I had a Floor Drill Press for years until we sold our house and bought a condo. I bought this one for a project not expecting much for the price.
Boy was I surprised.
This is one quality tool. It is extremely well built and very smooth and quiet in its operation. In fact, it has the feel of a precision tool as opposed to a plain old drill press. This thing looks and feels like it should cost twice as much as it does.
I used to buy all my tools from a National Retailer who has their own brand of tools ( you know the one- begins with a C ).
I borrowed a friend's drill press first who had this well known brand and it was total junk. So I went out and bought the Skil instead. I usually buy only Dewalt and Bosch and this is every bit as well made as those two other brands. In fact, Bosch owns Skil.
Finally- in case you're wondering, the laser really does work and is a great assist when drilling small holes. Just remember to take the batteries out when you are not going to use it for a while. Skil 3320-02 120-Volt 10-Inch Drill Press
Although the package was a bit banged up the contents were all there and not damaged. The drill assembled easily and the instructions were good. The unit operated without any problems. I'm very happy with it and would buy from Skil again.
The fit and finish aren't what you will get from an expensive tool, but this is very functional and precise in the places it needs to be. Was surprised to see that the table was exactly perpendicular to the chuck right out of the box, and the lasers were dead on as well. Has a little vibration in the spindle at certain points in the travel but nothing that should effect the cut. The power switch is very nice and you can shut it down quickly. For the price, not to mention free Prime shipping, you cant go wrong.
First, you must decide what you want your tool to do. Then you can choose the tool.
This is not a production drill press. It's designed for the home shop, with medium-to-heavy usage by one to two people. I got it to drill holes in brass parts for the armatures I make for models. Not exactly heavy-duty usage. But, it performs that function flawlessly. The adjustment knobs and set-screws are all rugged. And, I was surprised, but the laser guide does work, and it works well. I aligned the lasers using the smallest drill bit I own, and they are very useful for getting the holes lined up accurately.
Overall, this is a great product. There are cheaper options, but when I tested and/or inspected them, I found the components to be shoddy and the results to be sub-par. The Skil Drill Press out-performs all of them.
We needed a small dril press for fabricating electronic test assemblies. The Skil 3320-02 was right for the task. Assembly was quick, and adjustments were minimal. The laser alignment was not perfect, but it didn't warrant re-adjustment. The table was even clamped at 90 degrees to the bit right out of the box. Chuck run-out was negligible which allows us to drill holes with small numbered drill bits. A good value for a small drill press.
I purchased this drill press for my 'garage' workshop. The drill is used in a variety of home projects (PCB board fabrication, project box construction (plastic and metal), etc.
This drill serves its function quite well. The press is durable and well balanced. The laser sight is very helpful in aligning drill bit and hole.
NB:
To change speeds, you do need to pop the top cabinet, loosen the motor mounts (thumb-tight screws), change belt positions and then retighten the motor mounts and snap the cabinet back into place. Not a serious chore, but it is a 'manual' not an 'automatic' transmission.
The press is heavy (about 50 lbs) and it is best to mount to a stable surface (e.g., a workbench).
This is my first drill press since shop class in 8th grade, though I'm handy with most other power tools. I assembled it in about 30 mins without too much difficulty (though there is one small plastic part left over that is not mentioned in 3 readings of the instructions -- never a good thing).
Moving the table up and down seems rather clunky, but I may have more adjustments to make.
I'm writing this review before even using the drill because the ad says "variable speed", which from many years of using standard drills means to me that the speed is easily and continuously controllable. This drill press actually has only 5 discreet speeds, which can be changed by opening up the hood, loosening one of the spindles, adjusting the belt, and then tightening the spindle again to the right belt tension. Not that hard to do, but not trivial.
Maybe you experts out there knew this from previous experience, but for those like me who did not, this drill is "variable speed" only in the sense that you can change the speed to 1 of 5 speeds by manually adjusting the belt (570rpm, 900, 1390, 2050, 3050).
I'll update my review after I begin using it.'
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