Rikon 12 inch Variable Speed Drill Press

In my opinion this is a very good bench top drill press. I love the speed adjustment and the depth control. The position of the light and laser XY guide is very convenient.

Easy to assemble and put together the led worklight and laser make it very accurate and easy to see the work piece

This drill press is exactly as described. It arrived undamaged and was easy to assemble (be sure you have a helper to mount the drive head). When I started it, the machine vibrated and shook a bit. I saw a previous review that had the same problem so I checked the drive pulley on the center shaft and it appeared to have a slight wobble. I called Customer Service and immediately got a REAL person - no menu to go thru. Was connected immediately to Tech Support. When I told him the problem and that I wanted to take off the pulley and re-seat, it he said it was OK to do so - would not invalidate the warranty. It was not easy, but I got it off and re-seated the drive pulley. Then I noticed that the drive pulley and the motor drive pulley were misaligned by about 1/8". I drove the motor fully down to align it. After I re-assembled everything the machine runs smooth as butter. So far I really like the machine - it replaced one that I had for 20 years. And I cannot say enough good things about Rikon Customer Service and Tech Support! UPDATE: I lowered this to a 4 star rating because of the depth gauge stop adjustment. My old drill press had a quick release to move the stop quickly to a location then you would turn it to fine adjust the depth setting. The one on this drill press does not have that ability, so it is a real pain to make adjustments. quickly. The nut (or both nuts) have to be manually screwed up and down to the location.

Love how easy it is to change speeds

Many on YouTube have complained that some of the parts on this $500 drill press are plastic and may break in shipment. I took a chance and got one of those with concealed shipping damage. The plastic switch housing and pulley cover are both thin and brittle. Rikon really should spend a few pennies and make these parts out of metal (or at least a form of more substantial plastic). But, I was not prepared for the very rough movement of the quill. I could feel and hear a "thumping" inside the head of the drill press as the quill was raised and lowered. I promptly returned the unit. Things can go wrong and damage can occur in shipping. So, I'm willing to receive a replacement. I own a Rikon lathe that I'm very impressed with. Also, Rikon customer service was helpful and friendly. That counts for a lot. Edgar, you bought the company a second chance. Hopefully, the replacement drill press will restore my opinion of this company. If so, I'll revisit this review. If not, it will get returned for a different product.

The drill is performing great. The instructions were terrible. They list the parts as 1, 2, 3 but assembly gives you install part A to part C.

I'm a maintenance tech at a major paint manufacturer, and we purchased two of these units to stir paint. They both have failed within two years of service. I've had to replace multiple parts including bearings, belts, etc... The picture above is the arm that moves the variable diameter pully for speed control. It is the weakest part of the machine. The first time it broke, I was able to get a free replacement under warranty. Since then it has broken again in the same machine, and also in the other machine. This time costumer service has been terrible. Every time I contact them, they tell me they will send the part and a email, and I never hear from them again. Played this game 5 times, and am finally giving up. I fixed one of the arms using pins and epoxy, btw the piece is hollowed out cast aluminum. I will be switching brands for sure. Also, while trying to find the part, I discovered that Rikon, WEN, JET, and who knows how many others are all literally the same machine... just different colors and stickers. Sad.