"Leon Fisk" wrote in message
news On Wed, 30 Nov 2016 10:36:59 -0700
"Bob La Londe" wrote:

I am looking at a G7948 from Grizzly. I'd like something better than I
have, but can't really justify the price of a big name. I've got three HF
drill presses now. Two benchtops that are "ok" and a floor model that is
not great and never was. For the most part I have learned how to get
acceptable results out of the floor model, but I would like to have a
better
heavier floor model. The two benchtops are dedicated to tapping heads.
Now
I know Grizzly is just another importer, but my luck with stuff from them
in
the past has been decent. Better on average than HF. That being said I've
never bought anything more than low priced from them in the past either.
It
looks similar to the HF 61484 or 39955, but costs about $200 more. Does
anybody here have one? Is it just more a expensive version of the HF
(probably won't buy another HF floor model) or is it better? I'm not
planning to use it as a mill. I just want something that doesn't turn
drill
bits into an inverted blurry cone when its set for one of the higher
speeds.

Sure I have a decent mill (KMB1) and a couple mill drills, but a floor
standing decent drill press is sometimes the best most efficient tool for
the job. Even the HF drill press I have is sometimes the best tool for the
job. I'd just like a better one.

**From past research I got the feeling that Grizzly items could be
**described as better than HF. Basically the same stuff but Grizzly seems
**to have better quality control and maybe some extras thrown in.

That's what I have heard as well, but I was hoping to find that a couple
people had them and could offer some feedback.


**Like the 9x20 Lathe.

As near as I can tell the biggest metal lathe HF offers now is the 8x14.
Basically a mini lathe on steroids. Bigger, but not necessarily better.

**The HF version I bought didn't come with the 4-jaw
**chuck that Grizzly included at the time. I spent around 40-60 hours (I'm
**slow going over it, aligning stuff, removing over-sprayed paint,
**grit... you get the picture. The 4-jaw chuck supplied with these is
**rather light duty, no big loss. It wasn't quite half the price of the
**Grizzly though and I'm a cheapskate

I've got an HF 7x10 (converted to 14) and an HF 8.5x18. Neither is anythign
to write home about. The 7x10 does kind of hold a soft spot in my head
though. It was my first real (sorta) machine tool.

**You might want to look through the Drill Presses offered by Wholesale
**Tool, see if they have anything of interest if you haven't already:

** http://tool.wttool.com/nav/cat2/DrillPresses/0

** They run deals, like 10% off every so often. The Cyber Monday has
** expired though...

I've looked at wtt a couple times. The only thing I notice is the do carry
some of those with expensive labels. After my experience with a several
thousand dollar Delta saw I don't trust big pricey labels like I once did.