Latest reviews about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

fredrocksr says "Drill Press Chuck Falls Off" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

fredrocksr — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:27:28 GMT

All was good for the first few times I used this. Last night I was drilling a 13/16" hole in a 1/4" wall square tube and the drill chuck released and did not spin with the collet. I thought no problem, just smack the drill chuck back in place since the collet is tapered. Did that. Started drilling again and "Doink" the same thing. Repeated the seating of the chuck to the collet in a more persuasive manner, tried it, and it came off again, I am thinking super glue or JB weld as soon as the sears manager returns my call with the old nothing we can do line. Do not buy this junk.

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Axen says "Craftmans 12 in Drill press. Great for small shop work" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

Axen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:17:26 GMT

The drill its self I have not had a problem with. The digital depth read out is a nice touch.

The flex light and the lazer cross hair thing not so much. the light at the end of the flex light had to be replaced not to long after I got the drill and as for the lazer cross hair thing, it is made out of cheap plastic and I do not think it was made to stay on the drill. Also, it looks like the table was made to tilt, but it does not with out modification.

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jtb says "A lot of tool for the money." about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

jtb — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:44:51 GMT

The packaging was great. There is a lot of heavy cast metal here, so this thing is a brick of a bench tool. The hand lever is a big plus and really adds to the feeling of control. Once you understand how it's designed to be used, the digital depth gauge is a really nice feature in concert with the depth stop. It's got plenty of power - 2/3 hp. I've read some criticisms, mainly on the LED light and some problems with the arbor installation. They did a nice job of packaging the machined parts. It's important to wipe down the arbor as instructed - mine went in with four taps of a hammer on a wood block. The LED isn't a real work light. My shop is already well lit - I put a lot of light around tools to begin with. I would view this little LED as a helper light to remove shadows on up-close detail work. I'm also considering the possibility of hot-rodding the light to up the power. I found that the drill press ran smoothly, but I noticed a bit of a rattle/wobble sound from behind the motor The...

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Sledge says "Craftsman 12 in. drill press is feature loaded" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

Sledge — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:16:53 GMT

I was looking for a benchtop drill press that had plenty of power and had a smooth feed rate, and according to other's reviews the 21914 was one of the best in it's class. I was not thrilled that it had a digital depth gauge, I figured I would just ignore it use the press as normal. After I played with the digital depth gauge I realized that it was an awesome and feature. Simply lower the bit to the top of your stock and zero it, then remove the stock and lower the bit to the desired depth, lock the spindle and do repeated hole at your specified depth. I was not impressed with the work light. This model has the smaller LED light it's beam doeas not cover a wide area. The laser guide works fine but I think it would be easy to knock off center. Overall I am very satisfied with the power, smooth feed and easily adjustable speed but the depth gauge has become favorite feature.

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Plumcrazy670 says "Dollar for dollar, this is one nice drill press!" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

Plumcrazy670 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:25:45 GMT

I bought this 12 inch Craftsman Drill Press amonth ago, and it has already impressed me. Lots of power, easy to use, and quiet opperation. The one problem I am having is that the chuck shaft keeps falling out. You are supposed to drive it in with a wooden mallet, and it's suppose to stay. I ended up driving it in with an eight pound sledge hammer, and it still comes loose once in awhile. Next time I think I will scar the surface of the shaft before re-installing it. Any way, I'll give this drill press 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

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JPmiller says "Died during use. Sears did not stand by the product!!" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

JPmiller — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:15:48 GMT

Bought this drill press, Just stopped one day during use. called Sears they said sorry the warranty is over on 1 June. Today is July 26. They said I could drop it of and get problem diagnosed for 29.99. I said I know what the problem is it does not work!! Customer service said they have no recourse. I asked about them standing behind the product they sell. The said MFG warranty is one year. ? Craftsman always meant Sears to me. They thanked me for 25+ years of loyalty and asked if there was anything else they could do for me today.

Bottom line is this drill press is a piece of ****!!!

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Anonymous says "Solid product; poor assembly" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:15:04 GMT

Read the reviews and bought the product based on the reviewed quality. Spindle nut was crossthreaded, product was unusable and had to be returned to Sears for repair. Huge waste of time and effort. Sad....

Gutbucket says "Great Benchtop Press" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:15:05 GMT

So far everything has worked as expected. Digital readout isn't as useful as you'd expect, but is a good option when you need it. Going to also use the press for some lite milling....

Aristophon says "I'm delighted with this jewel." about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

Aristophon — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:26:43 GMT

I researched many bench top drill presses in the price range of the Sears Craftsman 12" drill press. The Craftsman won out over other brands based on features, fit and finish. I do some woodworking and a limited amount of hobby gunsmithing. Since I have limited space, a bench top model was desired. I have had this drill press for about one year and enjoy using it. It is accurate (no runout), quiet and vibration free.

Several items on the 12" model don't come standard with other brands. The digital depth display and the flexible led light are nice to have items -- the laser surprised me by being a useful device I'm now glad to have. Oh yeah, don't forget the fence that also comes with the drill press.

The second place choice for purchase was the Craftsman 15" floor model because of its 12 speeds (a low speed is useful for drilling metal). But the lowest speed of the 12" drill press is still useable for drilling into metal and the price was, of course, lower than the 15" model.

My face...

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Shoryu says "Fell apart" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:16:36 GMT

After one use the drive shaft slide out and could no be reattached. Had to return for refund....

S1B1 says "Excellent" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:00:05 GMT

This DP is well constructed and does any job I would need of a DP. I highly recommend it. I have had no issues using the DP and think the value is well worth it....

Websteral says "Just when you thought Craftsman lost it's way" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:00:09 GMT

I have owned power tools from just about everyone that makes one, and have had free-standing Delta and Jet Drill presses. This drill press isn't in their league, or even close. But it's the best bench-top drill press I've ever used, and one of the best Craftsman bench tools I own. For the price I wouldn't even dream of trading it. The reliability and ease of use of all the extra features make it worthwhile. If I had to change a thing, I'd like about another inch on the stroke, and a little less wobble when adjusting the work table. The digital depth measurement is top notch; the depth stop adjustment works well; speed change is easy; and I just can't believe I haven't seen that handle on another saw. It's great. Love this one, and having seen it I just may buy another Craftsman power tool....

wb42 says "12"craftsman drill press" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:15:04 GMT

I have been buying craftsman tools for over 50 years and have a scroll saw circa 1940, (retired) but still works. Also a jointer circa 1946 that still gets used a lot. I think this 12" drill press will be just as reliable. It is well built and heavy, runs smoothly and has plenty of power. The digital depth read out is the gem of this machine. I did not have any of the problems others had. The only problem was I did not purchase it sooner. After all it is a CRAFTSMAN....

Phrog says "Good buy" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:00:03 GMT

Overall I am pleased with the press. I have 3 critiques. First, customer service. It took me over 6 weeks, 3 visits to the store and 10 telephone calls to finally receive the press. It was not in stock when I first went to purchase and I was given a rain check. I was told two were on order and I will be called when it arrived. After 3-4 weeks including 7 or 8 phone calls, it was finally determined that 2 were in stock (which was also incorrect) and not on order. I was told that I would have to come in and physically order a press and it will arrive with my name on it (highly recommended). Second, fit and finish. When assembling the press, the holes for the column assembly did not match up with the base. Upon closer inspection, I was able to see the stamp on the bottom of the column assembly where the correct hole placement was supposed to be. After the difficulty with customer service and delivery, I decided to bore each hole 3/32" which fixed the problem. (I would have been nice to have......

PKELLER says "So-So" about Craftsman 12 in. Drill Press

sears-feed — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:15:14 GMT

Drill press is easy to set up, has good power / plenty of tourqe. My main issue with this drill press is the length of quill. Max drilling depth is right around 3". 4" is pretty much the standard these days and 5" makes is practical for all use. You can raise the table to drill in 3" increments, but the rack and pinion is not that smooth, so you have a good chance of throwing your hole off center. For a simple basic drill press, its fine. I was looking for something more versatile and performance driven. Less lasers and flexible work lights and a better quill and rack and pinion....