I'm looking for an inexpensive benchtop drill press for

>>1162583
any one is better than nothing, use the 20% off coupon from harbor freight and get one for ~$50

i'd knock off the chuck and lap the taper a little bit

get a drill press clamp for thin sheets and a small press vise for larger things

File: grizzly12speed.jpg (20KB, 500x500px) Image search: [Google]

20KB, 500x500px

>>1162583
>relatively light duty, mostly hobby projects
Care to elaborate? Low end drill presses are wobbly, flexible, and low-torque, so precision, drilling metal, and drilling large holes in wood would be difficult. You might look for an old used drill press at estate sales or Craigslist. Alternately, a nicer drill press would be nicer to use, and so might make your hobby more enjoyable. Consider the value of this to you as you compare cost and performance.

>>1162583
It's shit. I own it. Changing speed is a bitch, it's weighted horribly, all holes end up slightly larger than the bit you use because of wobble, the light is a nuisance. But, you can get it cheap. Bolt to work bench, get a better chuck, make a better table for it and it's workable. Also, reviews say the switches like to break(the one on display had a broken switch too) but that would be an easy fix.

>>1162591
>Changing speed is a bitch
how so? all you do is loosen the tension thumbscrew, pop the top, pull the motor towards you, and move the belt

i've found with all these small drill presses that their slow speed can still be way too fast

>>1162583
Mine only moves about 6 inches, feckin shoite.

>>1162591
I have that piece of shit too. Any thoughts on minimizing the wobble? It seems like it lines up right, then right as you touch the workpiece it wanders.

>>1162599
drop the chuck on a concrete floor a few times - happened a bunch when i first got it

mine seems to run true, it'll drill 0.020" holes in pcbs, to 3/8 without wobble. never checked it with a indicator though

>>1162583
>What's the cheapest one worth owning?

Skil 3320 is as cheap as id go

>>1162587
Kind of a random mishmash of stuff, but nothing particularly heavy-duty.

Part of why I'm hesitant to spend much is that I want to eventually buy a full-size floor drill press, but I don't have room for one in my current "shop." (My long-term plan is to eventually put together a serious home metal shop with a mill and lathe, but my garage can't handle the weight, so I need to move somewhere else first.)

>>1162587

Thing is if anon is like me he is probably using a hand drill for drill press jobs. Literally the worst drill press is probably better.

All ya diy folks don't know the shit tool struggle. It's a life hating exercise many of us deal with on a project to project basis.

>>1162656
OP here, and yeah, this is basically my situation.

What makes it so much worse is that I used to work in a shop with just about every tool imaginable, so I know what it's like having access to good shit.

>>1162693

Might want to see if there is a tool library in your town if you're not using it frequently.

My issue is more I live in a apartment and don't own a car so I'm kinda fucked. There aren't any decent hacker spaces sadly.

>>1162694
We actually have a lot of those, and I'm also still friends with my old boss so I can use his shop and tools occasionally, but it's a helluva lot easier having my own stuff in my house. I have a decent little shop space and lots of outdoor work area, I just can't have heavy tools because my garage is on the second story (house is on a hill and the street is above it) and so the floor can't handle big stuff.

File: Bench-Drill-Press-Stand-Clamp-Base-Frame-for-Electric-Drills-DIY-Tool-Press.jpg (214KB, 800x800px) Image search: [Google]

214KB, 800x800px

>>1162656
>Literally the worst drill press is probably better.
Debatable. A cheapo drill press is probably easier to use to make reasonably straight holes, but it probably has less drilling capacity than a nice hand drill. I have a nice hand drill that I've used to drill half-inch holes in steel (one shot, no pilot) and large wood bits that would stall the cheapo drill press I've used in the past.

Since OP seems to be looking for a stopgap with basic drill press functionality, he might consider something like pic related. If the hand drill is decent, it might even be better than a cheapo drill press.

File: vintage-black-decker-4-magnetic-drill_1_b639772a19e4e51e9efff3ef8aa38f71[1].jpg (43KB, 400x300px) Image search: [Google]

43KB, 400x300px

Take this.

File: 12615-C[1].jpg (63KB, 650x487px) Image search: [Google]

63KB, 650x487px

>>1163254
Put it in this.

File: 1484044087292.png (141KB, 520x520px) Image search: [Google]

141KB, 520x520px

$3,000 version