Rikon VS Drill Press Review
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 02. 2019
- After much searching I've added this new Rikon 12" Variable Speed Bench Top Drill Press (30-212VS) to my shop, replacing my 20 year old Craftsman.
I review what works well with this drill press and uncover a number of shortcomings. - Jak na to + styl
Very well thought out review. Loved the accuracy tests and fluid presentation. Thank you.
Thanks for the thorough review. I have been eyeballing this for some time as a replacement for my older 8" benchtop drill press. Big selling points for me are high HP motor, low speed (especially for steel), variable speed, 3" spindle travel, LED work light, laser sight, and crank-up table.
Excellent review! This was very useful for my drill press research and I picked up a few new tips!
Hi Mark - Thanks for you very good review. I did go with the Rikon VS, however when assembled I had a very similar problem as you - way too much vibration to be acceptable. I went back to Woodcraft & explained the situation & showed them a video of my glass of water dancing across the top, like yours. The offered to exchange for another new one. I asked if they could fire up the display model. They agreed and move it to their classroom workshop, plugged it in & - SAME SHAKE RATTLE & ROLL!!!! as the first one. Just returned my purchased for a refund. Now I'm back in the hunt. Lower RPM range is a big item for me. I'm starting knife making & for holes up to 3/8" 500 RPM minimum speed is OK for CS & SS but larger starts to prefer under 500. Thanks again for your review. Glad you were able to get your problem resolved to your satisfaction & are able to enjoy the benefits of the 212VS. David
Thanks for your thoughtful review. It helped me have confidence in my pending purchase.
I bought one today. Saw this video awhile back looked at others settled on rikon for my needs.
Good review..honest and straight forward.
Sorry, I read through the other comments and got my answer. Thanks for the great review.
Thanks for sharing. You definitely know drill presses.
Thank you for the review sir. I enjoy your representation.
Alright, a little coincidence here. Shopping for a drill press upgrade myself (Mark), and I’ve had the same Craftsmen drill press for about 20 years. The Rikon is on my list of possibles. Thanks for the review.
Nice review. Subbed after watching. I'm in the market for a new bench top drill press and this looks like a perfect fit for me.
Thanks Bill. It has been good to me thus far.
Great video! Thanks for sharing this.
Mate do you know what are the right RPM for stainles steel drilling?
I am wondering if you could provide an update after over three years. I am looking at this product and felt you said a lot of very positive things for a 3.5 rating and it is the best I'm finding in this price range as far as low rpms for larger bits, features, etc. Your update would really help me and most definitely others in making a decision.
Thank you for this review
I’ve had this drill press for a few years and am generally pleased with it. The laser crosshairs are sometimes annoying as described. I tend not to rely on such things so not as bothersome to me. I recently tried to use my old delta mortising attachment and found that this requires disassembly of the inexact depth gauge so that attachment is not useful.
I find the speed pulley change more annoying. I too, didn’t realize that until after purchase. After all that I’m generally pleased.
I own a rikon bandsaw and lathe as well. I’ve had a good service experience as well when I had a bearing issue with the lathe.
They replaced them under warranty. In contrast, my customer service experience with Laguna for my cyclone dust collector was terrible, enough to dissuade me from ever buying another Laguna product.
its discouraging to see that someone such as yourself who obviously has done lots of research can still wind up with a product that has issues right out of the box...i'm in the midst of my own drill press search and its a real rabbit hole....thanks for the great review...if you have any other ones you can recommend i would greatly appreciate it
Excellent review, honest and thorough. I'm just starting to look at drill presses to replace my old 12" Dayton. I'm surprised about the lapse in QC, Rikon is supposed to be a bit better than other sellers of China-made machines. How many hours did you spend on cleaning it from grease, dealing with the pulley issue and fine-tuning the table?
Thanks!!! Useful info!
I dont see any of the other models that let you go under 500, this is awesome, even if you have to jump up there and do the classic belt switch.
Good review! I've been looking at this one and the Jet benchtop. The variable speed change is a huge plus for me. Plastic, not so much.
Update: So I pulled the trigger on a Woodcraft sale. It is much larger than I thought. Love the variable speed. I use a cheat sheet print out of suggested speeds with different bits and wood types. Glad I bought this instead of a floor model. The laser blockage with forsner bit is a bummer but I knew this going in. This serves my needs very well. (Intermediate weekend wood worker/tinkerer). Thanks again, your review was helpful!
@@say-dq1th glad you found the review helpful. I've had a few more months to use mine as well and it has performed well... Short of items I mentioned in the video.
I would like to have hear the press run and how smooth does the press go up and down thank you
I commented a year or so ago that I was considering this drill press - this year my dear wife gave it to me for my birthday. I have just finished setting it up and so far I'm very happy with it. I've noticed that in the slow speed range a fair bit of effort is required on the variable speed lever to reduce the speed. Is this a common issue?
I just bought this machine and have the same excessive vibration problem. Are you saying that you didnt need to replace the pulley but just needed to readjust it?
Thanks for the video Mark! Any updates since the purchase. How's it holding up?
thanks for taking the time to review this. On sale at Woodcraft in April and seriously looking at this one. Do you find that you are performing the manual belt changeover often, or is most of your work covered by the low end settings?
Yeah. Got the flyer for that sale just after my purchase...Doh! Could have saved a few bucks. Actually I've been using just the high mode so far, which takes it down to just over 500 rpm. But then again I've only had it for about 2 months. The lever speed adjust is such a nice feature. You'll enjoy it.
great informative video! thumbs up from me!
@diymark
Excellent and informative review! 👍 Don't know why you don't have more subscribers!?!?
And yes, many of these types of tools that are based around heavy cast-iron parts and are badged with a multitude of brand names are in fact manufactured in the same Chinese factory.
Very few factories in the U.S. are still manufacturing cast-iron. The ones that still do are usually company-owned subsidiaries of giant ship-building companies or the like.
It's a "dirty" or toxic process, and the American EPA and EU Regulations make it financially unfeasible for most companies to manufacturer profitably.
You have to move up to higher-end professional/industrial tools to get superior and unique designs with higher tolerances. This obviously means increased cost.
One of the better ones to check out is Harvey Industries.
Unfortunately, I don't believe they are manufacturing a drill press yet, but I sure hope that they do in the near future!
Of course, you're going to pay for that quality, but my M.O. is "Buy Once, Cry Once... & Live Happily Ever After", LOL.
harveymachinery.com/
Other good brands for a quality drill press are Optimum, Dake, and Knuth.
I'm really liking the quality and performance of the Jet J-2530 15'' benchtop, but it is MASSIVE. AND it's a bare-bones/no-frills machine that lacks the nice features of this Rikon.
You pay a bit more for the Rikon compared to it's WEN and other look-alikes due to its additional features, and (usually) a step up in quality over its competitors.
You also have to pay for that level of Rikon customer service, but IMPO it's definitely worth the extra expense.
Thanks again for the detailed information.
I'm really just getting started with woodworking and I don't have a clue what size drill press and bandsaw to get. I'm leaning towards the WEN. 10 inch on both tools. I mainly stopped there because of the price jump in going bigger and I'm on a fixed income. I plan on doing mostly small woodworking projects. What is the price point on the Rikon? Thanks for sharing your talent and videos Mark. I appreciate the time and effort that it takes to make these videos. Rodney
Hi Rodney. Thanks for the kind words. You are about to embark on a fun and rewarding hobby. You're doing the right thing...researching. And CZcams is a great resource. My advice would be to start small, you can always trade up later. I began with smaller tools and after I built a few things I recognized where I wanted to spend my hard earned cash. Sold the small items and purchased bigger ones. That process took years. When I was just starting out someone told me the most important thing to spend my money on was lumber. I thought he was kidding, but in hindsight he was right...improving your skill and tackling new more challenging projects is the most important part. Have fun!
Nice review! Wonder if you have an opinion on the Rikon - 34'' Bench Drill Press?
Great video - super helpful - thank you. Just curious - would you consider any others? I’m looking for a new drill press and really want the features of this Rikon but wonder if there’s a comparable product from other manufacturers?
Thanks for the positive feedback! As I mentioned in the video I wanted a DP that could slow way down (150 rpm) to use things like the circle cutter. But frankly I've only used it to do so a couple of times. So I might have put too much emphasis on that feature. So if that isn't important there are lots of other choices. The variable speed quick change feature has been the biggest benefit and I would only consider other presses with that feature. Jet and Wen make pseudo clones (I wonder if they are all made in the same chinese factory) that would be worth considering. Good luck!
Thanks for doing this Mark. Great review. I've been eyeing this drill press for quite a while. I'm really surprised that it got out of the factory in that condition. The whole point of Rikon was that they were supposed to have better QC than other brands that use the same factories/components. If you hadn't had that issue, would you have rated it a 4?
Hi Jim. Thanks for the comment. Yeah I think 4 would be merited without the factory defect. You know after eyeing some of the other drill presses I'm wondering if they all are made in the same Chinese factory. Many of the castings/parts between brands appear to be identical. Would love to do a side by side review.
That said I think the Rikon offers the best features for the price right now.
Jet, Wen, and here in Canada we have a Craftex model that all look to be built on the same 12" design. But the Rikon is the only one that I've seen with the second set of pulleys to get that lower speed range for circle cutters and large forester bits.
I've handled the Rikon in our local Lee Valley store and was also surprised by the somewhat rough action of the quill movement. I will probably end up buying this machine as I have not seen anything else with the low speed range, but it does bug me that their QC isn't higher. But it is good to hear that their support is good. Thanks again!
@@DIYMark what website did you buy the drill press from?
Nice review but lately I've been considering a Wen or Bucktool 12 inch benchtop drill press. I've never owned any benchtop drill presses but now that I have a workshop, I'm all-in to buy one. Thanks for the detailed video. 👍🏽🤠 06/24/24
So did you receive and keep the new pulley. Great review but I have the 15 inch JET floor drill press. It was definitely worth the money
I called them back and waived off the replacement pulley. There was nothing wrong with the one it came with. Just poorly installed.
Thanks. This machine in some ways looks much like the Wen 12 inch. For a lot more money and less flexibility on the variable speed (Wen does not have a belt change). However, the Wen does not go below 530 rpm.
also wen is only 1/2HP vs Rikon 3/4HP. Mine 1/2HP Grizzly is completely gutless.
This seems to be the exact same drill press as the WEN 4214 but around twice the price. It looks like they come out of the same Chinese factory and both are packaged with a LOT of machine oil.
I thought the same…. I just got wen 4214
Hi Mark, thanks for the great review. I just bought the same drill press and I’m having the very same issue. I haven’t tried to take it apart yet it’s a little intimidating. Can you get back to me and let me know the difficulty you had in addressing the issue?
Totally doable Luke. Just take your time. Once you have the pulley off you will be able to see where it's not fully seated on the shaft and fairly easy to correct. Big difference once wobble is removed. I've been pretty happy with the press since then. Good luck!
Thanks Mark!
I just received and assembled this machine. To be honest, I was taken back by how big it is! So far I've only had to adjust the laser. That is very easy to do, loosening two set screws and turning the laser light nut. I do have once concern. The handle on the left side (as you are in front, looking at the machine) used to adjust the speed is extremely stiff. I'm not sure if this is normal or if there is a way to loosen it up a bit so it's easier to move. Otherwise, this seems like more than enough machine for me. It doesn't appear to be a sloppy build.
I just got one and I find that lever very stiff too.
@@JDnBeastlet It will get easier. I guess it's like putting on a new pair of shoes. It takes a while for them to soften up.
@@craigmouldey2339 good to know - thanks!
I got a question. Are those pulleys steel or aluminum? I had a Delta that was variable speed like that only they were aluminum and ended up wearing out where the belt would slide across them as it was adjusted
Hi John. The pulleys are steel. It is an amazingly simple system. Not sure how well it comes through in the video. but the lever handle changes the position of the pulley (up or down) which corresponds to pushing the belt outward to the edge (slow) or retracting allowing the belt to come to center (fast).
@@DIYMark yeah I looked at your video little closer and it looked like it was steel. The Delta I had was more like that Wen model. I think it's the 1412 variable speed. Those are obviously aluminum and they're not even solid. I'll have to look at backup and stick a link on here if you're interested in seeing what I'm talking about. But yeah that rikon seems like a lot better drill press. It is about twice the prize but twice as good also
czcams.com/video/qiyxRyZJel0/video.html that's the link to it and it said about 17 minutes in. I was wrong it's a 4214 variable speed. I don't know if the pulley system is aluminum are not but it looks like it. So check it out if you're interested
@@johnneal4049 You know as I was researching presses (before my purchase) I noticed that several brands (Jet, Wen, Rikon) have very similar parts and castings. Makes me think they all are made at the same chinese factory and just branded differently. Would love to get several side by side and disassemble to validate my theory.
Several of these bench top are basic same drill presses rebadged. If your using Mortise bits for wood working you'll want low speed below 200 RPM for larger bits. Most variable will not get that low.
I'm having some wobble issues with my newly purchased 12 vs. Could you provide some more info on how you fixed your wobbling issue?
Hi Matt. In my case it was the pulley not fully seated on the shaft. I just started taking it apart and examining each piece for symmetry and any problems. As I removed the belt and pulley assembly it was obvious that the bottom wheel was not perpendicular to the shaft and causing wobble. Took it off and reseated it....went right into the place it should have been. It's disappointing to have to disassemble a brand new tool but you'll gain a bunch of knowledge about your machine doing it. Don't be intimidated. Just take your time. Hope this helps.
This is an almost exact copy of the WEN 12 inch drill press, except the lower gear option. Everything else looks like they used the same parts.
Any remorse on this purchase compared to other models? I'm considering it. Nice review.
Hi Chris. Like I mentioned in the video, it's a C+ product bcuz of the design/production shortcomings I talked about. That said it has a number of great features and the only press that spins at really low speeds when needed. The VS speed feature is also a big plus. With the old press I would sacrifice drill quality because I was too lazy to change the speed (belt change). Now it's easy.
Another curious observation is many of the current presses out there are very similar and it looks like they share parts. I wonder if many are produced in the same chinese factory at OEM specs. Good luck.
Mark, do you think a higher quality product exists for the lower budget market under $1000? Nothing seems to have great overall reviews. I’m also considering the Jet 15” bench model and 17” floor model and a Grizzly bench model. The Jet bench model seems too big for a bench, almost better off with the floor model. Looks nice, but reviews are hit/miss.
@@christopherwhyte2360 I think you're at the same spot I was when I bought the Rikon. I considered both the Jet/Grizzly before I pulled the trigger. And I agree about the size of the Jet/Rikon. I have it on my 3' tall bench and it puts the work too high sometimes...but I'm adapting. As I mentioned changing belt requires a step ladder. Still overall I'm glad I bought the Rikon big step up from the little craftsman. Good luck!
diymark I finally bit the bullet and decided on the floor size 17” variable speed Rikon. While it’s double the price and I really wanted a bench model, there appear to be several benefits and better build quality with the floor model (higher quality components, stronger motor, long quill travel, larger table, nicer depth stop, flexible light, etc). We’ll see when it arrives in a few weeks. If it lasts me 20 years like my 12” Delta bench drill press, the extra features will be worth it. I got a mobile base from Rockler to put under it, although I’m hoping to find a spot in my shop that won’t require moving it often.
@@christopherwhyte2360
How did the 17" VS Rikon Floor Stander work out for you?
Does it have quill lock down?
Hi Jim. Short answer is no. Not like I remember on the big Delta press we had in high school, with a lever you could lock it down with. It (the Rikon) does have a quill set screw but I've never used it...not convenient. You can fairly easily control the retraction of the quill with the depth knurled depth nuts. Hope this helps!
What website did you buy the drill press from?
Hi Henryk. I purchased it from a Rikon retail distributor "US Tools". I have no ties to them and they were the best price at the time (google search). Ironically about 3 weeks later Woodcraft put it on sale for less than I paid. I guess it pays to be patient. Good luck with your search.
@@DIYMark thanks
Well, I guess if you charge almost $200 more than your competition(WEN) then you can have good tech support.
I watched you check the table flatness with a noga base and was wondering why you didn’t use it to check the table perpendicularity as well? You can easily mag that base to the chuck and spin it freely to see how far off the table is. Far easier than using a brass rod. Just a thought.
Off camera I did check flatness as you describe. But I wanted to illustrate the rod technique since it's a low buck approach and many people might not have noga/dial indicator.
diymark Oh I see, I must’ve missed that. Good idea for budget inspection.
At 2:32 you say: "I measured the runout of the chuck arbor with a dial indicator and it spun true within half a thousand." The video show the entire setup, from drill press to dial indicator, shaking as if there's an earthquake! I trust you locked things down before you ran the actual test? If it's any consolation, 90% of CZcams videos on budget drill presses have the same quaking shot as they test the runout of the drill.
Excellent video otherwise, has me seriously considering the Rikon.
Kko
precision engineered wobble, lmao
Gee, quality issuez at a chinese facrory. What a surprise. 🙄