85. Harbor Freight 10" drill press review 

Thank-you and thanks for watching.

You're welcome.

Sorry. I'm not sure since I don't have the drill press anymore (I returned it because of the defects I found). From the Harbor Freight website, it says, "submit your questions using the online form, or call 1-888-866-5797, Monday thru Friday, 7am to 4pm (PT)". Hope this helps. Thanks for your question and for watching.

Thanks for your questions. 1) I believe all of the 10" drill presses at about the same price point can't use very small drill bits. I have seen where others will mount a 2nd drill chuck in the drill press to hold very small bits. I have not had that need (yet) so I haven't tried this. In the past, I have used a Dremel in a Dremel drill press accessory to drill very small holes in circuit boards. 2) True, the table can't be leveled back to front. This has not posed a problem for me (yet) but if it did, I would probably make a second table to go on top of the original and then level the 2nd table as needed. If you were drilling through really thick material, I could see where this might be an issue. 3) I think most drill presses in this price range will deflect under a heavy load. I try to resist the urge to apply too much pressure and let the drill bit do the work. If the drill bit is dull, I change it. 4) The run out on chucks in this price range most likely vary. To reduce the run out, you will probably need to purchase a more expensive drill press. 5) The HF 10" is 3/5 hp. If the drill press seems under powered it might be because the belt is slipping or the bit is dull. I'll repeat here what I said in the video, if the plating on the table was good, I probably would have kept the drill press and been happy with it. I don't have real demanding needs; I just want to easily drill holes in wood at a right angle to the table. Pretty basic. When hole placement does not need to be exact, I usually use a battery powered drill. Here's the link for my review of the WEN 10" drill press: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aMKKk4_XiT4.html Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.

It was quite a while since I did this review so I'm not sure if the chuck key would fall out on its own or not. I can tell you for sure that I have used drill presses like this in the past where the chuck key gets stuck and won't fall out by itself. This is probably why the manufactures went through the trouble of redesigning the key by adding the spring. Thanks for your comment and for watching.

You are correct, I never mentioned that this drill press has a chuck capacity of 5/8". Sorry about the oversight. Thanks for bringing this up and for watching.

Hi Robert. I agree with you; finish-packaging a part in that condition is simply not acceptable. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this happened when purchasing a new tool from Harbor Freight. The good news is that there is no problem making a return; the store I go to is right down the street from where I live so it is not an inconvenience. I wound up buying a WEN drill press; here's my video about it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aMKKk4_XiT4.html . I have had this drill press for a while now and have used it many times. In fact, you can see me using it in many of my videos! I purchased mine from Amazon. If you decide to give this drill press a try, there is an affiliate link in my video description. If you decide to buy and use my link, I will earn a very small commission but you will will not pay any more than if you went to Amazon directly. Using my link helps to support my channel. Thanks in advance if you decide to do so. Thanks for your comment and for watching.

@@ImaginethenMake Thank you for your reply. Strange you mentioned purchasing a WEN. That's the one I am leaning toward. It has much more better sell-appeal, and the base and table are much heavier. I'll check out the website you mentioned. Thank you again.

Hello Kathleen. Yes, I believe this is a good beginner drill press. If the table finish on the one I bought was good, I would have kept it and most likely used it happily. Keep in mind that there are other 10" drill presses at about the same $150 price point. After I returned the HF unit, I ordered one from Wen and plan on doing a similar video about it soon. Thanks for watching.

@@ImaginethenMake Thank you. I will look forward to see that review.

Kathleen, I have completed the WEN 10" drill press with laser crosshairs (model 4210T) video. It turned out that I really like this drill press. The video goes live tomorrow (Sunday 1-26-2020) at 11am eastern. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I bought the 10" the other day too and it works well, just if you're drilling into anything tougher than aluminum make sure you're using quality bits preferably titanium or diamond dipped.

Agreed. I'd also recommend using some sort of a clamp to hold the workpiece. Drill press table clamps work well. Thanks for your comment and for watching.

It depends on the hardness of the metal you are trying to drill through. I'm guessing that the AR 15 lower piece is hardened steel which would make it difficult to drill through. It's about the hardness of the material and the type of drill bit you are using and not so much about the drill press. Hope this helps. Thanks for your question and for watching.

I've already drill a half inch hole in steel on mine. Proper rpm, pilot holes, and a jack under the table for rigidity. There's some simple improvements to do to this model to get good results. Like bolt a plate under the base where the column meets with longer bolts to strengthen the connection and rigidity. Thicker wall column, or fill it full of concrete, etc. THe first things I did was tighten all the sheet metal screws to avoid rattles, and break the edges on the pulleys.

Thanks for the tips!

Brad Young : All good points. The reason I purchased this was because of the available low rpm. Drop it down to 300 rpm, use some actual “cutting” oil like Tap Magic, use sufficient downward pressure, and this thing will punch 1/2” er’s through cold roll all day long like ‘budder, even with cheap HF bits. Also, unlike some variable speeds, with belt drive, the lower the rpm, the higher the torque. If you work mainly with metals, this unit will serve one better than than they might think!

Thanks for your comments Mark.