Thread: Hare and Forbes drill press quality

At this price point (for both H&F and Carbatec) the intrinsic quality isn't the issue, and I doubt you'd get catastrophic failure on something as simple as a drill. The problem is more to do with sample variation - individual examples can range from very good to effectively unusable - and how you go about getting a "good" one. I doubt either company would be too happy with you pulling drills out of boxes to check for runout, etc.;H&F in particular isn't set up for this, as you pays yer money in the showroom then drive around to their warehouse to be presented with a cardboard box.

Anecdotally, H&F are better than Carbatec at changing out clearly defective items for a better example, but you'll have to haul the thing back to them. If you want a drill that has at least basic QA performed at the factory, you'll pay a lot more than this.

Thanks for that Mr B but I'd still like to hear from experienced owners. All I want to know if people are generally happy with their H&F drill press. I know there can be variation between two exact models but is there an overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

I have the PD-325 model, passable drill given the price but it wobbles like it's had a few to many. I usually just add a nominal half a mm onto the drill bit size and call it good, that said I don't use it for anything where particular accuracy is needed, usually just pilot holes for screws. From eyeballing it the spindle seems pretty straight without much run out, problem seems to be the chuck so would be easily solved with an upgrade.

Do you mean the wobble or run out would improve with a better chuck?

The wobble or run out might not have been there if you had just happened to get the next one on the shelf.....unfortunately they don't mark on the box which ones were made late on Friday arvo.

I have the Carbatec version of the PD-325 almost identical. The first one I had was hopeless - you could grab the chuck and rock it to and fro. I took it back (300km round trip) and swapped it for another of the same drill that had no visible play (and still doesn't 5 years later), and minimal runout when I clocked it. Someone else probably ended up with the one I took back, and has been cursing it ever since. Do you feel lucky??? Both the H&F models you are looking at come from the same factory, with the same minimal QA, so don't expect one to be of better "quality" than the other.

A better chuck definitely helps. I threw out the keyed chuck that came with mine very early in the piece and replaced it with a keyless one from McJings - much smoother running, and much quicker to use.

Originally Posted by barri

Do you mean the wobble or run out would improve with a better chuck?

Same thing. I mean run out introduced by the chuck causes a visible wobble when running and would assumable be rectified with a better chuck. If I pull the chuck off there is no visible wobble in the arbor. It's why it doesn't bother me too much, cheap machine with a problem that should be solved with a nicer keyless chuck.

I have the PD-360, faultless! I couldn't be happier.

Justonething, why did you choose the BD 360 ($100 more) over the BD 325? The specs look so close. I would never use a bit over 13mm let alone 16mm. I'm a keen hobbyist and your comment has altered my thinking a little. The only decision I've made, thanks to the above posts, is that I will get a key-less chuck and spindle and I will buy the drill from H&F given their price point and discount voucher assuming the carbatec equivalent is of the same quality as Mr Bush has said.

Also which chuck? Carbatec's with spindle is $59 seems good value. H&F chucks with spindles are over $100. Looked at Mcjing's as well, very cheap. I know what 2MT means but confused by what B16, B18, JT3 and JT6 means. Can I use any of these with a matching chuck?
EDIT .... Did a bit more googling and found the answer. As long as your buy the chuck with a matching spindle with tang then you're OK.

I'd go the McJings keyless on 2MT - hard to decipher from their webpage, but they are available. I think several forumites have upgraded cheaper drills with this.

I'd also be surprised if you need drills >13mm for woodworking. Larger holes are usually better done with a forstner or good quality spade bit, both of which have shanks <13mm.

Ended up with the BD 325 and bought the chuck and spindle from carbatec https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturn...ete-unit-mt2b1

So I drove a few kms today. Haven't had the time to assemble it but I'll report back once I have. Thanks for the input

Have fun with it. I bought mine because it feels more solid with a thicker column and a stockier quill. Like I said, I have no problem with mine.

All setup with keyless chuck. Assembly was easy but lifting the motor onto the shaft was difficult as its heavy. I ended up standing on my workbench to lift it so I could use my knees. I actually installed the keyed chuck first just to see how it goes. Grabbed an accurate 1" forstener bit and drilled a hole. Measure the hole with my vernier calipers and it was exactly 1". So I guess there is minimal wobble. Checked with dial indicator and there is some run out but my equipment wasn't accurate enough to give a "real" reading. The hole sizes were perfect so I was happy with that. Replaced chuck with keyless type and did the same test with hole sizes and they were good. So overall I'm happy, it does what I want with the accuracy I want.

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It came with a speed of 660 then there is a large jump to 1150. I don't particularly want to change speeds all the time, so is 660 a good all round speed. I've tried softwood, hardwood, mdf and plywood with varying size holes and they were smooth and accurate. Should I leave it there? Do you guys have a favorite speed?

Also I'm disappointed I can't lock it down in any position which would be useful for doing spindle sanding etc. How do I get around that?

Originally Posted by barri

Also I'm disappointed I can't lock it down in any position which would be useful for doing spindle sanding etc. How do I get around that?

I wouldn't recommend spindle sanding with such a lightweight drill in the first place but doing it with the spindle down is only going to make things worse.

I just tried it Bob ( using https://www.carbatec.com.au/sanding-...ce-drum-set-20 ) with the table up and it works well. Why wouldn't you recommend it?