Given the number of bearings used in this drill press It is a very well engineered, solid and stable machine with almost zero runout. Comparing this Jet bench top drill press to that rattling POS 12" Ryobi, which I bought initially and returned right away, is like comparing a Rolls-Royce and Ugo. However, given that sad fact that this Jet drill press was assembled in China, and in my professional experience Chinese generally don't give a damn about quality, my new drill press came with the following flaws:
1. Depth gauge lock collar (part JDP12-35) was broken and its pan head screw and hex nut were missing.
2. Tilt scale indicator (part JDP12-135) was cracked.
3. Left laser (part JDP12-47) has a beam three times wider than the right one.
4. Support roller (part JDP12-25) is deformed and out of cylindrical shape on one end.
When I pay a good money for something, I demand quality and nothing but the quality!!!
I'm going to order replacement for these defective parts from WMH Tool Group, Inc which manufactures these drill presses.
I used this Jet drill press continuously for two days and it has been proven to be a very solid performer, besides these QC flaws listed above. The variety of tasks I have accomplished without a hitch speaks for itself. Drilling precisely positioned holes to install threaded inserts in network conduit pull boxes. Drilling 0.5mm component mounting holes on circuit boards. Drilling precisely spaced and positioned holes on the rifle receiver to install a new rear sight. I could not have accomplished these tasks with any drill presses sold in big box stores locally, especially with that POS Ryobi for which I developed a strong disgust for the rest of my life. Needless to say it was assembled in China as well.
The chuck which came with this Jet drill press is a very high quality, tight and precise piece, which I never seen on any comparable bench top drill presses before. It doesn't wobble or rattles loosely even when it's spinning in open position. The machined surfaces of the base and support table are much smoother and better quality than those I saw on other bench top drill presses namely POS Ryobi, Central Machinery, Rigid and Delta. Quality of the metal cast parts is not perfect but does not have any visible voids, under and over casts that I saw on drill presses named above.
I wish I had an option to buy un-assembled Jet drill press kit to put it properly together by myself without reliance on foreign sweat shop assembly slaves.
The bottom line. If you need a heavy duty reliable, stable and relatively inexpensive bench top drill press the Jet is the way to go. I wish that some day such machinery will be again manufactured in USA to the highest quality standards we used to be known for. But it's up to us to make it a reality. Screw Chinese buy American products is the best recipe for it. For now I'm giving this Jet four stars, but I may review it later again with the lower scoring if it falls apart or does not perform as good as it is now.
Update 19-Oct-2009
I received and installed all the replacement parts sent me by Jet Customer service. The drill press still functioning admirably. However, due to the "corner cutting" in its manufacturing process and Chinese "quality" of its original assembly, I had to make the following improvements:
1. Completely disassembled all mechanical parts and washed out all original crappy cosmoline grease. Re-assembled and lubricated everything with Super Lube Synthetic grease. [...]
2. Installed flat 1.5mm thick copper washer between Pinion Shaft (part JDP12-56) and Coil Spring (part JDP12-81). The washer is roughly equal in its outer diameter to the inner diameter of plastic Spring Retainer (part JDP12-83). This improvement prevents coil spring from rubbing and scorching the side of the head base, thus reduces noise and friction dramatically.
3. Installed flat 0.5mm bronze-oil bushing between Hex Jam Nut (part JDP12-79) and Spring Cap (part JDP12-81). This improvement completely eliminates Pinion Shaft side play, and also eliminates coil spring vibration and noise as well.
4. Installed flat 1.5mm thick copper washer between speed adjustment Hub (part JDP12-95) and Shaft Plate (part JDP12-70). The washer has the same outer diameter as in case 2, and it is a little bit beveled with the file to fit into the hub's beveled inner round cavity. Installed flat 0.3mm copper washer between elevation Shaft (part JDP12-69) and Shaft Plate (part JDP12-70). The washer's outer diameter matches to the outer diameter of the elevation shaft. This eliminates an excessive friction and grinding in speed changing hub assembly. Due to this improvement speed changing now is much more easier and smoother.
5. Reshaped Set Screw (part JDP12-84) quill groove mating surfaces to the true rectangular shape and polished them. This improvement ensures very smooth vertical quill movement without any side play and runout.
Now my inexpensive drill press runs like a $1,000 piece of truly professional machinery. The total cost of improvement was no more than $15.00 for parts and grease, plus four hours of my non-sweat shop manual labor.
Hope you can do the same to improve your JET drill press quality and precision as well. Jet JDP-12 12-Inch Drill Press with Digital Readout
For the price, this is a very high quality drill press. For my use it is perfect. I really like the safety feature of the chuck key which prevents one from accidentally leaving the chuck key in the chuck. It has a spring loaded tip that requires you to keep an inward pressure on the key while tightening or loosening the chuck. As soon as you no longer apply inward pressure on the key, it pushes it self out of the chuck keeping it in your hand. Very nice safety feature.
Another nice feature is the 'on/off" switch is located on the front of the drill press and to turn it on, you pull it towards you, thus if something should go haywire (like not securing the drilled object down and it gets away from you), you can shut the drill press down with your forehead. Hopefully one would not get themselves in this type of situation, but sometimes even the best of us makes an error, and your head is the closes thing to the switch. The laser light is nice as is the work light. A nice feature of the laser light is that it is powered by internal circuitry (not battery powered), so if you forget and leave the laser light on, you don,t have a battery to replace.
Another nice feature is being able to change drilling speeds with out having to change the belt location on the pulley. There is a handle on the left side that you push or pull to change the speed while the drill press is running and a digital display above the "on/off" switch that shows the RPM. Like I said in the beginning that for the price, this is an outstanding quality product. - Drill - Woodworking - Drill Presses - Drill Press'
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