# Craftsman 15" drill press on sale



## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

Our local Sears is going out of business and they have the floor model of their $379 3/4 HP 15" drill press marked down to $210. It seems like a pretty good deal and I'm kind of on the fence about buying it. I know there are other drills available that might be a bit better, like the 1 HP Porter Cable 12-speed Lowes has for $299. Just wondering if the extra $89 is worth it. The Porter Cable has a 4" spindle travel while the Craftsman only has 3.23" travel. RPMs are 300-3100 on the Porter Cable while the Craftsman is 240-3470 rpm. I do have my reservations about Craftsman tools, however. They just aren't made as well as they used to be. I have an old 70s Craftsman contractor table saw that I kind of brought back to its former glory and it seems to work great. I've read some rather disappointing reviews on Craftsman these days, though.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

The difference in spindle travel would be a deciding factor for me. I want to be able to drill through a 4-by in one pass. My press has 6 inches of travel and I wouldn't trade that for anything.


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

Also check the swing, it is the distance from the center of the chuck to the post, sometimes that extra inch or two makes a lot of difference 

At least that is what she said LOL


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

yeah the spindle travel is disappointing for a larger drill, but i still may go for it if it goes much lower. would rival what i could get for a bench top drill at that point.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Drill presses rarely need repairs, so if the features are there the price is right.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

May be a good deal but, personally, I don't buy Craftsman as, down the road, parts can be hard to find. Had two real bad experiences with them.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Pineknot_86 said:


> May be a good deal but, personally, I don't buy Craftsman as, down the road, parts can be hard to find. Had two real bad experiences with them.


This, I stopped buying any C-Man power tools over 20 years ago, the hand tools are still OK, but power tools weren't what they used to be, IMO.


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## bargoon (Apr 20, 2016)

I agree with FrankC - drill presses are pretty reliable. For Canadians Sears Canada has gone belly up and is closing all of its operations. Craftsman parts will have to be sourced from the US which will probably cost more considering duties and tariffs.


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

well, I just stopped by my local Sears and it's marked back up to $419. they must have mis-marked it before or something. should have bought it. haha. i think i'll hold out for the Porter-Cable drill maybe.


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

Patrick Besong said:


> well, I just stopped by my local Sears and it's marked back up to $419. they must have mis-marked it before or something. should have bought it. haha. i think i'll hold out for the Porter-Cable drill maybe.



Don't you hate it when you pass up a too good to be true deal, I have done the same thing a time or two or three or four LOL


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

yeah, but i figure if i was on the fence about it even at $210, it's probably not a loss. i too am a bit skeptical of Craftsman these days. Nobody seems to make things like they used to. We got a Kenmore washer and dryer and they're made in Viet Nam. already having troubles after 2 months. Our new GE stove's oven started burning everything after 6 months. ugh. so tired of poor quality products.


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

Patrick Besong said:


> yeah, but i figure if i was on the fence about it even at $210, it's probably not a loss. i too am a bit skeptical of Craftsman these days. Nobody seems to make things like they used to. We got a Kenmore washer and dryer and they're made in Viet Nam. already having troubles after 2 months. Our new GE stove's oven started burning everything after 6 months. ugh. so tired of poor quality products.



Buying stuff from Vietnam kind of chaps my a$$,I bought some Big Smith overalls, I really like them but they were made in Nam, 45 years they were trying to kill me

But I guess it could be one of my kids sewing them up LOL


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

> But I guess it could be one of my kids sewing them up LOL


Is this a confession???


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## Catpower (Jan 11, 2016)

Pineknot_86 said:


> Is this a confession???


It was a fun place for a 17 YO Iowa plow jockey when we weren't getting shot at, but almost all of the good times were in Thailand


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

thought i'd update this. the Craftsman drill went back up in price to $379 about a week later. It may have been mis-marked at $210, who knows. So i didn't buy it and the store is now closed. over the weekend I went to a tool auction for a local factory that was going out of business and was able to snag a nice Grizzly G1200 (floor model). it's 1/2 HP and 12 speed and I believe it's a 12" swing. seems to be well built and should suit most of my needs.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Catpower, so you went to Bangkok for R & R? > Shame on you! I worked with a fellow who had a friend who went to Bangkok, fell in love with a local girl, deserted and never came back to Nam or the USA. Story was that he opened a bar that catered to the American GIs.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Patrick Besong said:


> Our local Sears is going out of business and they have the floor model of their $379 3/4 HP 15" drill press marked down to $210. It seems like a pretty good deal and I'm kind of on the fence about buying it. I know there are other drills available that might be a bit better, like the 1 HP Porter Cable 12-speed Lowes has for $299. Just wondering if the extra $89 is worth it. The Porter Cable has a 4" spindle travel while the Craftsman only has 3.23" travel. RPMs are 300-3100 on the Porter Cable while the Craftsman is 240-3470 rpm. I do have my reservations about Craftsman tools, however. They just aren't made as well as they used to be. I have an old 70s Craftsman contractor table saw that I kind of brought back to its former glory and it seems to work great. I've read some rather disappointing reviews on Craftsman these days, though.



Why would you have any reservations about Craftsman tools? Can you provide an personal experience where you have has a failure or problem? Or, are you just parroting what you have heard other parrot.


I have a shop full of Craftsman and have never had a problem.


George


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

Craftsman used to make great tools, but their quality has been slipping. Just read a few online reviews and you'll see what I mean.


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## P89DC (Sep 25, 2017)

OP did the right thing. It's silly to buy a new drill press. It's one of the most common power tools on CL. There's old American made Deltas/Craftsman and newer Taiwanese Jet/PM/Delta from the 90s/00s and newer Chinese Grizzy/Delta/CM etc. All for ~half price of new.




GeorgeC said:


> ...Or, are you just parroting what you have heard other parrot.....


That's a little harsh in my opinion. It's no secret Craftsman has been going downhill for years. When I see all the old quality USA Emerson-made Craftsman products on Craigslist it brings back memories. But I have mid-70's Craftsman wrenches/pliers/cutters and even a vise that were made in Japan (Japan was low cost manufacturer back then, "made in Japan" meant junk). So even then it wasn't what it was between 1930 and 1970. Now it's all the same crappy Chinese stuff I can get at Harbor Freight with an extra 20% cost to pay for Sears' naming rights....


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## Patrick Besong (Feb 25, 2017)

I do have an older Craftsman contractor table saw and a Craftsman cordless drill that i've gotten many years out of. I got the table saw for free and restored it and added a Delta fence and a shutoff switch. Not perfect but works well for what I need.


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