Tweet
When looking to add a woodworking friendly table to a drill press, I discovered the Grizzly H7827 Drill Press Table, which cost less than I could build it for. So far it has been worth it.
My particular table was one that I purchased used from a fellow BT3Central member, as he had interference issues with the fence and his elevation controls. And upon initial setup of the table, I did experience the same problem. But with proper centering of the table, the fence lock down knobs do not interfere with the control levers even with the table at full elevation. At any height I would actually use with a bit, and stock I would be willing to drill, there is at a minimum 1" of clearance.
I am not sure what there is to say about the table. It is a basic laminated melamine board for all intents and purposes, with a routed pocket for the 3-15/16" square replaceable sacrificial insert. The insert is a mere 1/4". The T slots on the table itself are secured aluminum, and are well attched, there are hold downs and studs on the bottom to fix the table a wide variety of drill press iron tables.
The fence adjustment T slots and adjustment knobs are spaced a little on the narrow side, and the fence is relatively tall at 3" with may of its competitors using a 1.5" to 2" fence, so elevation lever interference can be an issue at extreme elevation of the table. I have not found this to be a problem though.
The table itself is banded by a rubber T strip, and is well finished. The fence on the other hand has the visual quality of being simply cut, routed, drilled and dropped in the box. A horizontal T-slot is routed into the face of the fence in lieu of a proper aluminum T slot. And the stop block is almost laughingly straight forward. Simply a block of MDF cut to size, and through drilled to accept the T bolt and knob. I know this is a cheap table / fence setup, but somehow I expected better from Grizzly.
After comparing the H7827 to the Harbor Freight 96395, it is readily apparent that the Grizzly has a larger table area, and better fit and finish. The HF appears to be a simply downsized copy of the Grizzly.
While I feel overjoyed at the price I got mine for, and would have been happy with the cost new, and without a doubt the fit and finish made this far and away the winning choice over the HF model, if it were to creep closer to the $50.00 mark, it wouldn't have made financial sense to buy this pre made, and honestly, this could have been shop built with better features. But would have cost more...
For what it is, and what it cost, it is a great table, and a great value. I expect years of service out of this table. BUT... this is NOT a fancy DP table, and was not meant to be. This table was meant to be a simple, effective unit, that didn't cost a lot, and it excels at what it was made for. The fact that it cost less to buy than build meant for me that I could spend more time, and funds in the shop, doing other projects, and it got me to speed with the DP faster than building a shop made unit...
My particular table was one that I purchased used from a fellow BT3Central member, as he had interference issues with the fence and his elevation controls. And upon initial setup of the table, I did experience the same problem. But with proper centering of the table, the fence lock down knobs do not interfere with the control levers even with the table at full elevation. At any height I would actually use with a bit, and stock I would be willing to drill, there is at a minimum 1" of clearance.
I am not sure what there is to say about the table. It is a basic laminated melamine board for all intents and purposes, with a routed pocket for the 3-15/16" square replaceable sacrificial insert. The insert is a mere 1/4". The T slots on the table itself are secured aluminum, and are well attched, there are hold downs and studs on the bottom to fix the table a wide variety of drill press iron tables.
The fence adjustment T slots and adjustment knobs are spaced a little on the narrow side, and the fence is relatively tall at 3" with may of its competitors using a 1.5" to 2" fence, so elevation lever interference can be an issue at extreme elevation of the table. I have not found this to be a problem though.
The table itself is banded by a rubber T strip, and is well finished. The fence on the other hand has the visual quality of being simply cut, routed, drilled and dropped in the box. A horizontal T-slot is routed into the face of the fence in lieu of a proper aluminum T slot. And the stop block is almost laughingly straight forward. Simply a block of MDF cut to size, and through drilled to accept the T bolt and knob. I know this is a cheap table / fence setup, but somehow I expected better from Grizzly.
After comparing the H7827 to the Harbor Freight 96395, it is readily apparent that the Grizzly has a larger table area, and better fit and finish. The HF appears to be a simply downsized copy of the Grizzly.
While I feel overjoyed at the price I got mine for, and would have been happy with the cost new, and without a doubt the fit and finish made this far and away the winning choice over the HF model, if it were to creep closer to the $50.00 mark, it wouldn't have made financial sense to buy this pre made, and honestly, this could have been shop built with better features. But would have cost more...
For what it is, and what it cost, it is a great table, and a great value. I expect years of service out of this table. BUT... this is NOT a fancy DP table, and was not meant to be. This table was meant to be a simple, effective unit, that didn't cost a lot, and it excels at what it was made for. The fact that it cost less to buy than build meant for me that I could spend more time, and funds in the shop, doing other projects, and it got me to speed with the DP faster than building a shop made unit...