Erk wrote:

I'm looking to buy a floor standing drill press, probably a Delta model.
They have two variable speed models, 17-925 and the 17-990X, where the
speed change is done by tuning a dial. These models are considerably more
expensive than the other models that require a belt change.

How much of a price difference are we talking about? If it's "considerable"
then I'd say spend it if you got it, but if you don't got it, then stop
being such a weenie and just buy the dang belt-driven model like everyone
else on Earth.

I'm about like everyone else who has posted. I usually leave the thing set
for about 650 RPM. Going too slow is seldom a problem, but going too fast
can be, so I default to a speed that's slower than it could be for most of
the stuff I do, but not too fast for most of the stuff I do. Usually for
any given bit size and material there's a very broad range of speeds.

Once in awhile I need to turn it up or turn it down. I did do one job
recently where I had to change speeds nearly as often as I changed bits.
Big bits need to go slow, and extremely small bits do better at high
speeds. All of this seems to make much more of a difference when drilling
metal than wood, and generally the harder and/or thicker a material is, the
less forgiving it will be of laziness in choosing the correct speed.

Anyway, changing speeds takes something like 30 seconds, so how much is
"considerable" and how much is your time worth? If you do a lot of things
where you're going back and forth from a 3/4" bit to a 1/32" bit, then the
"considerable" may be worth it. Otherwise, probably not.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17220 Approximate word count: 516600
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/