General International 17 in. 1HP Electronic Variable Speed (120 to 3200 RPM) Drill Press with Flip-up Chuck Guard and Integrated Laser Pointer

This machine has great drilling capability; steel greater than 1″. High torque, excellent speed regulation. Convenient depth stop. The limited lifetime personal-use warranty suggests the manufacturer’s confidence in the product. The inverter speed control with digital readout is a highly desirable feature. You can even change the speed while drilling to reduce chatter, etc.115 volts (12 amp) is the power requirement. Most of the mechanical features are similar to to those of the price range. However, there are a few idiosyncrasies, some of which you can remedy: 1. The inverter is powered whenever the line cord is connected to 115 volts. The stop buttons on the switch box tell the inverter to stop the motor but do not disconnect the inverter or the motor. An (unlikely) failure of the inverter could cause it to run the motor when it shouldn’t. Add a line switch at a convenient location for guaranteed shut off. 2. The table lift gear assembly was shipped without lubrication. Fill the rack with grease and work it in for a great improvement. 3. I like to be able to lock the quill at any height, for driving out a Morse taper for example. I have added a quill lock to three different Asian drill presses. It is quite simple and involves no modification to any of the parts of the drill press. Obtain an M10 bolt about 2″ long and machine the end down to 5mm diameter by 1/8″ long. Photograph the quill spring return assembly (85, 86). Supporting the chuck, remove the spring return assembly (wear gloves, the spring will release stored energy) and remove the downfeed handle assembly (23, 28, etc). Remove the quill assembly (34, etc), then remove nut 91 and screw 90. Grease the quill assembly and downfeed pinion shaft (28). Reinsert quill assembly and downfeed pinion shaft rotating the quill assembly to engage the pinion in the rack. Reinstall spring return assembly per photograph. Install modified M10 bolt in hole (in place of 90), rotating quill assembly to engage bolt in slot. Leave bolt slightly loose; tighten to lock quill position. Idiosyncrasies you can’t change” 1. The speed knob is significantly non-linear. 1/2 of the speed range occurs in the last 1/4 of the knob rotation. 2. The inverter is factory programmed to ramp up the motor speed: about 10 seconds to full speed. This can be an annoyance if you want to drill the first hole without waiting. 3. The digits light up only when the spindle is rotating. They display the spindle speed, not the setpoint. To set the speed, with the motor running, set the knob to achieve the desired reading on the digits. This can be slow due to the 10 second ramp-up. 4. My drill press will not start the first time when cold (about 40 F) in the two higher speed belt positions. Manually rotating the chuck gets it going, OK after first run.