HF/CM 20" Drill Press.... which one?

[Splat]

Gentlemen, after much searching locally I've only found two respectable used USA made drill presses NOT meant for just drilling wood. Everything else I've found is either $$$$, has its spindle torn up, gouged, or the machine is just beat or cracked somewhere. So I went and inspected the HF/Central Machinery 20" drill press and it looks good. Belive it or not, it seemed pretty tight, though a little rough in appearance compared to JETs, etc.. but we all know about that. There are two versions of this press, as some of you may know. SKU's 39955 and 61484.

There are differences. 39955 is the older model with a slightly bigger table, a supposedly stronger but same HP motor, with an MT3 spindle, and steel? sheaves/pulleys. 61484 has a slightly smaller table, aluminum pulleys, and has an MT4 spindle. I haven't been able to check the thickness of the columns yet. Both models are available locally to me. Which one would you get?

 

[markba633csi]

I'd probably choose the older model for the larger table and MT3 but they both sound ok
Two things to check for would be the fit of the quill in the head and sag in the table when loosening it
You want both to be tight fits, minimal slop

 

[Splat]

I'd probably choose the older model for the larger table and MT3 but they both sound ok
Two things to check for would be the fit of the quill in the head and sag in the table when loosening it
You want both to be tight fits, minimal slop

That's what I'm thinking. The older one. My lathe's t/s is an MT3. If I need to make a really big hole I'll pro'lly use an annular cutter, which will be a first for me. The one I looked at in the store was surprisingly well put together, and was the older model. If I do wind up with it I'll be eyeballing the whole thing when I get it home. BTW, I -am- holding out for a holiday coupon which a HF friend of mine said is in the works. That could always change though.

 

[CJ5Dave]

They always hand me a sale book for next week at checkout that discounts my current purchase.

 

[C-Bag]

I’ve been shopping at HF since ‘80 and it’s really gone through a lot of change. Some stuff has gotten way better while others got worse. Overall they have gotten better IMHO but the thing of having what looks like identical models with different SKU#’s has always baffled. I had a HF tabletop DP that was Taiwan made in ‘78 that was truly HD, nice cast iron lifting, tilting and rotating table and was my workhorse for 40yrs until the UniDrill. Never did any work on it, just went and went. They have not made anything comparable for probably 20yrs. The only reason I replaced it was because I kept running out of Z. So it always pays to look close as there hidden jem and total junk in amongst their stuff.

 

[wayback machine]

MT3 is fine - I have a Jacobs 18N on that size arbor for the tail stock on a 13" lathe.
A 20N would also work fine on that size arbor, I think.