Popular Woodworking 2006-10 № 157, страница 17
Endurance Test Grizzly G7944 Drill Press No unnecessary frills. Just a solid machine at a super price. My first encounter with the Grizzly G7944 drill press began with a fit of cursing but ended with a big smile on my face. You see, I had bought the 14"" machine because it seemed an amazing value and my other Grizzly tools had provided superior service. So imagine my surprise when the G7944 stalled in almost every hole, even with small bits in softwood. After a couple holes I turned the air blue with a few choice expletives and then I paused for a moment of reflection. I opened the pulley cover and tightened the pulley nut that held the pulley to the spindle. The nut had come loose (perhaps during shipping) and was allowing the pulley to slip. That fixed everything, and since that moment more than three years ago I have had nothing but praise for this machine, which is powerful, accurate and a dang good deal. Grizzly's business was founded on the drill press. Company President Shiraz Balolia started his tool career selling drill presses in 1975, and it shows in these machines. Other manufacturers have tried to reinvent the drill press for woodworkers (and failed); I've found that these ""advancements" always dramatically increased the price for this simple ABOUT OUR ENDURANCE TESTS Every tool featured in our Endurance Test column has survived at least two years of heavy use in our shop here at Popular Woodworking. and essential machine. But Grizzly has stuck to the essentials with its line of drill presses. There are no fancy tables or complex stops or micro-adjustable gizmos. Instead, what you get is a drill press with no significant runout, a well-made chuck that will grab a V&" bit, all the speeds you need for woodworking (between 140 rpm and 3,050 rpm) and one single and worthwhile extravagance: a well-placed task light. I have yet to find any application that taxed the machine's 3/4-horsepower motor. Changing speeds is straightforward and easy enough to do. And the removable switch key gives me a little peace of mind with small children in my house. (Some of my more expensive machines do not have this feature.) Oh, and then there's the $250 price (plus $65 shipping and a fuel surcharge). If you do some shopping, you're going to be hard pressed to find as much machine for this money. Woodworkers do tend to customize their drill presses, so here's what I've done to mine. First I added the aftermarket table, fence and stop shown in the photo. The table is a nice piece of work, but I have found the micro-adjustable stop to be unnecessary, even for precision chairmaking jobs. If I had to do it over, I might skip the fancy table and add my own - the thing I most appreciate about this aftermarket table is its surface area. I do tend to misplace the chuck key to the machine from time to time, so I've stuck Grizzly G7944 14" Floor-model Drill Press Street price: $250 Chuck capacity: Vs" to 5/s" Speeds: 12, from 140 rpm to 3,050 rpm Table tilt: 90° left and right Height: 64" Weight: 170 lbs. (approx.) For more information: Contact Grizzly Industrial, 800-523-4777 or grizzly.com a small rare-earth magnet to the side of the machine so I can stick the chuck key to that. This works fine. I've also pasted a chart of recommended bit speeds on the inside of the pulley cover. I do use my drill press quite a lot, actually, so I've found that a little lubrication really is time well-spent. The spindle still runs smooth like butter, but the geared rack that allows you to crank the table up and down can get gummed up with sawdust. Keep it clean with a little machine oil and it will work as well as the day it came out of the box (assuming you already tightened the pulley nut). Other than that, the machine needs little attention. I recommend it without reservation. I wish I could say the same thing for my belt/disc sander, which is constantly thirsty for tweaking and attention. Hey, that reminds me, Grizzly makes a fair number of belt/disc sanders, too ... I should check them out. PW — Christopher Schwarz 26 Popular Woodworking October 2006 |
