Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-1, страница 50

New features redefine a shop

helpful to be able to direct light right where you need it. Powermatic has clone away with the bulb completely; the PM2800 has two LED lights, which should never burn out or break. They provide shadow-free illumination.

A bigger change in lighting is the addition of laser crosshairs. Ryobi. Powermatic and Craftsman have them. At first I was a bit skeptical about this convenience, but on closer inspection, the lasers are quite

Today's Shop continues on page 90...

50 February 2008 Woodworker's Journal

Compound drilling angles are easy to set accurately with Delta's dual-tilt table. It tips left and right as well as front to back. Two scales mark the angle settings, and locking levers hold them fast.

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You'll never miss — or misplace — a chuck key with these keyless chucks. A twist locks bits securely and releases them in a jiffy.

Pinpoint drilling accuracy is assured, thanks to the adjustable laser crosshairs found on the Craftsman 22901, Powermatic PM2800 and Ryobi DP121L drill presses.

Long workpieces are easier to manage on the table of Powermatic's PM2800: it has two extension wings that pull out and lock, expanding the table width to 26".

Better Table Manners

Drill press tables have three drawbacks for me: they're too small, hard to clamp to and don't tilt easily or in all the right ways. Some of these new drill presses address all my grij^es. Delta's table is superb: at 14" x 24", it's huge. It's also cast without that meddlesome lip around the bottom edge that makes clamping more difficult. Ryobi, Craftsman and Steel City also have "lipless" edges on their tables — so kudos to

them all. Another breakthrough on the Delta table is that it pivots left and right AND front to back. Yep, you read that right: two pivot planes instead of one. Need to set up compound drilling angles or bore spindle holes in chair seats? If so, this Delta will delight you.

Powermatic and Craftsman offer pull-out workpiece supports on their tables, which should make those monstrous workpieces much easier to manage during drilling. Powermatic also includes a top-notch fence with T-slots and built-in dust collection — very handy.

Keyless Chucks

Keyless chucks have taken the drill/driver market by storm in recent years. Now, tool-free chucks are a reality for drill presses, too. Craftsman and Powermatic are the only machines in this group to have them, but they're mighty nice. Just slip a bit in and give two knurled collars a twist. That's it... the bit is tight. I tried these out with some large bits and heavy-handed hogging cuts, but they didn't lose their grip. Best of all, I never misplaced that infernal chuck key. With these new chucks, who needs it?!

New Light Shows

Worklights on drill presses aren't new, but I like the gooseneck lamps that come on the Steel City, Craftsman and Delta presses. It's