I do a review of this drill press after owning it for 11 months. Overall it's a good value; good features & price but with only a fairly minor build quality problem.
Thanks for posting. Great review. I used your input to purchase the same drill press and am quite happy. I bought a WOODPECKERS drill press table and realized that I needed to go back and really take the time to get the head and the steel table all squared up. I Al want to purchase a DP vise for metal working. Jet is not kidding when they tell you to get some help lifting the had onto the post shaft. I didn’t and sure wish I had. Again, thanks for your input.
Dude, are you serious? You placed a nickel on edge and turned the machine on and it stayed on edge. Seems to me to be an incredibly smooth piece of equipment.
Just seeing this video now. Thanks for the review. I've got an older version of this drill press. I'm in the process of isolating vibration on mine. I've got the same issue with my table (which is smaller) - vibration that affects a nickel but doesn't knock it over. I found that if I remove the cast iron table, there is very little discernible vibration on the support column into which the table fits. It appears that the table itself amplifies vibration. As an experiment, I've ordered some anti-vibration bushings for the motor mount. That might help. I'm also considering a drill press table design that would bolt directly to the support column for the cast iron table (thereby hopefully removing the cast iron table-enhanced vibration). I'm not sure why I'm doing all this! At this point, it's become a challenge and an experiment. Best wishes!
Nice review. Is there a reason you do not file the pulley spindles? If those filed easily enough, you should be able to reduce or eliminate the vibration.
Hi, thanks for doing the review. can i ask you how tall the press is with the top open? I have a very low overhead to work with and not only do I need to get it in place but I also need to get the top open to move belts and the like. thanks again.
@@DavidPx Thank you for taking the time. I've seen a Jet chuck labeled as a Golden Goose and wondered if they'd bought the remaining stock. GG was made in Taiwan 20-30 years ago and offered a serious value. My own GG has a runout of 0.002, which is pretty good for its relatively low price. GG stopped production after several Chinese companies started manufacturing virtually indistinguishable copies that are still sold to this day. Thanks again.
Yeah i can appreciate what Mark is saying here, but I have to think the Powermatic sponsorship influences how he feels about bringing in a new drill press in his shop. Think about it, if he reviews it or is seen using it it could complicate that relationship he has with PM. I tried the Nova today, ironically it was sitting directly next to the Jet 17 inch as well, and the Powermatic. The PM was complete junk IMO compared to the Nova, and quite honestly I'd take the Jet over it. Looks dated, and it vibrated (could be a set up thing), and just didn't feel as nice. The Jet was super nice, the only thing missing is the traditional depth stop, I had trouble understanding how to set it at the wheel. I am sure I would get used to it. Now, enter the Nova, forget all the bells and whistles and consider it as a drill press alone with variable speed, in that respect it's an incredible machine. Table was decent, and the rack and pinion to raise and lower the table was average. I think if you consider ALL it can do, yes you might not use all it has to offer and some may feel like your leaving money on the table. But if you consider the price next to the PM drill press it's an absolute steal because it's far superior to the PM. I found it was very easy to use, I never once needed to reference the manual, menus were intuitive and easy to understand as you're prompted through them. Overall i am still on the fence, the Jet is nice and it's cheaper and about to go 10% off so that brings it down to $899. The Nova is $700 more! But the Nova definitely left an impression on me for sure but would likely be overkill but like i said as a stand alone variable speed DP it's a relative deal given the market. I appreciate your help and the follow up to your review to answer my questions. It's helped alot.
camelcamelcamel.com/product/B00NF6P8PI?context=search Set the price history slider to "All" and you'll see it listed at $628. This was pre Trump tarrifs and inflation.
