WEN12-Inch Benchtop Drill Press, Variable Speed, Cast Iron with Laser and Work Light (4214T)

Assembled press yesterday, also bought a Qnkaa dial indicator. I am 71yrs old. One of my sons, and his son did the deed. We all learned a little, awesome finish was reading the run-out at just over ONE thousandth out, we cheered. This is a a GREAT purchase. O'yeah, lasers are dead t!!ts on.

I am writing this review after only a few days of owning the drill press, but running it extensively. So understand, this is not a review on the machine's durability or longevity. Down the road, should something change, I will come back and update this review, as is my habit.Also understand, I purchased this with the full expectation of later modifying and upgrading anything I was unhappy with. For $225 and free shipping, I had very moderate expectations for out of the box performance, fit and finish.Packaging: This unit was well packaged in close fitting foam, and despite broken foam and a box that looks the part of the global journey it has been on, the machine arrived with no damage and nothing missing.Assembly: If you are mechanically minded, you do not need instructions. The machine has been partially assembled in a very clever manner, and there is very little to do to complete the full assembly. It took me longer to modify a stand I had sitting around to mount the machine on than it did to assemble this. From unboxing to plugged in and running was less than 45 minutes. Everything assembled flawlessly.Performance: I had read several reports of the machine being underpowered. It is probably only underpowered based on perception of the motor size vs manufacturer claims (it's probably not as powerful as the manufacturer claims) (then again, Ridgid claims my wet/dry vac is 6.0 horsepower, so ...). Or, underpowered based on wildly unrealistic expectations for a 12 inch benchtop drill press.To test, I chucked up a 1/2" drill (drill was new) and without a pilot hole, quickly drilled through a piece of 1/4" steel angle and also through a scrap piece of 1/2" steel plate. There was no bogging or hesitation. I have since drilled dozens of holes in steel, cast iron and wood. I've used twist drills, countersinks, forstner and auger drills, paddle bits This machine is not underpowered at all and absolutely destroys the performance of any battery powered hand drill. It's obviously far easier to use for accurate drilling compared to a corded hand drill.Features/Fit/Finish, in no particular order:1) The laser is accurate, though to me, it's really only useful for quickly punching a hole in something where accuracy isn't important. Otherwise, it's a neat feature.2) I like the work-lamp. It's bright enough to do a good job of lighting up the work area without causing unnecessary glare.3) The slide out material support annoys me. The roller rattles like crazy, but soon enough I will weld up a permanent workstation for the drill press and will get rid of the slide out support.4) The variable speed is really nice to have, though I think this is intended mostly as a woodworking drill press as the low rpm range is 550~ and I would prefer around 200. It takes effort to adjust speeds, but does adjust smoothly. The drive system is a bit noisy (most Reeves pulleys are) and there is some vibration, but honestly, the machine is surprisingly smooth running. I have only experienced truly vibration free performance on drill presses like the Powermatic PM2800. That machine is huge and is also $1500. So again, adjust your expectations.5) The table rides up and down on the rack as well as machines many times this price. The table locks up square to the spindle (good thing, there is no front to back adjustment, so casting accuracy was good enough).6) The chuck, arbor and spindle all seem reasonably concentric. I will not be setting up a test indicator, because I do not care. This is not a mill. I chucked a piece of drill rod and there is no perceptible runout by eye and that is more than good enough for any drill press. (go to youtube and watch Frank Hoose's video on 3 jaw chuck runout and you'll see how easy it is to spot runout by eye).7) The switch sucks. It's the worst thing on the machine. It's cheap, it will probably be the first thing to break. I hope it breaks soon, so I can justify replacing it with a push/pull or some sort of magnetic switch.8) I could not find any defects in any of the castings. The table did have some minor burrs from machining, but nothing 2 seconds with a file doesn't solve.9) Table finish - People complain about the relatively rough milling of the table. Actually, I like it and it's smoother than it looks. Finely ground cast iron is slick (like on a nice table saw). The finish on this table makes clamping workpieces down easy and helps to keep them in place without having to go 800 pound gorilla on the clamp.10) Paint - It's cheap, but isn't horrid. It's a match for the price of the machine. I like the color as orange is one of my favorites.11) The chuck is nice and locks securely without a ton of effort. Though, a key-less chuck will replace this soon, because I don't want to keep track of the key. There is a nice key holder and it's easy to use.12) Knurled thumbwheels instead of nuts on the depth stop is an awesome touch. Much better than the garbage depth stops you find on the Harbor Freight presses.13) The quill operates smoothly, but the quill return spring is crunchy. I expect this will need replaced, if only because it's annoying me.In conclusion, there is nothing amazing about this drill press. At the price of $225 though, it's an excellent buy. The JET branded machine is $400 and is not worth that asking price. And this is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Harbor Freight offerings in terms of features and fit/finish.As things break, I'll update this review, but unless something catastrophic happens, it's not changing from 5 stars. I purchased this with the full intent of modifying and upgrading everything possible and am extremely happy with my purchase.

So I had to wait until a second one came before I was satisfied. Long story short, I know this is a drill press made in China, just like anything else from HF, Jet, etc, and this is just $270, so it's not a $1,500 Powermatic, so it is what it is. It's luck of the draw with whatever happens with QC from the guys on the assembly line that day. My first one came and it was really easy to assemble. Everything was packaged well, the cosmoline was present but easily came off with some WD-40, and the motor just started up right up without any strange noises.The problem them is the first power head I received, at the lowest RPM setting, it would vibrate really, really badly. Way worse than my washing machine. It was scary to look at. When lifting open the lid, sure enough, rubber debris was "dusting" around inside because something was just off balance (hence the crazy vibration).Second problem was the runout. Measuring the inside of the spindle, the runout was fairly bad, about 0.004" when you rotate the rear pulley (the motor pulley); but if you rotate and let go little by little and measure each spot, it was only off about 0.002", so I think there was just some extra play/slop in there.Next, the action of the arms were just really uneven. I had to adjust the return spring settings quite a bit to get it work right, and even then, it would get hung up as the spring's housing was stuck against the lock nuts. If I loosened up the lock nuts, the spring housing would just sometimes shift loose.Either way, this one was just bad. Who cares if the laser is spot on. Seriously. Or that it has an LED light. If it vibrates like crazy and can't drill straight (yes, I've reseated the arbor and chuck a few times and it was a no-go), it's a worthless drill press.Luckily, Amazon was awesome and sent a replacement. This one had slightly better runout, and when measured using a machined HSS 1/2" shank purchased off Amazon, right outside of the chuck, it measured 0.004" - good enough for me. When measured about 4-5 inches lower, the runout was definitely more apparent, about 0.011, but it is what it is. I've also been reading that Jet and Powermatics much more expensive have been having runout issues too, so I'll live with it. The lever action to bring down the chuck was smooth on this one, no issues here.The only two issues on this second copy (again, Chinese QC), the bearings on this one seem louder at higher RPMs. At lower RPMs, vibration is MUCH MUCH better, so no complaints there, and there's no "dusting" of the rubber belt on this second copy. But the bearings are definitely a bit louder, so maybe in the long term, that could be an issue. The second is the motor makes a much louder noise on startup. Maybe it's got more power? Not sure. Hopefully it's not a wear-problem, but it's definitely noticeable.Overall, I'm decently happy with the second one for $270. Just keep that in perspective. Sure, it could be MUCH better -- the table has slop, and I'm hoping when I lock it down, it stays locked in that same position each time I lock it -- and the table height lock isn't that tight. But these are relatively minor, I suppose.Long story short, you may end up with a good copy, you may end up with a bad copy. Try your luck, if not, Amazon will make it right. Sending back my bad first copy next week.