# Porter Cable 15" drill press



## ACP

I purchased this Porter Cable DP at Lowes awhile back for $270 with vet discount. It's $299 without discount. I have used it for my last three projects and have discovered it is one of my favorite tools. I love DP's. I think they are very versatile and I use them in almost every project I do. This one has not disappointed me at all. It's value - quality - usefulness ratio is very high. I highly recommend it.

Some stats on it that may be of interest are, 15" swing, 3/4HP, full 4" quill stroke, work light on a flexible neck, x-y laser with a near perpendicular crossing to make the intersection very small and accurate, ambidextrous handles that can go left or right side for you lefty wierdos, 300-3100 speed, and a nice looking paint job I might add.

Pros 
-Heavy duty construction, this doesn't feel like a cheap DP
-Smooth operation, I can hardly tell it's running it's so quiet.
-Excellent work light and x-y laser
-4" quill stroke is nice to have and the locking nut is easy to macro and micro adjust. 
-The laser and work light both get their power from the plug in, no batteries or second plugs.
-It has plenty of power for woodworking apps. (I haven't drilled any metal with it yet)
-The belt changes are easy.

Cons 
-The OEM table is geared toward metal working. I added an aux. table so this con is basically eliminated in my eyes.
-The table height adjustment handle is cast iron, but the little handle on the end of it is kind of cheap plastic. It's held up fine, but if something is going to break I think it'll be this. It's the only part on the whole DP like this so I was kind of suprised. 

In conclusion I highly recommed this as an affordable DP. I always planned to get the Ridgid one from HD, but after they stopped carrying them in store and made them by order only I looked at and mulled over this PC one for a lond time. I am glad I went this route though. I love the laser and how the flex-necked work light is adjustable to avoid shadowing. Hope this helps anyone looking at this model.


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## ACP

Here's the two that didn't show up.


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## Bob Willing

How is your PC DP operating so far? I bought mine June of this year and I had to call CS to get the motor pulley replaced. Yesterday while drilling out some oak plugs I notice a lot of racket coming from the pulley drive. I stopped the DP and opened the cover to discover the motor drive pulley was coming off. Further inspection after removing the pulley I found that it was missing the key that holds the pulley from turning was missing. I tightened the set screw to make a temporary fix and found out that the ID of the pulley had worn over size and after tightening the set screw now the pulley was off set. I ordered one from CS yesterday since the DP has a 3 yr warranty. I will see how long it takes to get the part. I will keep in touch to see how their service performs. I am one month over the money back return.


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## Bob Willing

Got my replacement parts today and now it works great. I still can not believe they forgot to install the keyway on the shaft!


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## JohnK007

Good looking Drill Press, ACP, and a great write-up! I really like the auxiliary table you made for it. How's that Ryobi OSS working out for you? Been thinking of adding an oscillating spindle sander to my shop.


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## ACP

JohnK007 said:


> Good looking Drill Press, ACP, and a great write-up! I really like the auxiliary table you made for it. How's that Ryobi OSS working out for you? Been thinking of adding an oscillating spindle sander to my shop.


It's working out very well. It is a nice luxury on those curved parts for sure. I am most impressed by the dust collection on it I think. It works very well in that area.


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## filteredsoul

Hi everyone, I'm new...
I just bought this drill press also, and I use it for wood AND metal. Unfortunately, the slowest speed is 300rpm and I've burned up a couple expensive hole saws trying to miter some steel tubing. 
I've read about installing a "jack shaft" to introduce a new pulley into the mix and slow it down... but this drill press already has a 3rd pulley as a jack shaft. If I were to bypass the middle pulley with a long belt and go from "small pulley ring" on the motor to "small pulley ring" on the spindle, that would probably slow it down as much as you could with the stock pulleys yes?

Other opinions would be really appreciated too!


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## glg54

Nice setup. I'm looking to buy a drill press. Seems like the reviews on this model are great. How did you make the auxiliary table? Looks great.

Thanks ACP


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## ACP

glg54 said:


> Nice setup. I'm looking to buy a drill press. Seems like the reviews on this model are great. How did you make the auxiliary table? Looks great.
> 
> Thanks ACP


Here is the thread I posted on that one under the tips and jigs section. A LOT of good info and perspective from others in it too.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/dp-table-progress-26869/


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## kaajonman

Thanks for the write up.I've been thinking about this DP but it's only online and I like to see an item in person before I buy it. For the price I don't think it can be beat.


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## ShaneLyall

Thanks for the review. I picked mine up last night. As a side bar, The one in your pics and the in store display has what looks like cast pullys. On setting mine up I found it has alum pullys and the entire crank arm on mine is plastic and not just the handle like yours. The display may have al pullys as well but I thought they were cast iron painted black. More cost cutting from Delta I guess.

At any rate it has no run out and seems like a good press so far. For $300 its worth a try for sure. I'm stepping up from a HF benchtop model so almost anything is an improvement. My little HF press would stall out with even light force on a sharp 3/4 forstner. I have some drum sanders for it that were great but could only use a LIGHT touch. Can't wait to try them on this one.


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## dwendt1978

Shane on your HF drill press, pop the cover and tighten the large allen screws on top of the pulleys. Mine did the same thing as yours and that fixed it right up. Hope this helps


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## ShaneLyall

dwendt1978 said:


> Shane on your HF drill press, pop the cover and tighten the large allen screws on top of the pulleys. Mine did the same thing as yours and that fixed it right up. Hope this helps


Afraid that wouldn't help. It is the little motor that stalls. It just hums if it overload it. it's just to small for what I'm looking to do. I've used the new P-C several times in the last couple days and it's been flawless so far.


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## park83

I have this DP too. So far I really like it. :thumbsup:


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## cliffscout19

I have this press and it is outstanding!!!!


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## oakcutter

*Table Tilt > 45 degrees*

Is it possible to tilt the table beyond 45 degrees, ie, 90?


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## ACP

It only goes to 45 on the scales.


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## FrankC

filteredsoul said:


> Hi everyone, I'm new...
> I just bought this drill press also, and I use it for wood AND metal. Unfortunately, the slowest speed is 300rpm and I've burned up a couple expensive hole saws trying to miter some steel tubing.
> I've read about installing a "jack shaft" to introduce a new pulley into the mix and slow it down... but this drill press already has a 3rd pulley as a jack shaft. If I were to bypass the middle pulley with a long belt and go from "small pulley ring" on the motor to "small pulley ring" on the spindle, that would probably slow it down as much as you could with the stock pulleys yes?
> 
> Other opinions would be really appreciated too!


That would not slow it down at all, to slow it down you need to go from a small pulley to a large pulley, with the intermediate pulley it allows you twice the reduction of only two pulleys.


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