My New Drill Press


After doing some research I purchased a WEN 8” 5 speed benchtop drill press as the latest addition to my workshop. (8" denoting that an 8" wide piece of wood is the maximum width one can center a drill hole)   This particular drill press received great reviews while having a very affordable price point ($77). Delivery came within a week, the setup was easy and within no time I was drilling straight, consistent holes that were not achievable with my handheld drills.

About a month earlier I had agreed to make some small, simple wooden cars that would be placed in boxes and shipped around the world as part of our church’s Operation Christmas Child. I used basic 2 x 4’s and made my own “race car” design, cut the pieces on my bandsaw and sanded to finish on my belt sander; but the challenge was getting the holes for the axles aligned perfectly.

Prior to my drill press purchase I used an assortment of techniques with various corded and cordless drills, yet my end result was less than satisfying. Drilling a hole through a 2 x 4 is not a challenge however even the slightest deviation would result in a car that would either wobble or pull one way or the other due to imperfect alignment; but the drill press solved all that.

 I clamped a couple of blocks on my drill press base then placed my 2 x 4 blocks in position and presto....perfectly aligned axle holes time after time.  This particular drill press has 5 different speeds so it’s flexible enough to handle different drill bits and different wood types but for my project of drilling through pine, one speed worked perfectly.

My project turned out successful as I was able to produce over 100 cars in a short period of time.  The drill press was not only a time saver but also provided the precision necessary for repetitive drilling. Overall, this was a welcome addition to my workshop arsenal.


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