Grizzly Industrial G7945-34" Benchtop Radial Drill Press

I'm pretty happy with this very versatile drill press. I'm a woodworker, but have never owned a press (for what that's worth). I like the variety operations I can do with it and the quickness I can setup. There is one problem, though, that I'm thinking there must be a solution . . . the lateral run-out, or looseness in the chuck. It tends to walk when it comes into contact with the material. I'm going to research this problem and if I can find a solution, I will do a follow-up. Very good tool, though, for the money and for all-purpose woodworking jobs! Fits nicely next to my table belt/disc sander on a portable bench I made for them--can wheel them anywhere in my shop!!!

Where do I start? This product has gotten some very negative reviews. I am not going to disparage them. I will just assume that there was a different perspective from mine.I had some serious trepidation about ordering this drill press. It seemed to be trying to do too much for the money. It was too much of a technological leap. I have a similarly-sized Delta that has served me well for 18 years. I thought there might be a serious stability problem, a serious balance problem, and a serious quality control problem regarding the machining of this item. Even at the moment when it was delivered, I was wondering if I would regret my purchase and send it back. The box was banged up. I was thinking that maybe I should have bought the Delta 18-900L, for over twice the price. The tilt table of the Delta could have served many of the functions of this Grizzly.I assembled it and found it to be undamaged. In spite of its dimensions, unmounted, it stood without falling at all extremes. I then mounted it on my work bench (with bolts) by creating a base that was 32" deep. This allowed for full travel.This is a woodworker's drill press. It is not for metalwork, primarily because of the minimum speed. By the way, the belt adjustment is really easy. Just move the belt to the lower pulley before moving it to the other larger pulley, depending on the direction (speed, up or down) you are going. You don't have to move anything else or adjust anything.There are nice things about this gem that you might notice only after a while, if you don't have decades of experience. I really have to hand it to the engineers and others who designed this drill press. I am a retired engineer, by the way.Yes, you do need to use a little TLC and judgment while assembling this tool. Yes, you do need to do a fine adjustment to the rotating head after locking it in to the channel to ensure that the table is 90 degrees to the drill bit. Get a small magnetic square from Woodcraft. That solves that non-problem.This addition to my shop is installed, adjusted, and tuned. It runs smoothly and quietly. And, I love it. Maybe I will include some images later to illustrate what I have tried to convey.

No chuck safety shield was in the package. The drill chuck is constantly falling off.

As others have mentioned, there is a ton of vibration and run out. Ive given up trying to use forstner bits as the wobble is unsafe. Lots of slop the the adjustments, they are coarse at best. Although the benchtop mount seemed like it would be space saving, the unit is still so top heavy and big that it really needs a permanent mount.

Good construction, was missing a retention shoe that clamps the z axis of the drill. That shoe is not serviceable either. Motor and drive aren't the best, but a little patience makes up for that. The vice plate does rotate and only uses a nut to secure it, does rotate unintentionally which makes squaring work pieces difficult. Shipped extraordinarily fast though.

I was surprised by the poor reviews on this press. I chose to trust the good reviews and the manufacturer and purchase anyway, I'm glad I did. This press is exactly what I needed. I'm a carpenter and use this press in my small garage shop and for smaller commercial site needs. It breaks down for hauling very easily. It runs smooth as could be for me. Set up was a breeze. This is extremely quiet running. If you don't try to power through your materials I don't see this motor having any trouble doing the job whatever it may be. (Use sharp bits and choose the correct rpm's) The versatility of the angled arm will be fun to work with in the future I can tell too. I will be able to rotate and bore out holes into odd projects from about any degree I would need. Overall great tool. Not a commercial motor so don't buy if you're wanting this to barrel through your tough projects extremely fast. This is ideal for smaller shop or garage applications like mine. It turned out to be cheaper to buy from Amazon at price point with delivery fee waived vrs from Grizzly at lower price point but a $99+ delivery flat rate. Hopefully this information is helpful in your decision.

I have a prior version of this machine, but appears identical in all non-cosmetic respects. Like others, it has a lot of runout in the chuck.I generally avoid cheap tools (because I'm always disappointed), but Grizzly has often received good reviews in the magazines, so I thought I'd give it a chance. I wish I hadn't.The coup-de-grace was that the table fell off when its single retaining bolt broke out three threads holding it in the column casting. Upon closer inspection, it was tapped at about a 10-degree angle to square. Bad enough, but when it appeared that I could simply get a standard bolt half an inch longer to catch the undamaged threads was I in for a surprise. It uses a very non-standard 1/2"-12 bolt. No one locally carries them, not even the industrial suppliers. So much for repairability using standardized components.Grizzly was happy to sell me one at $.75 but then wanted $7.70 for shipping and handling! And neither they nor I could guarantee that a longer bolt would even solve the problem. When I complained, they suggested I could add another $24 of accessories for the same shipping and handling charge. If I am truly a valued customer, as their e-mail states, they would have sent me one free of charge.

Nice piece of machinery