Anyone ever use this drill press?

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Bat-mite

Rocketeer in MD
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Thinking of getting a small one to do some plywood mods for a nose cone. Anyone used this from Harbor Freight? There's a store near me, and it is certainly affordable.
 
I have one, it has some runout in the spindle. For the price though it is passable.

I have the mill if I need precision.
 
That goes without saying. But is it inexpensive because it is a piece of crap, or because it lacks a lot of bells and whistles that I don't need?

Everything Harbor Freight sells is...

A piece of Chinese Crap...

As they say, caveat emptor...
 
I have used a HF drill press for years now.

My main use lately has been in doing a 'Coker' style centering ring and bulkplate for plastic nose cones - slightly different sizes needed than the LOC and PML offerings.

Also has been useful for spinning FG bulkheads to glue together for avbay lids, more for convenience than savings here .

I also used for my Punisher AvBay switch band installation of the switches .

Also purchased around the same time is the disk and belt sander for around the same $50-$60 - use it all the time to sand epoxy sticks smooth . And for other stuff to, but both HF tools I use, but not for the items I thought I would be doing .

Next item I will be shopping is a router and the circle cutter - will be using for CRs and fin edges

Kenny
 
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Scroll saw, drill press and disk/belt sander all from HF. Fine for hobby use, light plywood, etc. Sure if you are doing high use, hard wood, big project stuff, you might consider paying a lot more.
 
I've been using one of those drill presses for 12 + yrs. A friend and I built probably 20 heavy duty HP launch pads with it I finally broke the table but have been using it for 6 yrs like that just by stacking wood as my table and have built some custom rocket parts with it broken It's like the Enerjizer Bunny it just keeps on going
 
Been using the a HF Drill Press, Scroll Saw, Belt & Disc Sanders for Decades. They all work very well. Cheap Chinese crap...Perhaps, but the Drill Press out lasted a nearly Identical Drill Press purchased for Sears costing twice as much. The HF Drill Press is still going strong with very little spindle run out. I've used #60 Drill bits in a small adaptor chuck to drill precision holes. I think people who really don't know or have HF tools should not bad mouth what that don't know or understand.
 
I use that drill press and it works fine for rocket building. I cut my own CRs and bulkheads using it and the HF fly cutter. At this point if it broke I would have considered it a good return on investment, chuck it in the trash and buy another one. I don't need a $500 drill press to enjoy a hobby. The right tool for the job, and the simple job is often done fine by the low end tool.

Also, I would recommend picking up their belt/disk sander combo while you are there. Most used tool I have next to my cordless drill.

Printable coupon for the drill press: $59.95

That link may or may not work. If it doesn't and you would like the coupon PM me your email address and I will forward the email i have with the coupon in.
 
The HF link shows this item to have 168 mostly positive customer reviews they appear to be legitimate and candid. I'm neither a customer or fan of HF but as KidRockET said, caveat emptor and then add your review to the chorus.
 
FWIW, I have found that many HF bench top power tools appear to be made by the same manufacturer as Craftsman and Ryobi products. They certainly appear to use the same housings on many products and a careful reading of customer reviews seems lends some credibility to this theory. I have not been able to figure out who the manufacturer actually is but I would certainly consider HF power tools a viable contender against tools in the $130 range. If you want to be certain of a higher qulaity tool, you are likely going to spend in the neighborhood of $200.

As long as it is going to be used for light duty, nonprecision work, I believe that the HF product will serve you well. If you do get one, be sure to read the customer reviews and pay particular attention to the setup suggestions on the HF power tools.
 
...then I got one of the pieces of crap. It cut a triangular hole. The bearings on the spindle were junk. I sold it and just used the 50 year old Rockwell I have. If you have a used tool place where you live I'd check them out to see if an older American made drill press is a available for the same price or check out craigslist. Getting Harbor Freight tools is like Russian Roulette with 5 bullets and 1 open chamber....
 
...then I got one of the pieces of crap. It cut a triangular hole. The bearings on the spindle were junk. I sold it and just used the 50 year old Rockwell I have. If you have a used tool place where you live I'd check them out to see if an older American made drill press is a available for the same price or check out craigslist. Getting Harbor Freight tools is like Russian Roulette with 5 bullets and 1 open chamber....

Dave,

You should not have an opinion about things you know nothing about...

See above...
 
KidRockET agrees with you and he was being sarcastic (you may have skipped some posts).

Anyway, no fighting in my thread! :mad:

C'mon, guys, it's a $60 drill. Lighten up!
 
Buy it and accept that it is an inexpensive (and thus probably not very precision) lightweight tool. If it breaks, it is likely a throwaway. I use HF with that understanding and have no issues. Best bet is the $10 paint guns. Use it, abuse it, and when it no longer works - toss it. Though I do have their bench grinder and 12" Disc sander. Both meet my light utility needs.
 
Buy it and accept that it is an inexpensive (and thus probably not very precision) lightweight tool. If it breaks, it is likely a throwaway. I use HF with that understanding and have no issues. Best bet is the $10 paint guns. Use it, abuse it, and when it no longer works - toss it. Though I do have their bench grinder and 12" Disc sander. Both meet my light utility needs.

That's about what I'm thinking. Even if I get a year out of it, for $60 that's hard to pass up. And I won't use it very often or very much.
 
Well, I can say i haven't invested heavily into tooling for my rocketry hobby as even $2k will buy a lot of commercially made items. I am running an (old) Sears bandsaw I paid 50 bucks for, a HF drill press about 15 years old and a same/same belt/disc sander. For the tolerances needed in wood and cardboard, these funtion acceptly well. If I feel the need for a really precise metal lid I can use a lathe or just buy it. Yes-making your own stuff is fun and can give that sense of satisfaction of working with your hands. But what is your time worth if you have a launch deadline? How many centering rings and bulkheads do you need to make to offset the purchase price of these tools?That is the first question that should always be asked for any kind of return on investment. I could walk away from this hobby tomorrow and prolly recoup 50% or more of my power tool investment. On the other end of the spectrum, that old $200 altimeter just got stomped by a new generation costing less that $45.00 (that just got stomped by Cris' $20 Quark). I really don't need a 6 axis machine capable of holding .0001 for a cardboard (okay-even a fiberglas) hobby rocket. I will admit I am "Extremely" jealous of John Coker's workspace and only wish I had half the square footage and organization he has, but I digress.
 
My wife bought me a Harbor Freight drill press some 10-years ago, and it has been worth every penny she paid. I love mine, works great for my hobby needs, mostly drilling rtings, bulkheads, and airframes.
 
Use it for what it is. If you try to hog out a hole, it will stall. Go easy and you should be OK. As noted it is a crap shoot. I got one that seems to be good enough if I am easy with it.
I have found out lately that the mud wasps like all of the hidden areas for nest building. I have to rotate it 1 full turn to break the mud out of the motor after it has set for a while. (I live in the country and my garage has no doors. Critters are free to visit)

Personally when this one breaks, I will look for something better, but am open to getting another from Horror Freight.
 
I have a 25yr old HF (similar to Micromiester), a 1940's Walker-Turner and a 1960's Craftsman - same basic size. Paid $50 each for the two old ones at estate sales. The WT is the best, HF is worst in terms of quill play and chuck runout. Due to the play stackup I use the WT for metal and the HF for wood. The first HF chuck was awful, so I called customer service and they sent me a new chuck which helped a lot.

Take a little time and go to HF, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, etc and compare the construction. There are four key things to look at: column, table, quill and taper/chuck. All the motors are cheap, but easily replaceable. Look at the diameter of the column - larger is generally stiffer. Look at the table, it needs to be stiff. Quill play: a quick test is to pull the quill down a couple inches and grab the chuck back and forth to check the quill play. My WT does not move, the HF has very noticeable play. Taper/chuck runout is easy to check, but is almost irrelevant if there is a lot of quill play.

If you look at several in your size/price range and they are similar, go for the least expensive.
 
For everyone that has an OLD (5+ years) HF tool, there is NO COMPARISON to what HF has on the shelf today. All the HF tools that my dad owns are awesome pieces of machinery, and he has at least one of the whole catalog, and they're all over 5-6 years old. I agree that the older stuff is/was a great value. Today, it's overpriced disposable $h!^. Based on my dad's tools, I went on several shopping sprees over the last 5 years to support my desire to scratch build flying model airplanes (I hate the ARF stuff). After going around and around and around with a bad drill press (bearings and motor just as crappy as you can imagine, NEVER a round hole was drilled), bad band saw(again, bad bearings in the motor and wheels, out of round drive wheel, and bad motor), and bad sander(out of round and out of flat disc), I Craigslisted it all and went and bought something very similar from Lowes, but a name brand, and have never looked back.

And YES, I returned it all, several times EACH. Never got a good one, never got a refund, didn't even break even when they finally went out the door. Probably would have gotten more for them from the scrap metal dealer.
 
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Thinking of getting a small one to do some plywood mods for a nose cone. Anyone used this from Harbor Freight? There's a store near me, and it is certainly affordable.
Have had one for years and it has served me well for light hobbyist work - wood, thin steel, PVC, etc. No problems. Bought one of these to use with it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000056NPL/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

This may be the same, but my HF didn't have them:

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-jaw-capacity-drill-press-vise-30999.html

and one of these which I haven't needed much:

https://www.harborfreight.com/drill-press-extension-table-with-fence-96395.html

EDIT: Here's a 20% off coupon which can be used even on sale items. They'll probably update the coupon at this link at the end of the month since this one is only good to the end of July:

https://www.harborfreight.com/20off-coupon912-aff-17547.html
 
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What I've found about HF stuff is that it is made with the cheapest possible parts on a mass scale while also sacrificing close tolerances and fine detail for rough reliability/ability to operate (not saying it's built reliable, but built cheap and to be able to run with some regularity).

Their stuff is great for first time hobbyists just wanting to get some of the basic tools to try out rather than spending hundreds off the bat. They likely sell the same items to third world countries (at least some of the items seem that way). ;)

I have an old (15 yrs?) HF drill press that's next to my Grizzly mill and the drill press is fine for most of the work I do/need. Never failed me, but it is on the rough side and noisy. So basically to me it's the cheapest way to get to try a new tool/process/hobby without too much expenditure. Still, keep in mind it's pretty much the most reliable of the crap stuff and it basically meets the cut-off for me on value stuff.

Best bet is to find a store if there is one by you (they're opening around like crazy now it seems) and view and buy the item there, that way returning if you aren't happy won't cost you postage.

Also always use a 20% off coupon!!! :grin:
 
Thinking of getting a small one to do some plywood mods for a nose cone. Anyone used this from Harbor Freight? There's a store near me, and it is certainly affordable.
I got a drill press from Harbor Freight that has your specs I think but is light green. I'm guessing it's essentially the same thing. It was on sale, which made it an even better deal. I remember going to Harbor Freight and checking the drill press before I bought it. You can run the spindle down and see how much wobble is in it. There really shouldn't be any, but they all had a little. You get what you pay for. The one I got works for what I need. It ain't precision like a Bridgeport, but for the drilling I do it's all I need.
Some of the stuff at Harbor Freight is total junk, but their drill presses serve a purpose, imho.
 
I used to use a HF and used it cut CRs with a fly wheel. It works, but for safety reasons, I recommend against a fly wheel which I will refer to a $&@ buster. If one flys off while cutting, you will know why.
 
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