Originally posted by thetalbott4
<br />I think I'm gonna wait until I hear how they work. Price isnt so good if it drills oval holes. I want one too, but how tight can the tolerances be on something so inexpensive? Let us know Gary.
Scott, there are three reviews about the 17" on the Amazon site. All three rated it 5 stars, but one of them wasn't very helpful. I found the first one particularly convincing and well written.
Okay, I just found this article. It's a DP review. http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/toolguide/TT_DrillPress.pdf
They rated the Central Machinery (HF) and two others Best Value, but not the Tradesman. Looking at all of the categories they rated, the Tradesman rates higher than the HF DP, but it got a Best Value. So I looked at the comments section and it appears they didn't give the Best Value rating to the Tradesman because it was reportedly hard to find (sold only at some True Value Hardware stores). The Tradesman was also listed with a $200 Street Price vs. $206 for the HF.
Is it just me, or is 2 + 2 not equaling 4 here? Based on how I read the review, the Tradesman is THE Best Value of all of those tested. They had nothing negative to say about it except that it was hard to find. Well, someone here found them without any trouble and has shared it with the rest of us. So thank you!
I'm ordering one tonight. I'll be sleeping in the shop when LOML finds out, but it'll be worth it not to have to adjust the table when drilling Sierra, Atlas and other long blanks. [
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