I’m so sorry 😂 I have been looking up how to kill this and apparently it’s a common issue if you’re dehydrated. Thanks for letting me know though, it’s comments like this that help me get better 😊
I know you want to use your new gadgets but a good ol square works better than new digital levels you can never trust the levelness on a sub floor or a garage floor they usually slope garage floors
Totally agree that a good mechanical square works as well or better in many situation but I would like to clear up a misconception. Most of the digital angle gauges don't measure with respect to the floor. I have to zero mine out on the reference surface which sets that angle as "zero" and then any change is shown. For example, on my table saw, I'll zero it out on my cast iron top and then measure my blade so the angle I see is the angle of the blade with respect to the table top.
How the hell do you secure the speed box? Once you take that fastener out, it’s impossible to secure it again. It uses a loose nut inside the casing to secure it. Any ideas?
Great question! I did the same thing. It’s not a screw’s off type of securement. Screw the fastener in and then just lift up, it has a clip on the inside that will grab and hold it shut. It’s a slip grip connection
Just got one of these - my first drill press. Thanks for the video - super helpful. One detail that has changed in the design is that now there are TWO set screws on the right side for fixing the head to the column instead of one set screw on each side.
I noticed when you opened the belt housing cover, two little washers and a cap but flew off, I had a similar issue when I was setting up mine. I can’t find any literature on how those fit back in or if they are necessary. Any advice?
Great question, yea, it was a mistake on my part to unscrew it. It's just a snap clip with the metal piece inside. All you need is the inside nut to hold the bolt secure and "snap" over the metal flange. May not need washers for it.
@Northwest Craftsman same here. I had to rewatch your video and I saw the washer fly out as it did for me too. I just put the cap on the bolt while it was in the cover and closed the lid. Just a friction closure is all it is:) Thanks!!!
I purchased a piece of crap WEN 4214 drill press and was able to square the table left to right but it was badly out of square front to back. I assumed that the vise I mounted on the table must have thrown it out of square so I removed it and tried again. I discovered that it was the table itself that was out of square so I decided I could shim the vise and level things up. Wrong - the table is DEFORMED and has one low corner. Which is basically impossible to shim and fix. I went back and forth with WEN forth three weeks and they finally suggested I PURCHASE a new table from them that might possibly be square front to back. ...isn't the entire purpose of a drill press to drill holes that are square with your work? This POS fails miserably!
Man, I’m sorry to hear about your issues with your drill press. I’ve been happy with mine but it doesn’t shock me that there are some lemons at this price point. Hopefully you’re able to find a solution.
Thanks for the video. I have a local guy selling one and I am very interested. I would be riding my motorized bike to him to get it. I can fit everything in my bookbag other than the head unit. In your opinion, how heavy is it? Do you think it's too heavy to fit in a milk crate? The milk crate is secure to the back rack of my bike which I've carried some super heavy things in before.
I just got one of these and cant wait to use it. I've used drill presses before so this is pretty straight forward but your video helped me understand the chuck installation. But one question, can you add a second column. I haven't unpacked mine yet so I don't know if the column is threaded or not.
bro you actually followed the instructions? I just wiped off the grease I could from the outside and hammered that chuck straight on with my rubber mallet 🤣she works fine
How much does it weigh, and how easy is it to change the height of the table? I can see how you change the table height, but it didn't look like it moved very easily.
Probably weighs 20lbs but I’d need to actually weigh it to be sure. Height adjustment is actually super easy, this style of securement just binds easily if you don’t lift from the center of mass on the table.
That’s a fascinating question. Round objects are tough to hold, spheres even more so. I haven’t needed to but if I did, a drill vise should be able to get enough purchase on your sphere to keep it from moving. It will also depend how big a hole you’re drilling. If a big one, you may need to create a jig that hugs the sphere and then use some blue tape and super glue to temporarily secure it down.
Great question! It’s a friction lock. When you turn a bar on the back about a quarter turn, you can slide it up and down, when it’s retightened, it’s impossible to move
It’s been 5 months. Have you given it much use? Any pros/cons? Looking for a light duty drill press for some Christmas projects I’m starting on. LOTS of drilling with a spade bit and what I’ve done so far isn’t as accurate as I would like. Also looking for an excuse to buy a new tool :)
Great question Scott! And good find on the vise! I do love this drill press for light to medium duty work. I have tried to more aggressively drill with a 3/8” forstner bit in pine and the belt started slipping so I had to ease up a little. A spade bit may cause you problems with this guy unless you ease it in. Hope that helps! Josh Northwest Craftsman
@@NorthwestCraftsman Thanks for the quick response. My spade is just 5/8. Wonder if just a regular twist bit would run easier. Still considering it. I’m making spiral wooden Christmas trees and having to drill out the holes with my drill, on what feels like 800,000 slats has me rethinking my life choices.
Hahaha, oh do I know the feeling 😂 the drill is certainly an excellent entry level choice. If I had some spade bits I’d test it for you but alas! No bits. I’d love to see some photos of the trees when you get done with them! Shoot me an email if you can. Josh Northwest Craftsman
Do you still like it? I was worried about how far down i could drill into a pice of wood with this press, but it looks like you could drill into a 2x4 just fine. Have you tried using it for anything bigger than that?
I do still like it. It’s not as powerful as some others I’ve used but for the projects I do it’s great. It does struggle with larger diameter bits like forstner bits and hole saws but I expected that. All standard drill bits have been fine regardless of depth, just need to do the normal chip clearing (up and down).
Great review. Thank you. I am looking to buy a drill press and have looked at several WEN models, but am not sure which model to get as this will be my first drill press. I am wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing why you selected this model?
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful! I chose this one primarily because of the price point. I just needed the capability in the shop and wasn’t planning to drill metals which may require a more powerful motor with more speed options. Ideally I’d like a floor standing model with more capacity for drill depth (how deep the drill can go) and workpiece depth (drill to column distance).
Great question! It’s handled all the normal stuff I throw it at but I’m certainly still looking for something with more power and vertical capacity. For most of your standard holes, this thing is great. For anything over 1/2” or something other than wood, I’d go with something that has more power.
Wow! Thanks for the fast reply! I’m also considering the 10” vevor for $30ish more. I think you answered my main concern about the 8”. I’m drilling wood and acrylic so I think the power is more than adequate. I appreciate your honesty and quick reply!
Hi, thank for the video, helps a lot 🙌 I bought that machine to make big holes in driftwood for my plants. But since is my first time starting learn something new I would like to ask your advice for the pieces a need to buy and connect to the drill for the holes in the wood. Sorry, my language is Spanish and is hard to explain in English 😓 I hope you understood Kenia Da Silva
Hi Josh, I’d like to use a drill press to better drill 1/2 bore in ceramics figurines for crafts. I need the accuracy and stability. Do you think this is suitable for this task? Most of the figurines are 6” or less. Thanks you!
This looks exactly like the harbor freight press they sell just with a different color scheme. I wonder how you feel about the press after having had it for a year. I’m currently looking for a budget friendly press.
I’m sure it’s made by the same folks or the factory next door 😂 seems to happen a lot in China. After a year, I still love it. It provides me much more precision than a handheld drill though, I will say it can get a little anemic when using larger forstner bits with hardwoods. That being said, I’d still buy it again.
Awesome video! Do you have to have the depth stop in or can you remove it? Trying to drill through a 2.5 inch piece and it won’t go all the way through. Trying to make my first woodturned pen
Hey Dan! Thanks for the question, glad you liked the video. I think you can remove it or just the stop nuts but I'd need to check. I get a little wary trying to push it past the depth stop because that may lead to instability. If you have it jigged up under the press, you can always readjust the table height to finish out the drilling operation. I do this often. If you need a one and done drilling operation, I think you'll need a different drill press.
Great question! It depends on your use case. As an entry level, wood, drill press for small but precisely placed holes, it’s perfect 👍 once you want to start hogging out large amounts of wood (3/4”+) or want to work with hardwoods or metals, it starts to feel a little anemic. For my needs, it was perfect as I just needed small, perpendicular holes in my workpieces.
@@NorthwestCraftsman Thank you for the reply. I just need a more stable and accurate tool other than my hand drill for small proj. This might be perfect for me as well.😁
I've had this same drill many years and still love it. Recently added the Wen drill press table. Also noticed you have the same router table...which i love too.
Looks like the 4208 has slightly higher chuck capacity at the low end (down to 1/20 vs 1/16) but slightly lower RPM’s. Honestly doesn’t seem like a strong difference from why I’m seeing.
Thx for sharing this. It's the most direct to the point, and informative set up video on this particular model. Can't wait to use mine when it gets here this weekend. Anyone know how long the power cord is? Trying to decide permanent location in relation to an elec. outlet. Thx
I’m glad you found it helpful! I don’t have the exact length but it’s something like 4’. If you need more accurate than that, let me know and I’ll measure it next time I’m in my shop
Hey Terry! Glad you found it helpful! I did clean most of the metal parts with Lacquer Thinner because that's what I had around the shop and it'll strip any residue off.
@@NorthwestCraftsman thanks, i had some low odor mineral spirits that i ended up used on some if the parts and brake clean on chuck & spindle. keep up the good content 👍
Have you had a chance to use this drill press with larger forsner bits? Did it bog down? Looked like it handled the smaller forsner bit well. Any experience with hole saws? Thanks!
@@NorthwestCraftsman I’d really appreciate it! When you bought this drill press, what were the other one you looked at? What made you decide to buy this one? Did you look at the Ryobi? Thanks!
Hey Steve! Just got a chance to test this. Forstner bits up to my biggest (1-3/8) were no issue in hard or softwood. Hole saws were another story, a 1” did okay without binding but anything larger stuck. Did a small amount of research but went off of Amazon reviews and price mostly. Plus I had purchased a Brad nailer from WEN that I was pleasantly surprised by.
@@NorthwestCraftsman Thanks for the quick feedback, really appreciate it! Glad to hear the forsner bits worked,too bad about the darn hole saws. Still thinking about getting it anyway as I can see myself mostly using the forsner bits over the hole saws. All the best!
@@NorthwestCraftsman Thanks, and thanks for the review. I ordered one and will test it and post back. Metal is a weeee bit different than wood. But it may work if you step the size of bits you use.
@@NorthwestCraftsman Received and assembled it today. It worked well enough for my needs. Started with a 1/4"bit and stepped up to 3/8" then 1/2" in 1/16th mild steel at the recommended speed.. Other than having to move the table and re centering between steps it worked fine. Didn't bog down at all. Then tried the 1/2" bit, no steps or oil on the 1/16th mild steel little problem. 3/8th bit, no problem. Then did the 1/2" bit on unistrut (1/16th also but maybe harder steel) with little problems. Then tried 1/4" angle iron with 1/2" bit and oil with little problem. 3/8" bit no problems. I don't have anything thicker than a 1/4" but for the most part 1/4" will be what I need it for. Maybe 3/8th mild steel. The "little problem" was bit deflection when applying force on the 1/2" bit. Mind you I didn't use new bits but ones I have sharpened, regular HSS bits. When the 1/2" holes were drill I still could move the bit up and down in the hole when done and the hole was round. That works for me! This was all using mild force. Drilling metal you do not want chips, you want a curlicue. That tells you you have the right speed and force with good bits, its the most efficient cutting. I had some curlicues but also chips. Could be too much force or the bits weren't perfect. There was 1 other problem. The set screw on the motor spindle become or was loose. The belt should be straight between the spindles but when setting up I noticed it was angled but didn't think much about it. At the end it was completely loose and I had to reset it. All in all its worth the price and it performed better than I thought.
Man! Thanks for the awesome write up! Glad to hear it performed well for your metalwork! Mind if I point people here if they're asking about using this guy on metal?
Great Video! Thanks! I have this same drill press, and I like it a lot. One thing that, I don't like that much is the table; it's so hard to add a table top; the groves on the bottom are neither a good fit for small nor large bolts. so, if you ever a) come up with an idea of building a table top, with fence, etc; would love to see your video b) build a stand for this drill press, would love to see your video
