Cheap Harbor Freight Drill Press

[The Fishing Hobby]

Thought I would drop this video in here in case anyone was interested in one of these. I bought this as a 3rd drill press and wouldn't recommend it as a primary drill press unless you only need a light duty machine. It isn't super accurate or very rigid. In my case, I just needed a 3rd drill press set up to do nothing but countersink holes in plastic to help me speed up the production process for making the rod wrapping jigs I sell. For a light task like that, this drill press fits the bill. Like a lot of machinery from Harbor Freight, it needs a little extra work to get it running better and I go over that in the video. If anyone has any questions about the machine, I will be glad to try and answer them. Tight lines!

[RowdyW]

They sure don't build them like they used to, even in China. I bought one from HF about 30 years ago & it was all cast iron & real steel. No flex in mine. Plastic is for models not real tools. Better to pick up older used machines at auctions and flea markets.           Rudy

[Crow]

My Dad always said, about tools...."Buy the best you can, and only cry once!', and I've found that to be true. That is, if you are going to "really use" them, I can see, however, that if you AREN'T going to use them very much, or, very HARD....maybe cheaper stuff would be OK.I'll agree with Rudy....there are usually some good deals to be had at auctions, flea markets, etc., ....20, 30, or even more, year old stuff, quality tools , in their day, and "affordable".

[Alto Mare]

Your dad was a wise man.
I do not purchase power tools at harbor freight anymore.
It is a good place for hand tools though, you could get a hammer and a set of screwdrivers for less that $10.
Those are the only tools my helper is allowed to touch, he wouldn't dare touch my belt😁.

I guess as crow has mentioned, if you don't use them every day, they might do just fine for you.

Sal

[The Fishing Hobby]

I agree with finding a good used one if possible. I have 2 other drill presses that have cast iron bases/tables/spindle housings. This one was bought to use as a one trick pony to countersink holes to a specific depth in plastic. I set it up and don't have to mess with it and it does what I need it to do. It has already paid for itself in time savings. I have a 30+ year old made in Taiwan drill press that is actually a nice machine and would be a much better machine for most people to find in the used market. I also have a newer Skil drill press that is a better machine than the HF model. If you know the limitations of this drill press in the video and can work within those limitations, it can be useful in situations similar to mine.

[Dominick]

Another fine video.  Thanks Kevin.  Dominick

[oc1]

Harbor Freight sells crap.  They always have and always will.  It's a sad commentary that their new crap makes their old crap look good by comparison.
-steve

[foakes]

There is a "fine line" for me when buying tools —

I look at some of the older stationary power tools such as table saws, drill presses, shapers, chop saws, moulding cutters, bandsaws, jigsaws, lathes, jointers, etc. — and half of the time they are well made and solid even after 40-60 years.

For me, issues arise when they are not able to be set back up into square specs — due to worn fences, rollers that were not designed for years of use, bearings shot, belts that need to be moved from pulley to pulley, etc.

The newer Asian stuff from HF has a fair amount of plastic in critical adjustment areas — just like a new Tupperware Reel from PRC.

So I always check out CL and eBay first, tool forums, and others.

Then I check out new products, ratings, pricing, and sales on the brands that I am willing to pay for.

Somewhere in between HF & other brands such as Ryobi, Grizzly, Rockler, Porter-Cable, and others — I generally find a quality tool at a price point and a price-range I am happy with...

In many cases, the worn parts on a 60 year old stationary power tool can still be sourced for a reasonable price.

In other cases — I just buy new — but look for the best values.

Important things for me are ease of adjustments that are repeatable — not all over the Board, history of company, adjustable speeds, dust management ports, and quality ratings by users.

I have had some HF tools over the years — and with the exception of a bearing press, and (3) bench grinders — (4) of the machines have just ended up out at the mailbox for free to the first grabber.

Just my opinions...

Best,

Fred

[Midway Tommy]

Very few of HF's tools are worth the time or the effort to drive there load them up and take them at home. The rare exceptions are things you only use once or maybe twice a year. Power and precision tools are definitely no, nos. My neighbor has one of their drill press cross vises. That piece garbage couldn't hold material in place for a split second. I needed to drill some precise holes through some 3" fiber resin so I thought I would use his drill press rather than to try to freehand it with a 1/2' Makita pistol drill. Long story short, I could have done a much better job freehand with my Makita. I think of Harbor Freight tools as onetime wonder throwaways 

[The Fishing Hobby]

Harbor Freight sells crap.  They always have and always will.  It's a sad commentary that their new crap makes their old crap look good by comparison.
-steve

I'm going to disagree with this (respectfully) to an extent. They do sell a lot of stuff that isn't professional quality, but some of their products I have bought have held up quite well. I use a 2.5 ton floor jack I bought from there regularly and it has been a very good tool for several years. I also have a random orbit sander that I bought in a pinch after my dewalt bit the dust and I really only bought it to do a specific job that I was finishing up and intended to buy a better quality one after that...except the little $16 sander won't die. I have a tool cart I bought from there several years ago and it still works just fine. I have several rubber mallets and hammers that I bought from there...not much can go wrong with those I suppose but they do their job. I have a Harbor Freight mini metal lathe that is 20+ years old and still running. It is good for small tasks, but I have a larger Emco lathe that is a better machine and much more capable on larger tasks. I have bought a lot of other tooling there like indexable metal lathe bits, HSS metal lathe bits, drill bits, tail stock chucks, wire brushes, wrenches...they have all done their job with no mishaps. This particular drill press is unimpressive but I could tell that looking at the floor model. The 10" version was a much better looking machine...but I'm countersinking holes in plastic. That is its only job and it is doing that just fine. I have always worked with my hands for a living and I'd say I have a better understanding of working within a tools capabilities than the average Joe so maybe that is why some of the things I have bought from there have served me well.

[The Fishing Hobby]

Another fine video.  Thanks Kevin.  Dominick

Thanks Dominick! Did you get around to building that rod yet???

[Dominick]

Another fine video.  Thanks Kevin.  Dominick

Thanks Dominick! Did you get around to building that rod yet???

Yes but I am embarrassed by the rookie mistakes I made.  I put it aside to redo the entire rod.  I will explain all when I post the result.  I will also show my mistakes to help others not make the same mistakes.  I do have to say it does not look that bad but I am my worst critic.  Thank you for asking.  BTW the rod wrapper works well.  Dominick

[The Fishing Hobby]

Another fine video.  Thanks Kevin.  Dominick

Thanks Dominick! Did you get around to building that rod yet???

Yes but I am embarrassed by the rookie mistakes I made.  I put it aside to redo the entire rod.  I will explain all when I post the result.  I will also show my mistakes to help others not make the same mistakes.  I do have to say it does not look that bad but I am my worst critic.  Thank you for asking.  BTW the rod wrapper works well.  Dominick

Nothing to be embarrassed about, we learn more from mistakes than anything else. When I first started building rods I made more messes than successes 
If you have any questions I'd be glad to try and help. I certainly don't know everything but I've built, modified and repaired several rods so I may be able to offer some advice. Looking forward to seeing the end result and hearing about what you learned. Send me a message after you post your results!
I'd make a suggestion and you can take it as my own 2 cents. If the rod is completed and usable, I'd say just start using it and see what you think you would do different before starting over. See what you think about how it handles and if your guide spacing may need to be fine tuned or not. See how well it fits your needs or if you would rather rework some details about it. The more you learn now about the fine details, the better before going at it again. I'm glad you like the wrapper. I've had a lot of good feedback on them and that means a lot to me. My goal was to make a wrapper that was easy for a beginner to use and also one that works well enough for an experienced rod builder to enjoy using. I've sold one to a professional rod builder who was looking for a portable wrapper to use on location and he said it worked out well for him and I've sold several to beginners who said they had success with it on their first attempt at wrapping a guide. I've also sold one to someone who builds and sells ice fishing rods who said he threw away his CRB wrapper after using mine. That one made me smile 
I really enjoy the whole process I've been going through from development to prototyping to streamlining the build process. I actually bought the drill press in this video to help speed things up a bit. I'm hoping to follow your suggestion about offering the jigs here on this site at a discount before the end of this summer. I'm building out some more to have ready for eBay sales and then I'm going to start making some to offer to members of this site. I've also had it suggested to make them available in the Project Healing Waters catalog for members of that organization by someone who runs a chapter, but I'm going to have to really pick up the pace of production before I can do that. That is going to require even more tooling. I've learned a lot...it has been an evolving thing and a lot of fun too!

[Tiddlerbasher]

To make cheap fairly limited power tools more useable I've been playing with  one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-220V-0-75kW-Variable-Frequency-Drive-VFD-Speed-Control-Inverter-Single-Phrase/183860278827?hash=item2aceed362b:g:1Q8AAOSwn2xdEY-l

You can control the speed of any regular induction motor - speed it up as well as slowing it down. To save time on my drill press I now use Variable Speed Control instead of changing pulleys. There is no power loss when slowing things down. There is some power loss to speed it up. I also use it on my 4" linishing machine which otherwise would be too fast and vicious for my uses. A lot of modern lathes etc. now use this technology. I wired up the 'VFD' to a short extension cable - it makes for a very useful portable speed control:



They are available in single or 3 phase

[tincanary]

I only buy what I call "consumables" from Harbor Freight.  Things like acid brushes, Dremel sanding disks, polishing pads, etc.  All the rest of my tools come by way of garage sales, estate sales, or eBay.  I have a 18V Lithium Ion Mikita drill I got for $15 at a garage sale.  They said it wouldn't charge.  I opened up the battery, got some replacement cells, soldered them in, charged it up, been working like a charm since.  This was a couple years ago.  I think I paid something like $3 each for the battery cells, so $12 to repair it.  That drill retailed for $200 and some change at the time.