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Mine arrived in perfect condition. I was also surprized about how quiet the machine is.
There are a lot of options out there and some of the newest ones have some neat chrome. When you inspect the drive mechanisms, however, it is clear that most are light duty machines.
I did a lot of research before buying this drill press. It has about 1 1/2" more area than the drill press I replaced and it really helps.
This machine is a workhorse. The work area is large for a bench machine.
I read some reviews that were a couple years old saying their machine arrived with the packaging tore up. In summary; Great Machine.
I called support and they were very friendly. I am rating Grizzly quality at this time, not the tool. The packaging was pretty thin in this area, so I was not too surprised. I would give it 5 stars, but the insane buying process was a little disconcerting.
Grizzly finally had me return the entire drill press. I could not be happier. Hopefully, most people will not have any issues.I am in month number 3, and I am still getting replacement parts. There is a 30 day return policy, and once its gone, you own the tool for life and need to resolve anything with Grizzly support. All the reviews seem to indicate it is a great machine once its working, which is why I am giving it a 2 instead of a one.
Obviously this was not the case.I have placed another call with support, and they will call me next week. I expect I will have yet another large iron base pole in my garage. I even attempted to turn the pole around, on the hope that there was a "special" way to set it down. The 1st time the pole was busted at the base, literally large parts of iron cracked off. they sent another pole right away.
They are WAY off. My update is below, but this information is still pertinent to anyone planning to buy a tool from Grizzly: I purchased the floor model of this tool (G7944). Hopefully, the 3rd time will be a charm.UPDATE: The 3rd time was not a charm. I got another incorrect pole and base.
They investigated the returned device, and then sent a new one. The return process took about 3 weeks to complete.Now that I am using the tool, it is excellent. It may be the case that I just had a run of bad luck.However, my warning above still stands.
I will certainly update this once I get the tool working.A word of caution: if you are like me, and travel frequently, make sure to assemble to tool as soon as you get it. Make sure someone is present who can inspect the tool and all included parts immediately. I received the pole, and then tried to install it, only to discover that the holes do not align with the base.
In some cases, you cannot see the other holes. My 4 stars is for the tool b/c once I got the right stuff, it works flawlessly. I know most people do not travel like I do, so this is probably a minor concern.
3. i bought this drill based on the reviews and the photo, i wanted a swivel base/table or a drill press is pretty worthless. comes with a light, no light bulb. couple things:1.
then you need a couple metric screws to fasten it. if you don't have a loading dock at your house and need a lift gate, the shipped goes up another $302. the box is pretty compact, so you really don't need a lift gate unless you area super wuss. I was going to buy a craftsman but the reviews were all pretty bad. i can feel it with my finger; not going to make.01 holes with this thing. all the stuff on this drill is metric (ok, but harder to find screws, bolts in US)5.
looks like there used to be a light bulb guard/window but it's not included. have to make your own from a cd case.
7. so far the thing works great and cuts through stuff like butter.
6. one of the holes for the handles wasn't tapped so great.
took me several attempts to get the handle in straight so it wouldn't cross thread4. there is runout.
it is heavy duty, really.
Watch out on the shipping, I picked it up at the local shipping center, they say they would deliver to my house though, they did call to schedule. All in all I would give it an 8 out 10 on quality and 10 out 10 for value.
Went together very easily, although a heavy unit. Speeds are easy to adjust with the belts.
I haven't had a chance to put it through the wringer yet, but, the few times I have used it thusfar show a lot of promise. Works OK so far though.
Not too noisy. I'm not sure I am thrilled with the table height adjustment mechanism, mainly the track on the side of the post but also the crank mechanism.
I highly recommend this unit if you are looking for a benchtop unit. Not sure how the delivery to my house would have went, read the delivery terms and ask questions first.
Like others, I have suffered not having enough tool for the job at hand. It has the advantage of more low end speeds than most drill presses in the price range.It took me a few days to come up with a good drill press table for it, but it works well with it, although I have had to remove the handles more than once to get in close. Before I start, woodworking is a fairly new hobby for me. Just because it's not that far away from us.The Grizzly was far and away the most drill press I saw for under $300. No problems with that issue.I've found customer service to be helpful, but I think it depends who answers the phone on the other end. So when I went shopping, I hit Sears, Harbor Freight, the big box stores, and last, went to the Bellingham,WA. It runs smoothly, and has more than enough power for anything I can throw at it.
They wanted to charge me until I pointed out it was darn near new. Prior to my shoulder problems, I worked in a machine shop, so I'm used to working with steel and aluminum. Since then Grizzly offers a table that looks decent for $30I had one part break after 6 days, and had a discussion with customer support. showroom. Setup was easy once I made a sturdy bench for it to be attached to. They sent the part, and I had it installed 2 days after the talk with customer service.Since then, I've had occasion to contact customer service (on another item), and they worked with me, and it took 2 tries for them to find a part that would do what it was supposed to. I've had excellent results via email though.
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