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any thoughts on this?
Drill Press

1/2 hp and 12 spindle speeds ....THATS THE TICKET!
drilling does not require RAW POWER it takes the proper RPM of the drill to the object being bored.
Drill presses are great until ya try to force a bit that was not desighned "TO DO THAT"..
This is my pennies.

Get a floor model over a bench model. Get a vice to hold your work. I personally don't need an expensive drill press. I've had mine for over 30 years and have hed zero problems. I also got a small chain to hang my chuck key off the back of the drill press head. The chuck has been hanging there since I bought it and I never have to look for it.

The 1/2 hp and a vise that you can secure to the table is good advice. Also sharp drill bits, turned slow and googles for the eyeballs. I picked up a 1936 Walker Turner 900 bench model at a yard sale for a few bucks and rebuilt it (new bearings,cleaned and painted). I like that one better than my 16 speed off shore brand.

you will like the 5/8" chuck that's a plus. of course you could always get a s&d drill set even with a 1/2" chuck. it says it has a mt2 spindle, can you use any mt2 tooling? if so that's a plus too. i sold the last drill press i had several years back, just use my mill now. not quite as quick to throw on and off like a drill press but it's a lot better. like being able to adjust the drill position after your piece is locked down, that's nice, but not relative to everyone.
like sw radial said slow speeds are the best, especially for those holes over 1/2". so a slow speed is the most important thing i would look for looks like it goes down to 280. don't see a price but it may be there. did you check on any local used ones? the runout on these imports used to be a bear, but everyone says the quality is getting better.

I just picked it up..got it used on Kijiji for $200, it has only been used a few times and has an extra chuck. It is in like new condition.

My machinist buddy told me earlier today it was a good deal and I grabbed it. He liked the MT2 as well.

These go fast up here.

I like the 12 speeds, and wide RPM range. A lot of drill presses don't go any lower than 500 RPM. I have one similar to yours.

John

I like your choice, especially the mt2 spindle. mine has the same spindle and just love it. If you do any heavy drilling a bigger hp motor would help, mine has a 1hp but I do a lot of tubing notching for hand rails and roll cage fab work and it works great.

That General stuff is pretty darn good.I have a General mortising machine in my woodshop. As for drill presses I bought a Craftsman many years ago. Paid atround $139. for it and it has been used and abused and still works like new.