Longshot- Harbor Freight 8" drill press?

[arealken]

Is the cheapest harbor Freight 8" drill press gonna be big enough to clamp the body and neck down onto to drill neck screw holes? Not that it matters much, I already bought it a long time ago, and I ain't buying another one. If it's not big enough, I will have to farm the work out, cause I am not going to try and hand drill the neck screw holes which need to be enlarged, doweled, and redrilled .

 

[PhilHill]

The most important aspect of a drill press, (Or as the British call it "a Pillar Drill" ) is called vertical true. In other words, when the spindle descends, does it stay perpendicular to the table. This can be checked by placing a square next to the drill chuck and checking that it stays parallel to the square as it goes down.
If yours is good then you should be able to bolt or clamp a larger piece of flat wood to the table and increase the area you have to support the work. Good Luck on it.
Oh also check that the table is square to the spindle.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I have this drill press, and I would also advise that it is not what I would call a "precision" press.  The chuck does drift ever so slightly, so while it is great for general work, I would not rely on it for truly critical work.  Using a surface planer bit, it does great, drum sander bits, nice, but be very cautious if doing something like a Floyd Nut with the "through holes", or something similar.

 

[spe111]

In general, I like Harbor Freight if I want to use a tool one or two times. If it's something I'm going to be using a lot, I buy something more expensive.

 

[rauchman]

I guess it begs the question....

What is a recommended drill press that is easy on the wallet?

 

[Cagey]

I've always liked Delta tools, but there are others that will serve. If you want "easy on the wallet", look at the used market. Drill presses are all simple enough that they're easy to to make well, for the most part. Just try to get a 12" swing if you can. Anything smaller than that is going to be frustrating to do all that can be done with guitars.

 

[PhilHill]

Look for a company name that's been around for awhile. Lately it seems that anything less than $130 is questionable. For a decent one with a 12" swing and a laser light guide figure on closer to $200 or more. Spindle speeds up to at least 3000 rpm are best. Motor size depends on whether or not you want to be able to drill metal of any thickness in addition to hardwood. And a decent pulley adjustment system so changing speeds isn't a pain in the tookas.