# Would you spend $1000 on this ? (Nova Viking Drill Press)



## graham-xrf (Sep 8, 2020)

It's all a no belts direct drive servo-motor tech. . (and I need a drill press)!
This kit is clearly aimed at woodwork, although I am sure it can drill holes in metal OK.
From budget to posh, one can get drill presses starting at less than a fifth of the price, with fairly decent setups costing a bit over half.
The lad himself is not getting rid of his existing machine, despite it's annoyances. The old press drills holes just fine, and is to be moved into his metal shop.

There is lots about it's operation that has me nodding .. "Yeah - that's nice"!
There is something else in me saying "Ya know.. for that much, I might get a reasonable little mill-drill".

While I do get it that we have among us high-skill hardball metal kings who might not be too taken by some of the plastic theatrics, there are some subtle points. To  servo-regulate torque to keep the rotation speed constant might or might not be good for the hole cut quality. I have no idea how good is a constant torque cut, if it can do it,  even slowing down to a regulated limit stall. I guess it might save a few broken taps. The video does, of course, lead on to others which go into these products in greater detail - runout measurements, etc.

[Edit: Apparently it has some kind of smart tapping mode that periodically reverses to clear chips]

So - let's see what some HM members think.


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## Alcap (Sep 8, 2020)

It seems like a awesome drill press for a home shop . I too am looking far a drill press , I did make a $500 offer on this but guess he wants more  https://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/d/washington-vernon-sheldon-vertical/7182935163.html   one of the features I was looking for is a nice spindle travel and varibile speed .  I was thinking of ordering this WEN 4225  that's on sale through Walmart for $447 , w/free shipping . I like that it uses old school variable pulleys instead of electronic controls ,  https://www.walmart.com/ip/WEN-8-6A...C74tWMNJLrrVHJM-JGv3hG-dVjZWuK3BoCBa4QAvD_BwE


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## JRaut (Sep 8, 2020)

Sort of depends on what you've got in your shop already.

If you've already got a mill (knee, bench, or otherwise), probably not worth having it.

I can say that in my shop (which has a Bridgeport), the only thing I do on my drill press is debur holes. I'm actually thinking of getting rid of it because I use it so infrequently and could use the space.


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## graham-xrf (Sep 8, 2020)

The Craigslist Sheldon is much more butch than a drill press, and could handle some milling. But 70 + years old and used.  I do like what the Viking does - but not the price. @JRaut has a point. Something that is nice, but not used often, maybe does not need to eat up a grand of budget!


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## projectnut (Sep 8, 2020)

To me a drill press is one of the most basic machines in the shop.  The one in the video has lots of bells and whistles, but when you get down to the basics it drills holes period.  I have an older Jet JDP 125 VS3 that had many of the same bells and whistles.  Keep in mind I said HAD.  It came with a 2 speed motor, variable speed sheaves, forward and reverse, depth stops, work light, bla , bla, bla.

All the bells and whistles on mine worked fine for around 20 years.  It would drill to a preset depth at one speed, slow to a lower speed for tapping, reverse when it met the second depth stop, and back out of the hole.  Then someone decided it didn't work quite like they wanted it to and made some changes.  Net, net trying to make "improvements" they disabled some of the original functions.  I still use the machine today.  It still has variable speed, forward and reverse, and depth stops.  What it doesn't have is auto speed change, and auto reverse.  Does it matter, not to me.  It still performs the same basic functions it did when it was built in 1987.

That may sound trivial, but ask yourself how long the electronics on the machine in the video are going to last, then think about how long they are going to be supported.  While everything works fine today will it in 20 years, and if it needs parts will there be anyone around to sell them to you.  Every time I see an add for a machine like this I think back to the Sears Craftsman fiasco of electronic feedback constant torque drills and saws of the late 1980's.  They worked fine for a while, then failed in droves when people over stressed them and the feedback circuits fried the motors or control boards.

Of all the used Craftsman tools on the market today you rarely see one of those saws or drills.  Most ended up in the junk because they were either too expensive to repair, or parts were no longer available.  Saws and drills from the 50's and 60's are still out there because they were basic machines that could be repaired.

As for the direct drive servo motor, what happens when constant torque meets drill stuck in a part.  Something has to give.  Will it be the drill bit, the gear drive, the motor, or the control board.


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## graham-xrf (Sep 8, 2020)

Yep - a bit like a running car a working colleague had "trouble" with. It had all the ingredients to burn fuel and make the wheels go around, but was turned into a chunk of scrap because another "electronic engine management unit" could not be found at a price lower than the value of the car.


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## Reddinr (Sep 8, 2020)

I still have an old Craftsman drill press that I bought used in ~1985.  At the time I was looking for ALL the bells and whistles.  Eg. table moves up and down, tilts, it drills holes, has a work light, many speeds (belts), big table, deep throat to handle larger stock...  It still has all of those features and has drilled thousands of holes in wood and metal.  I use about 2-3 of the speeds most of the time.  I have drooled over the electronic ones in the past but always come back to "will it really drill better holes or drill them much faster?"  To me the answer has been no.  If the motor ever goes I might mount up a big DC motor I have laying around.

I would keep the drill press simple.  Maybe make some fixtures for the table for work positioning and holding and that gets you 99% of what is needed.  Then, with the money saved and other money saved by not getting that shiny new F250 or whatever, get a mill too.  

Or if you really like the electronic one get that.  The tapping feature sounds a little drool worthy.


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## Shopsweeper (Sep 8, 2020)

I've had the forerunner (Voyager) to this machine in my shop for 3 years now.  My machine is just a drill press with no milling capability whatsoever. 

I use it often and I really like the speed control.  My machine has an MT1 nose and I just think that is way too small.  Having said that I have made 1/2" holes in steel.  My machine can never become a mill because the spindle is in line (same piece of steel I think) with the rotor shaft in the motor.  So in my Voyager any hard side action on the nose would translate right into the fancy DVR motor - bad.

The beauty is there never ANY excuse for not dialing in the RPM perfectly for your job even if you are "in a hurry". (note: everything bad that has ever happened in my shop as been when I was in a hurry)

I had a moment of discontinuity when I updated the firmware  via USB last year and I set the USB drive down on the table of my 120 year old bandsaw.


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## Aaron_W (Sep 8, 2020)

I know nothing about that specific machine, but I've been casually DP shopping and the general  question is one  I have been wondering about myself when looking at vintage Craftman or similar for $200 or less, and higher end brands upwards of $1000. 

General build quality, size and variable speed by dial vs changing belts I can understand, but beyond that I'm not sure there is anything really worth paying extra for, particularly if you already have a mill.


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## Nogoingback (Sep 8, 2020)

This guy bought a new drill press because using the depth stop on his Jet "ruined his day"?
More likely he's taken in by the promise of a shiny new toy (who isn't sometimes) and the lure of having a DP with a USB cable.  
Personally I agree with projectnut.  There is no way of knowing how long the electronics on that thing will be supported, but if
experience with other modern consumer products is any indication, it won't be long.  Some companies now are so indifferent to
their customer's needs they no longer support products as soon as they go out of production.   If I wanted variable speed on my
DP, I'd just put a VFD on it: if it fails you can at least bin it and simply buy another.  With proprietary electronics, you're stuck.
And, despite all the kool-aid that manufacturers put out, (consumer) electronics aren't very reliable.

If I planned on spending a bunch of money on a DP, I'd look for the nicest 20" Powermatic or Rockwell I could find.


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## C-Bag (Sep 8, 2020)

I’m with Projectnut, less electronics the better. I also see a drill press as got to have basic equipment and had my HD bench mount unit for long before my mill. For a while I thought my drill/mill made it obsolete until I added a cheap xy vise with prismatic jaw and it became so much quicker and easier to use than the mill. It became so indispensable I upgraded to the beast of bench drill presses and could not be happier. It doesn’t have reverse but I don’t have a tapmatic setup. The 2‘ radial arm, huge table with 40” of Z and mechanical varidrive belt system are brilliant. Truly an upgrade. All old HD cast iron and pretty much bullet proof.


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## Shopsweeper (Sep 8, 2020)

Nogoingback said:


> If I planned on spending a bunch of money on a DP, I'd look for the nicest 20" Powermatic or Rockwell I could find.



I have no argument with this.  I actually kept my big Powermatic for over a year to see if I would use it again after I got the Voyager.  I did let it go but I may regret that someday since 'new' is not synonymous with 'enduring'.


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## Mitch Alsup (Sep 8, 2020)

graham-xrf said:


> Yep - a bit like a running car a working colleague had "trouble" with. It had all the ingredients to burn fuel and make the wheels go around, but was turned into a chunk of scrap because another "electronic engine management unit" could not be found at a price lower than the value of the car.



That does not happen on a 57 Chevy or 65 Mustang.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 8, 2020)

I have a European market variant of the Wen DP.  It has all the same features, but is the bench top version.  I think I paid around 225 Euro for it.  I love the variable speed (mechanical) and the inductive tachometer.  The chuck it came with was übersh!t, but it has a MT2 taper, and I have lots of MT2 Jacobs chucks laying around.  I keep thinking I'll sell this tool, but it's really convenient.  I have a floor DP from HF that works, and a Powermatic 1200 that does everything that the other two DPs can do with more power and less runout.



Nogoingback said:


> If I planned on spending a bunch of money on a DP, I'd look for the nicest 20" Powermatic or Rockwell I could find.


My Powermatic 1200 was good to go the minute it hit my floor, by that point already 40 years in age.  It cost a drive-thru total more than what I paid for the Wen.



Mitch Alsup said:


> That does not happen on a 57 Chevy or 65 Mustang.


It happens to the ones that spend any time in my care.  I spent years learning all types of carburetors inside and out, and now I just prefer to tweak software for bigger returns in power.  To each their own...


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## kb58 (Sep 8, 2020)

I got rid of my drill press once I had the mill. The difference in drilling a hole is just amazing, without the wobbly loose spindle, never mind having the DRO so that the holes are accurately placed, finally. Nope, don't miss the drill press one bit. My point is that once you get up to that price level for a drill press, may as well start looking at used mills and get way more for your money, and far more use.


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## graham-xrf (Sep 8, 2020)

Reddinr said:


> I would keep the drill press simple.  Maybe make some fixtures for the table for work positioning and holding and that gets you 99% of what is needed.  Then, with the money saved and other money saved by not getting that shiny new F250 or whatever, get a mill too.
> 
> Or if you really like the electronic one get that.  The tapping feature sounds a little drool worthy.


I think you mean that "new old F250 , rust and chippings protected under, resto-mod with heat & sound insulation added, + engine rebuild".  

I must admit, seeing a drill tap go down, reverse and come up, clear chips, poke down again, is a bit spooky. Wait till we get the extra gadget that blows the hole clean and and brusshes a dab of cutting oil onto the tap.

Are we almost in some kind of no-mans land between feeling great getting close up entangled with the machine as we apply our hard-won skills to working the metal, and to letting it all go CNC robotic?

It's creeping up on us! Even the damn car, not content with "speaking" to me (re: seat belt), will soon be driving itself down the least congested route!


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## graham-xrf (Sep 8, 2020)

Aaron_W said:


> I know nothing about that specific machine, but I've been casually DP shopping and the general  question is one  I have been wondering about myself when looking at vintage Craftman or similar for $200 or less, and higher end brands upwards of $1000.
> 
> General build quality, size and variable speed by dial vs changing belts I can understand, but beyond that I'm not sure there is anything really worth paying extra for, particularly if you already have a mill.


Agreed. When the price between  very similar looking machines runs from less than £160 to more than £450, it gets _very_ hard to come up with a scale of value points to help decide. Even if you shelled out $600, it still might not really be "quality" to match the price.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 8, 2020)

graham-xrf said:


> I think you mean that "new old F250 , rust and chippings protected under, resto-mod with heat & sound insulation added, + engine rebuild".


+ modern electronic fuel injection


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## NortonDommi (Sep 8, 2020)

As a Kiwi I am proud of Nova.  Don't know what they are like now since they were bought out  but a friend has a DVR3000 wood lathe and loves it. He makes all sorts of stuff for selling in local farmers markets and has never had any problems that I am aware of.   https://www.teknatool.com/


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## vecair (Sep 9, 2020)

graham-xrf said:


> It's all a no belts direct drive servo-motor tech. . (and I need a drill press)!
> This kit is clearly aimed at woodwork, although I am sure it can drill holes in metal OK.
> From budget to posh, one can get drill presses starting at less than a fifth of the price, with fairly decent setups costing a bit over half.
> The lad himself is not getting rid of his existing machine, despite it's annoyances. The old press drills holes just fine, and is to be moved into his metal shop.
> ...


There is a video that shows its tapping feature in metal as well.  So no need for a tapping head as this will tap and then auto reverse.  So not only a drill press but a tapping machine as well.  Looks like a state of the art modern drill press with constant torque and all the bells and whistles, I like it!


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## graham-xrf (Sep 9, 2020)

vecair said:


> Looks like a state of the art modern drill press with constant torque and all the bells and whistles, I like it!


I was thinking about this. I am not sure how much it "backs up" when doing tapping, but it needs to be measuring the advance per turn, as opposed to a feed rate, and keep a count, and also keep comparing to a torque that, (to a guy doing it by hand), would signal that things are getting too tight down there. Then the decelerate-stop-reverse out by enough to clear chips, all amounts to quite an exact little dance!

I admit - I do love it all!  I set that against how I do not love the price, +the cautions about future support, and whether to be plugging the cash into a little mill-drill would be a better spend. I was thinking a mill-drill is, in concept, all of a precision drill with some (manual) lightweight milling thrown in. If anyone invests in a whole Bridgeport or something, he is likely to want a separate basic DP.

It being from NZ instead of China may go some way to a better future support policy.

[Edit: It seems the Nova Vulcan (floor standing version) has a 3MT spindle and ER32 collet system. It is built to take milling operations when used with an accessory compound table add-on. That makes it a mill-drill (when you spend enough)!
Here-> https://www.teknatool.com/product/vulcan/ ]


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## vecair (Sep 9, 2020)

graham-xrf said:


> I was thinking about this. I am not sure how much it "backs up" when doing tapping, but it needs to be measuring the advance per turn, as opposed to a feed rate, and keep a count, and also keep comparing to a torque that, (to a guy doing it by hand), would signal that things are getting too tight down there. Then the decelerate-stop-reverse out by enough to clear chips, all amounts to quite an exact little dance!
> 
> I admit - I do love it all!  I set that against how I do not love the price, +the cautions about future support, and whether to be plugging the cash into a little mill-drill would be a better spend. I was thinking a mill-drill is, in concept, all of a precision drill with some (manual) lightweight milling thrown in. If anyone invests in a whole Bridgeport or something, he is likely to want a separate basic DP.
> 
> ...


Well looks like it does it electronically just like a CNC might do  Got to start trusting those pixies sometime, not that I do


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## C-Bag (Sep 9, 2020)

graham-xrf said:


> It being from NZ instead of China may go some way to a better future support policy.


does it specifically say “made in NZ” anywhere? Not where the company is, but where it’s made. I looked and couldn’t find it. Like most proprietary tech you can’t just swap out a new motor if this one goes south it’s pretty much the heart of the thing.


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## vecair (Sep 9, 2020)

I can pretty much guarantee you that its made in China. I can see several items that are exactly the same as my floor mounted Chicago drill press which was made in China, and which has never failed.  If the COMPANY stands behind them then its a go for me.  Plus I see its been in production for some time and quite a few four and five star reviews.  You get what you pay for from China, cheap is cheap the world over, same with quality.  Ask me, I have a Chinese aircraft!


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## graham-xrf (Sep 9, 2020)

C-Bag said:


> does it specifically say “made in NZ” anywhere? Not where the company is, but where it’s made. I looked and couldn’t find it. Like most proprietary tech you can’t just swap out a new motor if this one goes south it’s pretty much the heart of the thing.


OK - I was going on post #19.
Agreed, if it messes up, it is pretty much not user fixable. One has to trust in supplier support for years to come.

I confess, I am getting more and more seduced by the videos, like the one in post #22


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## projectnut (Sep 10, 2020)

Before making an investment I would see who the dealers are in your area, and ask about the availability of replacement parts.  As mentioned in my previous post the electronics may be a stumbling point.  Look back at even industrial CNC machines built in the early 2000's or before.  Replacement electronics are almost non existent and outrageously priced.   The electronics industry moves so fast components become obsolete in a couple years and no longer profitable to build or supply.

20 year old CNC machining centers are being sold for scrap prices because they are no longer supported.  It's not a total loss if you to recover the cost of a machine in a commercial setting.  A hobby setting is a whole different thing unless you have a money making hobby.  I for one am not willing to shell out that kind of money for a machine with a potential working life of only a few years.

As for warranty it's only as good as the company that makes it, and only enforceable in many cases through expensive litigation.  Chinese companies that I've dealt with are poor at best when it comes to honoring their warranty.  Years ago I purchased an HF hydraulic table.  The hydraulic ram went out a little after 3 months.  While they did honor the warranty it took over 6 months to get a replacement part.  I had a similar problem with a protractor purchased through eBay.   That's why to this day I only buy offshore (Chinese) products when they are either the only thing available, or I consider it to be a disposable item


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## Buffalo21 (Sep 10, 2020)

First the video, the guy is a whiner, the company seem to spend all of the money on the hi-tech head assembly, the rest of the DP is a cheap Chinese style bench DP.

I have 3 drill presses in the shop, I use all 3 constantly, I build the Franken-Drill, to get a good X-Y DP, with a knee. Even though I have 3 milling machines, I’ve never purposely gone to any of the mills to drill a hole, if the work piece is in the mill, then of course I use the mill, but i’ve had the need to use the mill to just drill a hole.


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## C-Bag (Sep 10, 2020)

Obviously being old school I’m not going to sway anybody who’s enamored by bells and whistles but like the teenagers say, whatever dude. For $650 I got a lot of old cast iron that will be functioning long after I’m gone. You can tell by the ad ploy “cast iron table”  head and base are either aluminum or pot metal. One of the reviews on Amazon was one star because the motor came dead but no word about warranty.


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## graham-xrf (Sep 10, 2020)

I think I agree quite a lot with the old school here.
OK - I was more focused on the drill hardware than the guy doing the presentation.

It did cross my mind that the reviewer likes to swoop up the chips so as _not to mess up his carpet_! I thought that to be just a bit of comedy.

I cannot see that carpets should ever be in a machine shop. All sorts of razor sharp contaminants get in them, and are hell to remove. Whistling clean exemplary shop is OK, but surely not shagpile!  Tiles, or vinyl, or even old floorboards, so long as they work with a broom, and a magnet, and a vacuum cleaner, and don't mind a lttle oil now and then.

Also, the value he puts on various features are not like mine. I only posted that one video, but of course, it is in the nature of YT to then run on to others. The review for the Nova Vulcan (floor standing) is much more businesslike. It's a fatter machine (MT3) and it shows many more of the menu  options, and is much about drilling metal.

I think I can get something reasonably OK, and at much lower cost, even with adding on a good torque-sustaining switch-mode speed controller. (We still call them "VFD's", but most have moved on from simple variable frequency pseudo AC). I kind of set the Viking into light(er)weight, or woodworking category.

I do note that the Viking  bench version has a very visible, physically large motor up top. The Vulcan, supposedly the more powerful machine, has some sort of magic in a smaller rounded control box.


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## Flyinfool (Sep 10, 2020)

I guess I fall into the old fart category. My very first machine was a 17" drill press about 40 years ago, I still have it, it still works fine. At one point i bought an X Y vice for it to do milling, OK mashing metal to the side..........
Since i bought my mill 20 years ago, the DP gets very little use. But it still gets just enough use that I have not considered selling it.


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## Winegrower (Sep 10, 2020)

I only use my Powermatic 2800B drill press for wood.   The Bridgeport does everything else.    After working on the mill with DRO, the drill press just doesn't seem up to metal precision.   I know, you disagree, but that's my opinion.


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## C-Bag (Sep 10, 2020)

I hope NortonDommi doesn’t think we’re bagging on this because it was conceived in NZ. I was the butt end of the spear for the whole time I was tasked with fixing cars and have a super resentment against hi tech that lures the folks who are into that in order to boost sales. And when even the dealers couldn’t fix it whole lines of vehicles went away. Lemon laws and these laws trying to make it mandatory to support stuff after sale is just bandaids on a blimp. The idea the user is too lazy or clueless to set a depth stop or hit the reverse is more of this trend that as a true Luddite I have no use for. There is no replacement for skill because when the complicated solution for simple skill dies your just left with two pieces for the landfill. The work and the dead tool.


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## MikeInOr (Sep 10, 2020)

I have seen REALLY NICE old Walker Turner, Rockwell and Powermatic variable drive drill presses on craigslist in the $1000 range.  There is no way I would spend $1000 on that drill press.

I own a HF, a Jet and a Walker Turner drill press (Metal drilling, Wood drilling and "It's a Walker Turner, enough said").  The WT is the smallest and by far the tightest with no jiggle or ramble.  The WT is heads and tails above the Chinese dp's... but ALL THREE of them drill holes perfectly well!  If I were going to spend $1000 on a drill press it would be an old American variable belt drive drill press... not a servo drive plastic drill press.

My largest drill press, a 20+ year old HF floor standing 17" drill press stands about 3 feet away from my mill.  I would hate to have to swap a 3 jaw chuck into my mill every time I just needed to drill a hole!  My DP gets MORE use since I bought a mill rather than less... mainly because I do more metal working now.

P.S. When the cheap 20+ year old Chinese motor on my HF craps out how much do you think an American made replacement is going to cost me?  How much do you think a servo motor for that fancy drill press will cost to replace 10 or 20 years from now?  How about the servo motor controller?  Do you think there is ANY chance that either will be available 10+ years from now?


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