I recently purchased the Harbor Freight Central Machinery 38142 13" 16 speed benchtop DP after looking at the Craftsman 12", Hitachi, Ryobi, Harbor Freight, Griz, Northern Tool, and Delta. It was a replacement for my undersized 8" Grizzly. HF isn't known for their stellar quality and I was a bit apprehensive about buying it, but DPs are a fairly simple device and I've heard several good reports from other HF DP owners. At this point I'm fairly impressed, and think I'd need to spend considerably more money to do better. I really didn't notice much quality difference between the group of DPs that I compared. The 38142 is rated at 3/4hp, and has alot more power than my 8" Griz 1/2hp did, so I'm thinking the motor rating is fairly accurate. It weighs ~ 125# so is plenty stable. There's no detectable runout, and the quill travel is > 3". It runs smooth, strong, and true. My only complaint so far is that it's very tall for a bench DP...~ 42". I'm thinking about cutting ~ 3" off the post to bring the height down. It doesn't have any gizmos like laser guides, work light, or digital readouts, but seems to be strong in the basics. This DP retails for $195, but was on sale for $160, plus I had a 10% coupon that brought it down to $144. There are two HF stores in my area that both have liberal return policies, so I felt that my risk was fairly low. I didn't expect it to perform as well as it does, but there definitely are some gems mixed in with the "clutter" at HF.

So far, so good, but I'll post an update if my impression sours over time.

Machined steel column features rack and pinion table movement. Cast iron table is accurately gauged, tilts to 45° left or right. Precision chuck holds bit from the smallest wire gauge to the largest size with 5/8'' shank. Morse taper spindle for versatility. Adjustable depth stop and gauge included. Table and base are slotted for easy vise installation. UL listed.

• Chuck capacity: 7/64'' to 5/8''
• Column diameter: 2-57/64''
• Spindle stroke: 3-1/8''
• Motor HP: 3/4
• Spindle Taper: MT2
• Table size: 11-1/2'' diameter
• Spindle Speeds: 16
• Swing: 13-7/8''
• Spindle RPM: 240 - 3600
• Base size: 17-5/8'' x 10''
• Height: 41-3/4''
• Tool weight: 125 lbs.

ITEM 38142-7VGA