Alright, here's my preliminary review. I might be adding more details later as I discover them.
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http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty ... 38144.html
Price: $299; may be marked down $50 or more when on sale.
Specs:
5/8” chuck
3 1/8" stroke
16 speed, 220 – 3600 rpm
120volt single-phase 3/4hp motor
Swivel table with 45degree tilt
62” overall height
Roughly 130lbs
This is Harbor Freight's medium-duty drill press, intended for average-joe garage use and light production work.
The first thing I have to say is with regards to buying this or any HF drill press( or similar equipment)...
And that is, inspect it in the parking lot before you load it up. You might save yourself a return trip if you get a lemon.
Mine had very minor damage to the pulley cover but was otherwise ok. If possible, drop the table and head into place right there, tighten them up and check them for squareness against the column. A common defect is a table which is not perfectly level front-to-back. Also check the pulleys to make sure they are not wobbly or seized. If you have an inverter, get the motor running and verify the spindle doesn't wobble.
A second important thing: don't judge by the display items in the store. Most of them have been sitting there forever and get banged around when they move stuff. Mine looked way nicer than the one sitting out on the floor.
Putting it together was pretty straightforward and only requires two allen wrenches. Be sure to grease/oil everything up as you're doing the assembly; mine was pretty dry though no rust was visible. It also won't hurt to grease up the inside of the head while you still have access to it.
Initial problems I've noticed:
-Some of the screws and other fastener may be loose. Check the nuts on top of the pulleys if you have problems where the spindle stalls out but the motor is still spinning. You'll need a 1” socket to tighten them.
-The spindle does not wobble by itself, but with any sideways torque it will deflect a little. I have not found a way to correct this yet.
-The table, while normally square, also deflects downward when significant pressure is applied, even when it is tightened all the way. This is not a major issue unless you really have to force a bit through for some reason.
-I've heard others complain about the quality of the stock belts, but haven't had problems so far.
-Also, the base is cast iron and seems a bit thin compared to everything else. Try to take care of it
This press has recommended speeds printed on the inside of the cover, and is apparently rated up to 1/2” holes in mild steel. Of course the first thing I did was ram a 1” bit though steel and aluminum plate. The motor never stalled at 220rpm, in fact it did not even slow down. The only time I have stalled this press is because the belts started slipping. It is very quiet when idling, but gets kinda noisy when you're actually drilling. Most of this is just the pulley cover rattling.
I have done some very limited turning tests on this, and found it can be used as a makeshift lathe, but the accuracy is not that good due to the spindle deflection. When turning some 5/16” stainless rod I noticed quite a lot of noise coming from the pulleys, though adjusting the tool angle reduces this some.
If you plan on using this as a lathe, get a cross-slide vise. I have not tried the harbor freight model, so I can't say. I would not say this is a replacement for a mini lathe; if you want to turn plastic or small metal stuff it'll be just fine, but as I said, the spindle deflection will reduce the tolerances you can achieve.
Summary:
Pros-
-Plenty of power
-Oversized chuck that can still grip very small bits
-Actually decent quality for the money.
Cons-
-Probably not a good choice for turning
-Table is slightly out of square when not tightened.
-The benchtop model is identical, but a little cheaper. Go for it if you don't need the full floor-height capacity. Mine was on sale so it was the same price.
-The bolt for adjusting table tilt is kinda hard to get to. I recommend adjusting it with a heavy block of wood
Overall I think I would recommend this press. If want a better one, you're going to have to find a vintage american press or drop an extra $300-500 for an actual trusted name brand. I'm talking Jet, Clausing, ect.
