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Lewis Baker The delta SM300 drill press can be purchased for$99.99 new at most of your hometown hardwares. I just purchased one.
Nothing serious, just a pain.Someone having more experience with drill presses would have probably understood the machine's limitations better than I did. That's when I started running up against the SM300's limitations. Under forsner bits (hardwood), instead of saying not applicable or not recommended, the table lists a speed setting that isn't available on the machine. Number two - it's seriously under-powered.
This is my first (but won't be my last)drill press. Having now learned, I hope to replace my SM300 in the near future.If you don't anticipate a need to use forsner bits and/or solely work with softwood, the SM300 is a nice, solid, dependable little machine. Adjusting the belt in order to change speed settings is, although it's a minor concern, a bit of a hassle. On the plus side, it's easy to assemble, easy to use, doesn't take up much space and does accurate work.
Number three - The manual lists recommended speeds for various operations. If you plan on doing genreal woodworking (My primary use for the machine) go for something that has a bit more muscle. Once it was set up, the machine did exactly what I needed it to do - at first.The drill press hasn't broken or had any critical adjustments slip, it's just that after I'd used it on a few projects, I began to realize how handy a drill press can be. Number one - it's seriously under-powered, something I noticed the first time I chucked up a forsner bit.
The other complaint is that the motor seems to have a very slight "hot oil" smell after 20 minutes of continuance use. The unit runs smoothly with very minimal vibration. The heavy parts shifted in transit and broke a small 1/4 piece of plastic off of the back of the pulley cover. I have only two minor complaints.
I bought a Delta SM300 unit from Amazon in March 2008. Overall, I am very pleased with this drill press. I just glued it back on, but still it was an annoyance. It was just $99 with free SuperSaving shipping, and no sales tax, a great price for a solid bench drill press.
The cardboard shipping box is not really strong enough for this drill press. I have a larger floor model at work, but for my home use, this bench top unit is great. Most of the parts are cast iron or machined steel. Nice accurate holes every time.
For the price, this drill press is everything that it was cracked up to be.
It works like a charm and really looks good. I just received my Delta sm300 drill press. The instructions were simple and assembly took around 1 hr, incliding opening up the box.
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