pic made it look like the press head casting was possibly fractured near the column and rewelded, or is it just a chain hanging?
I called the number and will see if I get a call back.
It certainly will have very little column flexing:)

I have not looked into phase conversion prices .
 
*Cough!* Too heavy duty? Hmm, I'll have to think about that. It doesn't require a crane to move, so I bet you're safe. You can do small work on a big machine, just not the other way around. I think it would be love at first chip.

That is a chain in the pic, maybe a lock pin lanyard or a non-wandering chuck key (major no-no), but not a crack.

Converting 240V single phase to 3-phase for a smaller, single motor machine like that is getting really cheap to do. Plus, a variable frequency drive allows you to dial the RPM even lower or fine tune material chatter away with a knob in addition to the quick shift transmission it has.

For your budget and your headaches so far with finding a suitable chinese machine, that machine would be a treat. I'm happy as can be for buying in that machine's range/class when I got my "big" DP. Shoved my two other drill presses (Taiwan and china) into the corner and forgot about them.
 
pontiac428 said:
*Cough!* Too heavy duty? Hmm, I'll have to think about that. It doesn't require a crane to move, so I bet you're safe. You can do small work on a big machine, just not the other way around. I think it would be love at first chip.

That is a chain in the pic, maybe a lock pin lanyard or a non-wandering chuck key (major no-no), but not a crack.

Converting 240V single phase to 3-phase for a smaller, single motor machine like that is getting really cheap to do. Plus, a variable frequency drive allows you to dial the RPM even lower or fine tune material chatter away with a knob in addition to the quick shift transmission it has.

For your budget and your headaches so far with finding a suitable chinese machine, that machine would be a treat. I'm happy as can be for buying in that machine's range/class when I got my "big" DP. Shoved my two other drill presses (Taiwan and china) into the corner and forgot about them.
Click to expand...
Well Now you've done it. Heh Heh

You were right no break or weld

I made a deal and will hit the road tomorrow to go get it.
Didn't even try to negotiate the price. :)

ps. that will teach HF to shake my 1/2 thou indicator off and break it.
 
pontiac428 said:
Dan, what's to keep you from picking up this one?
spokane.craigslist.org

Drill press - tools - by owner - sale - craigslist

Very heavy has power feed and forward/reverse quill #4 taper 3 phase motor everything works
spokane.craigslist.org

Put a VFD on it and call it a day.
Click to expand...
That is an Arboga. They are outstanding, heavy duty drills. It likely has a low speed in the 80 or so rpm range.
With the power feed it is a true metal working machine.

PS, it is about 7' tall but definitely not taller than that.
 
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