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I looked on CL for a number of months for a floor standing drill press, but everything was way over priced for a used tool. I kept going back to the HF 17”, 16 speed model, which priced with a 25% off coupon was a bit over $340 with tax.

This was a pleasant surprise, as it was accurate from the get-go. The particular model I got, will slow down to 200rpm, so turning large bits/holesaws are no problem. The only gig I would give it, is that the light isn’t very bright. It’s a heavy, heavy machine. But with the mobile base, it moves around easily.

-- "In the end, it's all Hack..."

I could consider that with the Memorial day coupon. The Easter coupon is going toward the DC. Though I am still considering Grizzly for DC.

Thanks for the reply HackFabrication.

Like I posted, it’s a heavy bugger. I unpacked it outside, and carried it (in pieces) from my garage, down the stairs, into my basement. Pretty good workout carrying the head downstairs… HF sells two 17” 16 speed floor standing models, if you want the lower speed (200 vs 220 rpm), get item # 43889. I originally thought I might have to upgrade to link belts (like I did on the HF 14” bandsaw), but the stock belts run great.

As far as the HF DC, there were none in any store within 110 miles of my house. I ended up scoring one off CL for $100. But, after all the mods, IMHO, you would be better off with the Grizzly unit. Lot of bang for the buck. See my thread on modding the HF collector: https://www.lumberjocks.com/topics/303647

-- "In the end, it's all Hack..."

Now I will go back and forth for the next couple weeks. The next 25% coupon. Is 2 weeks from this coming weekend.

Strangely, my township will allow me to vent the post filtered Air outside, but their code for other things make it difficult. electric is such that It is easier for me to run 240V & 120V 12 Amp extension cords rather than run the wire the 20’ to my shop.

So DC will likely end up 1.5 HP Grizzly/HF if I go that way. I would plug the DC in at the garage outlet and the TS and jointer Share a the 240 while my DW735 gets its own extension cord.

How is your bandsaw? You said that is HF?

How is your bandsaw? You said that is HF?

- McGriff

Yep. I picked up the HF 14” BS after (once again) searching for one locally on CL. Used ones were more than a new HF. And they weren’t anything worth looking at. I remember an older Delta, with the open base, and the seller wanted $800 for it. Pricing on CL is crazy, so when I saw the HF DC, I immediately jumped on it for $100 without even trying to talk the price down.

I had to put some work into the HF BS to get it running the way I wanted. Not that it wasn’t usable ‘as is’. Assembly other than the base (which should have been a 15 minute job), is easy. The base took me a long time to assemble, and it should have been a straight forward job. I watched a few videos about people assembling this saw, and a lot of them commented on how bad the directions were for the base assembly. I finally figured it out after what must have been a couple hours.

The pulley system is a bit of a pain to get aligned and the belts tightened. I just put mine on the highest speed setting and will leave it there. The stock belts are garbage. I upgraded to a pair of link belts, and along with a strategic brace inside the base, I got the vibration under control:

The base itself doesn’t look like it is very sturdy, but it’s fine. However, one of the motor braces would vibrate a lot, even with the bolts tightened down. Could possibly be a pulley imbalance or something. That’s why I added the brace. It bolted into existing holes in the base.

The table has no holes to mount an aftermarket fence. Which means you either drill them, or go with a Carter magnetic fence.

I haven’t checked the wheels for balance yet, but I may in the future. I doubt if my BS would pass the ‘Nickle Test’, but it’s running pretty smooth right now, with very little vibration. And being on a mobile base, it’s going to transfer/amplify the vibrations anyway.

The stock tensioning rod is a bit short for my liking so it was replaced:

I replaced the stock steel guide blocks with Cool Blocks. The HF BS used both the round (bottom) and square (topside) ones. Again another ‘Huh???’

Also replaced the stock blade with a Timber Wolf.

Dust collection is not very functional. I see some modifications in the future.

Saw runs good. However, I don’t like where the on/off switch is:

I will most likely add a Carter tension release lever in the future, and some sort of fence.

But for under $400 out the door, it was a decent alternative to anything I saw on CL.

-- "In the end, it's all Hack..."

Your skills are far beyond mine. Think I will stay in the shallow end of the pool for awhile. I haven’t had to do much work on my tools, as I haven’t had many or for very long. I will wait until I have plenty of time before I take on something like that. Though it sounds like fun, but painful.

Your skills are far beyond mine.
- McGriff

Naw… I’m just a weekend Hack. But I like a challenge (most of the time..).

Most of the tool mods, are simple ‘bolt-on’ things that only required a bit of ‘engineering’ and some basic work.

Now when talking about the resto-mod I did on my 76 CJ5, that’s another story completely…

-- "In the end, it's all Hack..."

That’s impressive. My car skills are severely limited, but hopefully will improve once I clear my mother’s crap out of my garage.

I have decided I will go with a HF drill press and work to make as smooth as possible. I will also skip the Harbor freight DC and go with the Grizzly 1.5 HP model. I will likely replace the filter. I only have one 240v setup available and that will be shared by the jointer, that arrived 2 days ago, and the TS that hopefully arrives this weekend.

Thanks for the feedback Hack.

Oh, and down the road I may take a shot at a HF Bandsaw.

Well, it took me 20 years to get the Jeep project done. And I didn’t do the paint, or a lot of the ‘stuff’ that needed special skills/tools. Not a project I recommend. Or will do again.

If I was thinking about getting a decent cyclonic ‘all in one portable’ dust collector, this is the Grizzly that would best suit my needs: https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-1-1-2-HP-Portable-Cyclone-Dust-Collector/G0860 110v, 15a, includes wireless remote, 1 micron pleated filter. It was fun modifying the HF, but economically, the Grizzly will save you some money.

The HF BS isn’t bad, but again, by the time you spend all the money to ‘tune it up’ and upgrade, you may be better off with a different brand. The Grizzly (if you like their stuff) https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-14-1-HP-Deluxe-Bandsaw/G0555LX model might be something you want to look at. Comes with a fence and a tension release. At the very least, comparison shop between brands.

I’m a weekend Hack, so I don’t need a lot of luxury brand tools to get projects done. Good luck and stay safe.

-- "In the end, it's all Hack..."

Thanks. You as well.

Here’s a drill press to consider… I’m biased, because I own this machine, but it really does seem to have the best bang for your buck.

https://www.lumberjocks.com/reviews/9674

-- Pete

Thanks PPK. I actually looked at this one, and if Home Depot sold this model, and had one in stock a couple days ago, I would have bought it. Instead I wen’t and spent more on a dust collector and the Drill press is now in the, buy something useful but less expensive category.

The hard part is now a bandsaw As a beginning woodworker, it’s amazing how your understanding evolves. just twelve hours ago, I thought a bandsaw was something I wouldn’t even bother with for quite some time. about an hour ago I was thinking about a couple projects and realized that the wood I have on hand may be too thick and that planing it down would be a terrible waste of material. Oh well, at least the list is getting smaller and I don’t even have all of my equipment delivered, put together or tuned yet.