I pulled some cash out of my pocket and a five and a few ones landed on the floor. At that time mixed metal scrap was going for about $30.00 - $40.00 a ton, and the machine weighed 750 lbs. I was told I could have it for 1/2 the scrap price if I would haul it away. When everything else was gone I asked what they wanted for the machine. They didn't even get an offer for the thing. The company conducting the sale had no idea what they were selling. Over the years someone covered the original nameplate with a tag from some Chinese machine. Several years ago I bought the next larger model from a machine shop that was closing. but the bigger drill presses do drill a decent hole and are a suitable alternative to those that can not afford american iron for hobby use. I have a 12' Walker turner bench top that someone put a floor standing height column on that beats both my HF units in smoothness, accuracy/runout and joy of use.ĪLL Harbor freight drill presses I have seen (including mine) have loose spindles and the bearings make a racket when running due to the loose specs. I have a 30 year old HF 16' drill press that they no longer sell and it does a great job for drilling all sorts of metal. I own a HF 13' floor standing drill press which does a decent job for wood working. Those tiny drill presses might work for a jeweler drilling soft metal or a hobbyist drilling holes in 1/8' fiber board characters they cut out with their scroll saw. I know is is a big jump up in price but I would not buy a smaller than a 13' bench top drill press from harbor freight if you expect it to have any practical use for metal working. My 18v Dewalt hand drill has CONSIDERABLY more torque than the HF 8' DP. the belts are half the height of a regular belt and slip if you sneeze on them. I gave it away to someone I didn't like! For drilling anything in metal this is a complete waste of money! It doesn't even use real belts. But you may want to wait for an actual owner / user of that DP to chime in with their results.I had one of the HF 8' bench top models and it would not drill a 1/2' hole in a 2x4. But aside from that zero issues.Īside from the funny height on that machine, I have not heard a single negative thing about them. It took me a bit to get the taper and inside of the chuck completely clean, and run back together properly. I have had only one issue with mine, and that was getting a big hung up was enough to spin the chuck off the taper. All the important stuff is 100% the same. Having said that, I do not have the HF model you refer to, but realize that so called HF bench top drill press is really a floor model with a short column, and it is the same machine as my Northern Industrial 16 speed floor model with different paint color, switch, and slightly different table / column. Good enough to fork over much larger cash for the 29 gallon machine. Other than a paint flaking issue with my 8 gallon compressor (which I have seen the same thing with a Campbell Hausfield which this appears to be the same compressor with a different color paint) and a user induced broken regulator, I have had nothing but good luck with that little guy. Certain of their nailers and compressors are among them, however there is also some real garbage to be had. Not sure what your compressor / nail gun experience is, but HF is known to have certain gems.

Drill press harbor freight