Cheap drill presses?

[Minuit]

I've got a few projects coming up that will require semi-precisely located holes drilled into mild steel and aluminum. I'd rather not do this with a hand drill, so that's got me looking at small, fairly cheap ($150 and under) drill presses. I don't have a huge amount of free space in my garage, so I'm mainly looking at portable ones meant to go on top of a bench. Does anyone have any experiences with these? Brands to avoid? Would the $70 Harbor Freight 5-speed cheapo do the job, or should I spend more?

 

I'm not going to be working with big, thick, or hardened parts nor do I need extremely tight tolerances, so I don't think I really need much out of a drill press. A straight chuck and a fairly wide range of speeds is all I really need - anything else is just bonus points. Portability is a big bonus.

 

Any thoughts?

[Torq_Shep]

Used 70s and 80s units are infinitely better than the $150 new ones today. I had a circa 2005 Craftsmen that was a joke (resorted to my hand drill 95% of the time). My dad has a circa 1980 HF model that is actually really good. Look for a keyed check. 

 

 

 

 

[derf]

Agreed.  Shop around for a good used one.

[Money_Pits]

Do not buy the brand Wen. Return springs failed on multiple units in less than a year drilling no more than 1/8" holes in 3/4" zinc castings. Motor on a larger unit drilling a 1" hole through less than 1/4" zinc stalls more in a day than our former 35 yr old craftsman stalled in it's entire life. I do really like the hand crank height adjustment on the Wens, and their frame is solid and well built, but the important parts are lacking in durability.

 

EDIT: Obviously my experience comes from factory life, so the above issues may not arise in less demanding use. Sadly, I have no experience with other ones, as we are stuck with the ones we have, so we just continue using them in their broken states. We have fixed up some of the old craftsman ones out of necessity, and the few we have left after cannibalizing the others continue to work on, so toss my vote on a good used one too.

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

I know you said no hand-drills, but have you looked at THESE options? It would meet all your other criteria, including space saving. 

 

Kinda depends on how much you will be using it.

 

If you really want the full drill press, then I agree with the above. Find an old unit on craigslist or marketplace. For the cost of some bearings, grease, and time cleaning it up you can make the old ones brand new. IMHO the quality of new models (any brand) seems . . . lacking . . . when compared to the old stuff.