Mediocre floor standing drill presses for woodworking have four things in common. They have low potency motors, less number of speed, limited speed range, and they’re bulky and unstable.
These are not the kind of power tools to buy. What you need is the best floor standing drill press that provides the speed and power needed to do woodwork with ease.
4 Best Floor Standing Drill Press for Woodworking
1. BILT HARD 10 inch 12-Speed Drill Press
BILT HARD is one of the well-built floor standing drill presses that allow you to get more creative with your woodwork.
Going for under $150, and arguably compact enough to fit into a small space, BIL HARD has all the features that you need in a premium drill press for woodworking.
BILT HARD gives this 10-inch drill press a tougher built by using highly durable materials for different parts.
To be precise, the base of the bench, head, and table are made of cast iron, which is light like aluminum yet tougher than steel.
Also, the package includes all the necessary accessories that you can use to work on soft as well as hard wood types. With adjustable worktable bevels, you can easily adjust the angle of your woodworking projects and get the tricky operations done right.
With BILT HARD drill press, you can control the upstroke and down stroke depth. That way, you get repeatable drilling operations whenever necessary. It even features a large keyed chuck, which ensures compatibility with different kinds of drill bits.
BILT HARD has variable speeds that go up to 3,600 RPM as well as an adjustable depth stop. These features allow you to work at specific speeds so that you can get the woodworking job done in the best time possible and with more convenience.
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Pros
- Made of cast iron for strength and durability
- Suitable for light as well as heavy duty jobs
- 16 different speed options
- Higher RPM range
Cons
- This drill press is somewhat noisy
- It’s not a good option for beginners
2. JET JDP-17 17″ Drill Press
Featuring a 3/4 HP motor, 16 speed range, and spindle speeds between 200 and 3,500 RPM, JET JDP-17, is the deal for woodworkers who need drill presses that have the power to get woodworking job done fast.
Going for under $1,500, JET JDP-17 features a tough build that can stand up even to the toughest woodworking project.
Powered by a 3/4 HP motor, which outputs a maximum spindle speed of 3,500 RPM, JET JDP-17 lets you drill even the toughest type of wood in your collection and do so in the shortest time possible.
With a spacious workbench and a reliable and convenient depth stop, JET JDP-17 makes it easy for you to perform repeated drilling with ease and do so with much precision.
JET JDP-17 features a 5-inch spindle travel, which allows you to work on large planks of wood. So if you ever plan on taking bigger woodworking projects and you need a drill press that can help you get the job done, you might want to consider investing in this one.
Pros
- Features a one-hand belt tension that makes it easy for you to change the spindle speed that ranges between 210 to 3,500 RMP
- JET JDP-17 doesn’t create when it’s in use
- Can handle large woodworking projects because it has a bigger workable
- Include LED lights for clear visibility
Cons
- Some people may find the white pilot light annoying especially since it stays ON continuously when plugged in.
3. Shop Fox W1848 Oscillating Floor Drill Press
Shop Fox designed W1848 oscillating floor drill press for durability and performance. And it’s currently one of the best options for woodworking. Shop Fox W1848 weighs 122 pounds and has a stable base that stands up to light and heavy-duty woodwork projects.
With a 3/4 HP motor and a maximum speed of 3050 RPM, this oscillating drill press can work on both soft and extremely hard wood.
The 3/4 HP motor of this drill press can produce a maximum speed of 3050 RPM. In addition, it has a spindle travel of 3-1/4 inches, making it a suitable option that you can use for a wide variety of applications.
We recommend this drill press for woodworking because it has 12-speed settings, which allow you to work with a higher level of precision depending on the type of project that you’re working on.
Shop Fox designed W1848 is for those who need a drill press that can do more than one task. Thanks to its multipurpose functionality, you can use it as a drill press or as a sanding machine.
Switching between the two operations is easy and the working mechanism is of course different depending on what you would like to do.
We wish Shop Fox W1848 had a laser alignment. Of course, that isn’t a mandatory feature to have in a drill pres. However, it helps to ensure higher level of accuracy for every woodworking project, especially in the case where you can’t afford to miss any detail.
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Pros
- Excellent speed range of between 250 and 3050 RPM
- Variable speed allows you to do your woodwork with utmost accuracy
- Includes an oscillating spindle that you can use for contour sanding
- The table has a decent surface area for work
Cons
- Doesn’t feature built-in light
4. WEN 4214 12-Inch Variable Speed Drill Press
Are you in the market for a woodworking drill press with variable speed selections but don’t know which model to choose? You might want to consider getting WEN 4212.
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With a 2/3 HP motor, a spindle speed between 580 and 3,200 RPM, and variable speed selection, this drill press is exactly what you need to tackle light as well as heavy-duty woodworking projects.
It’s one thing for a drill press to feature variable speeds. But if changing between speeds is difficult, it becomes hard to complete your project in time. WEN 4212 gives you the best speed range as well as the convenience to do the switching.
There’s a lever that allows you to regulate the speed between 580 and 3200 RPM, and you do so without pausing your work.
There’s even a digital readout screen that lets you know the exact speed you’re working with. So you don’t have to do any kind of guesswork.
Pros
- Has variable speeds that you can regulate with a lever
- Worktable easily tilts by up to 45 degrees to enable you to drill in angles
- The 2/3 HP motor guarantees better performance
- X pattern laser included to help you drill with utmost precision
- Includes LED light that contributes to the drilling accuracy of the press
- Versatile and powerful enough to handle small, medium, and large work pieces
Cons
- This drill press hums when you set the variable speed to a lower RPM
- The motor gets hot after drilling nonstop for about 6 minutes
The drill presses that we’ve looked at in this guide have a few things in common. They have powerful motors, decent speed ranges, variable speed options, and excellent RPM. They also have a stable base and tables with ample surface area for small and large woodwork projects.