Lowes seems to be aggressively discounting this to clear it out as it was $510 two weeks ago, $400 one week ago and just dropped to $305 in my local lowes stores (near 48101).
There are some negative reviews about the chuck but those seem to have been over a year ago. May be a gamble but a good price for a floor standing unit.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-C...1000132463
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https://brickseek.com/lowes-inven...1000132
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My main gripe is adjusting the table: it's a pain in the ass. Adjusting the height involves a quick-release and crank...not terrible but location is slightly inconvenient. Table tilt, on the other hand, involves a wrench or socket and due to the weight of the cast iron table (and whatever supplemental table you've attached to it) dialing in a specific angle can take a lot of trial and error. If you need a specific angle often it would probably be easier to make a jig hold the work piece at an angle on a flat table than to constantly go back and forth adjusting.
Overall, I'd recommend this press on a budget and at $305 it's a no-brainer. Just don't expect $1700 fit and finish from a $550 machine.
How are we, in 2022, still paying so much money, for such outdated tools?
Don't get me wrong, the NOVA Voyager feels like it should be $200 less than what it is, but there's no competition for a true variable speed, digital drill press on the market (in the US anyways. Europe has many. Some start at €170 and some great ones are only 2x that price.)
If someone in the US were to make and sell a (true) VFD drill press, they would be loaded in cash lol. It wouldn't need to be anything crazy, just a base, a direct drive motor, and a VFD. No super settings for depth and tapping modes, etc. Just a vfd drill press.
How are we, in 2022, still paying so much money, for such outdated tools?
Don't get me wrong, the NOVA Voyager feels like it should be $200 less than what it is, but there's no competition for a true variable speed, digital drill press on the market (in the US anyways. Europe has many. Some start at €170 and some great ones are only 2x that price.)
If someone in the US were to make and sell a (true) VFD drill press, they would be loaded in cash lol. It wouldn't need to be anything crazy, just a base, a direct drive motor, and a VFD. No super settings for depth and tapping modes, etc. Just a vfd drill press.
The WEN does have a digital variable speed, but it's OOS at the moment
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The WEN does have a digital variable speed, but it's OOS at the moment
That one is not a variable speed... it's a secondary belt tensioning device, and a rough guess at the speed.
I almost got that one and once I looked at the actual drill press on display I said NOPE.
If you just see the pics, and a few videos, you think it's a great idea and value. But in reality it's just a standard drill press with a cheap counter, and extra pulley wheel.
I was considering getting a Bosch PBD-40 from Europe and just getting a single outlet (or converter) that would allow me to use it with my 220 system. Only downfall, is that there would be no warranty and if there were any issue, it would likely just become $350 scrap. I sure wish Bosch would make a US version. They would sell a ton at $500 and be rolling in cash.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274571717981
No specs, looks like cheap Chinese stuff and shipping costs are unknown.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274571717981
No specs, looks like cheap Chinese stuff and shipping costs are unknown.
My main gripe is the table adjustment. The clamp is hard to adjust and makes it hard on the "ladder" rail that drives it up and down. Now my rail is bowed and keeps getting worse and worse. I've had to take the whole press apart (you have to remove the motor) to take the rail off, bend back into shape and put back together. After a few uses it's is back to bowing again.
Overall, I'm satisfied and would be a buyer at this price, but there are some trade offs with a low price machine. I'd still say it is better than my buddys bench top Wen, but with this bigger floor model, make sure you get way to move it around. I went with a bora system and it makes this big/heavy machine much easier to wheel around and store.
Found one locally with 5% Lowes Advantage to make it sweeter. They are all Chinese crap anyway. 😂
https://youtu.be/5BrY1qK6APA?t=6