HF drill press... dont do it

[durango dude]

I picked up the HF 10" 12 SPEED bench press. A couple months ago.

Dont do it.

First, the chuck is near impossible to seat correctly. The resulting runnout is visible. I now use my lathe to drill pen blanks (also HF, but spot on with Nova chuck).

Although the table has angle indicators, theres no good way to put it on an angle. Theres as seriously torqued bolt, that's it.

I only paid $100, so shouldn't cry too much.

[Jim Frye]

I've always viewed HF as a crapshoot. Some of the products are pretty much junk, while others are really good. I have an HF touch up spray gun that is a delight and some tie down straps that are a real bargin. I've looked at other stuff on the shelves that aren't worth putting on display.

[Carlos]

I think/hope I said "don't do it" when you posted that thread. There are a select few things HF does quite well, the bench/standing power tools are not one of them.

[dbhost]

I'd be curious if the runout was in the chuck, or the shaft. Either way, if it's new enough, take it back and get another one. HF is really good within their warranty period on returns.

For the most part HF is more of a crapshoot than other vendors, but I have gotten gems far more often than not.

The duds on the other hand can be a bit spectacular.