WEN 4208T 2.3-Amp 8-Inch 5-Speed Cast Iron Benchtop Drill Press,Black/Orange

I have owned a couple of Wen products and they have served me well for years. I was looking for a small drill press that I could just set on the workbench when needed and then stored on a wheeled cart with my belt and spindle sanders. This is a good deal for $100, nice features and well finished. If you need a drill vise for it use a 3 inch vise, Wen DPA423 is what Wen recommends. I mistakenly ordered the 4 inch and it was way too big. Amazon made returning the wrong one easy and the correct one shipped quickly.

Drilling a straight hole with a regular power drill is not fun. Drilling a lot of straight holes with a regular power drill is even less fun. You'll never realize how much you want or need a drill press until you've got one. This one is pretty basic but it does the job and I wish I had bought it years ago.Things I don't like about it...- The top cover on mine doesn't shut.- The return spring on the handle is insanely strong and will hurt your fingers if you accidentally let go of it.- The locking lever on the table is hard to adjust while holding the table in place at the same time.- I wish it came with a bigger table and/or a bigger center hole, or even inserts. WEN sells a universal one but it costs half as much as this drill press itself.Things I would suggest you do if you buy it...- Bolt it to a work bench.- Get a flat piece of wood to use as a sacrificial table and secure it to the drill press.- Get a set of center drills if you are going to use twist bits.Last note but not about the drill press itself, this thing is easily the messiest tool in my garage right now. The chips made from forstner bits are huge and they get everywhere and leave you wondering how they all got into the hole you just made.

I've owned WEN products before, specifically a 10" benchtop model that I sold when moving from Minnesota to Florida. The 10" was utilitarian: it did what it was supposed to do. However it was a bit noisy, and the quality control was a bit off: the holes where the body attached to the base were just a bit out of line and the laser indicator was off by maybe 1/8 inch. Nothing that impacted performance, and that drill press gave me several years of good service at a very reasonable price.I had need of a drill setup something beyond just a hand drill, but compact due to limited space. Checking Amazon it was apparent that a lot of the small and mini-presses were getting mixed reviews at best: battery-powered, not enough oomph for the heavier jobs, etc. The WEN 4208T was not a lot more money than the mini-presses, but had a lot of attributes (much heavier, much more powerful--a solid tool rather than a toy) so I had no reservations about ordering it, figuring that with Amazon's return policy I was risking very little.THE GOODThe press arrived promptly and assembly was a snap. Instructions are provided but are really not needed; however the instructions are specific about wiping off the lubricant that was on the shaft going into the chuck and on the column where the work table attaches before completing assembly. I would make it a point to do that: you don't want things slipping or dropping off during use.The unit is solid. It weighs in at 33 lbs. and with five possible speeds (you move the drive belt from pulley to pulley in order to change the speeds) you're not going to overwork it. I haven't tried drilling metal with it yet but I've drilled 3/4" oak and the unit breezed through it.Once seated, the chuck runs true and there was no discernable wobble with a bit in the chuck, and the press apparatus operates smoothly. The press handles (3) seem a bit small considering the overall mass of the unit, but that will assure you don't overstress things by putting too much pressure on the work.It is QUIET. My other press made quite a racket when running, but this one just hums. It feels--and sounds--like a quality unit.THE NOT SO GOODDuring assembly I noted that the entire machinery end of things--press and motor--are attached to the top of the column and held in place with two set screws. Picking the unit up by the motor and transporting it that way could conceivably cause the head to slip off the column and causing the base, column and work table to fall off. I made sure the set screws were tight and also checked them (along with other screws) after operation. Better safe than sorry.The work table, though solid, attaches to the column by a band of metal maybe 4" in width, that just slides up and down the column. You have to loosen it, then slide it up or down to the position that you want, and retighten. My previous press had a geared table with a hand crank that moved the table up or down with much more precision. This one doesn't.You can tilt the table for angled holes, and there is a scale on the back of the table that shows the degree of tilt. However this is again by hand, by guess and by gosh. The scale is quite small: it will give you an idea of the angle but would not be repeatable with any degree of certainty.There is no work light or laser pointer on the unit.THE BOTTOM LINEIt is important to remember that this is NOT a precision unit, nor was it designed to be one. Accuracy is not repeatable with any degree of certainty considering how the adjustments are made for table height, angle, etc. But it is solid, apparently dependable, and more than powerful enough for most jobs I'd be asking it to do. Plus, at $99 (which is what I paid) you're shelling out about the same amount of money, maybe even less, than you would for a serviceable hand drill.I'd recommend it. As long as your expectations are realistic.

This Drill Press has been nothing but a powerhouse so far. So far I have used it to drill a few holes in a few pieces of wood that I had lying around, it even drilled holes through a piece of 16 gauge steel pipe that I had lying around as well as a 13 gauge bicycle handlebar mount. It did all of this without effort and pretty cheap drill bits. I can just imagine what this thing will do with more expensive and sharper drill bits. I was looking for a great Drill Press for my tool collection, and this one fulfilled all of this and more. I couldn't be happier at this point. Very easy to put together and even easier to use. I've always wanted a Drill Press and now, this is just one more thing that I have accomplished. I had this thing put together in around 3 minutes without instructions. If I can do it, anyone can. Though I'm a DeWalt man when it comes down to tools of all types..... I must admit that I am loving the orange and black of this machine.

Nice tool for my hobby needs. Seems well made & easy to assemble. I am happy I purchased it & would do so again.

Great

With a tungsten tipped drill bit went thru 1/4 thick steel like butter