JET 15-Inch Benchtop Drill Press (Model J-2530)

JET J-2530 15-Inch 3/4-Horsepower Bench Drill Press Two common Amazon reviewer complaints about higher-end drill presses are failures of a unit’s variable-speed or laser light pointer. This press has neither feature – it’s just a good basic machine. Another common complaint is shipping damage, so I ordered a J-2530 from Home Depot’s web site and picked it at a local store, since it’s MUCH easier to return a large heavy item in person (even though I kept the machine) and shipping is free to the store. Besides, Home Depot provides a 90-day return window, unusually long. The Home Depot site for this tool has a link to the Instructions & Parts Manual as PDFs. It comes packaged in a double thickness cardboard box. The box could be a bit larger to accommodate thicker filler material, but nevertheless, mine was undamaged – with all parts. This is my fifth drill press and my third bench model. For large jobs, I have an expensive 20" floor model. The J-2530 replaced a well-used 13-year old Delta DP350 with a cracked aluminum pulley. Delta now considers that pulley (and many other parts) “obsolete”, so it’s no longer available. In other words, you’re screwed if you bought one of their machines. For a bench model, the J-2530 is big. On a 40" tall bench chuck bottom is 63" off the floor. So mounted, a step stool might be needed for machine operation unless you’re tall. (I’m 6/4.) Assembling the machine is straight-forward, with decent instructions (English & Spanish manuals included) if needed. This is a really nice machine: - big, beefy, heavy duty. The switch assembly and the table crank handle are plastic. Everything else is cast iron or steel - the 3/4 HP double ball-bearing motor is plenty powerful - the huge 5/8" chuck holds bits firmly; not like those key-less chucks on some PowerMatic machines for example - 15" swing (7.5" from bit center to column) – a typical size for a decent floor press – is the largest available for any bench model that I could find - the table can be raised easily with a [heavy] 5" cross vise mounted, plus it can be rotated 360 degrees as needed for positioning – and locked in place - speed changes are quick and easy. Release the belt tension, move the belts as per the diagram on inside cover, and re-tension. - the built-in bulb holder in the cast iron drill head is well placed. A 50 watt incandescent spot bulb (or equivalent LED) aims light on the work table and out of your eyes. A Delta 25-870 Magnetic Work Light magnetically stuck on the left side of my press provides additional focused light (see Customer Image). - no vibration or belt chatter. Machine simply hums when running, regardless of speed. - mine has no perceptible run-out. - the on and off buttons on my machine require a firm quick jab with a couple of fingers to work. Simply pushing one does nothing. It was annoying at first, but I’ve gotten used to it. - Jet provides a 5-year warranty on their drill presses; better than any other company - it’s too bad such things aren’t made in America, but all cast iron tools seem to be made elsewhere, frequently China or Taiwan. At least the Chinese are getting better at making quality stuff – this machine is well done. Similar machines: - One web seller offers a Powermatic 15" bench drill press visually similar to the J-2530, for nearly two thousand dollars. Then, there is the Dake TB16 or Optimum B24H – they are probably better machines, but they cost twice as much. The “best” bench drill press available is probably the Knuth KB 20 S – that beauty cost four times as much. Summary: If you want a high quality large capacity bench model drill press for under a grand, this model should be on your short list. ... Non-review comment: If at all possible, get someone to help you to mount the (very heavy) cast-iron head assembly atop the column. It’s really a two-person job. If no help is available, it IS possible to do it alone following these steps: - loosen the tension and remove the two drive belts - lift off and remove the middle drive pulley - loosen the Allen screw on the motor pulley and slide it up and off - immediately remove the “key” from the motor shaft, and for God’s sake, don’t let it fall into the motor - remove the on/off switch plate - disconnect the black, white, and green wires emanating from the motor - bend up the three wire hold-down tabs next to the pulley system up and loosen the large Phillips screw on the wire clamp on the left side of head - gently extract the motor wire out from the switch assemble and pull it through the belt cover lid. - don’t lose the rubber grommet in the lid where that wire passes through - unscrew the four nuts holding the motor in place and place the motor aside. Parts removed above will reduce drill head weight by 31 pounds, which should be sufficient to lift the head onto the column by yourself. Reverse these steps to reinstall the motor and other parts. Verify that the motor is mounted perfectly vertical and tighten the motor pulley level with the middle pulley.

The hole through which the table crank shaft was to be inserted was drilled too small for the shaft. It was the correct shaft and the correct hole, just too small. I could have drilled it out myself, but why would I do that? I don't even know how this is possible. Also, contacted Jet on their customer service website. Didn't hear a word back. I returned the damn thing to Amazon within 30 days. Probably never buying another Jet product and absolutely not direct from JET. Delta here I come. Unforgivable.

I purchased this for my personal use for side jobs, projects on my trucks, and boat. I work as a mechanic and we have the same drill press in our shop, it is a professional grade. It is easy to assemble, you may need someone to help you lift the drill head on to the base assembly, it is heavy. I already have about 20hrs of use on it, and no problems. It was delivered 4 days ahead of schedule which was great. I highly recommend.

Just got this drill press. This is heavy, so amazon ships it via freight shrink-wrapped to a pallet. They deliver via a liftgate truck (at least in the SF Bay Area). When it arrived, the pallet looked like it had been flipped over a few times, squishing the sides of the box. But there was sufficient styrofoam to avoid any damage to the parts inside. As noted by others -- the top is very heavy, and although it may be possible for a strong person to lift it on top, for safety you really want someone else helping. It's a drill press. It appears to be quite solidly made. The belt tension screws have plastic heads, and the table height crank is plastic -- hopefully they last. I've found that above 1000rpm I get some vibration in the quill, which shows up as a small (1/32") wiggle in the tip of the drill bit. I'd prefer the zero run-out of the reviewer above, but what can you do. The assembly instructions are missing a couple of steps which become obvious as soon as you start to put things together. :-) Read ahead to avoid having to undo steps. The table came adjusted impressively square left-to-right with no fixing by me. Front-to-back it appears to be very slightly out of square (sadly, as there is no adjustment for this), so when it matters I'll have to either shim my vise or figure out if there is any way of tweaking this. The position of the lamp is convenient for keeping everything well lit. The plastic shield which protects your eyes from chips is a joke. Invest in safety glasses instead. The on-off switches require more pushing than I'd expect to activate (especially the "off" switch -- which may be a safety concern). But they work.

I started my search for a drill press with a floor model Porter Cable from Lowes and after some really bad experience(s) with that, I ended up spending the extra money to get a smaller, higher quality model. This unit, while half the size, weighs more than the floor press and is easily twice as powerful. I really like the all cast iron construction of this unit. I use this for what I would consider "heavy consumer" work and so far it has exceeded expectations. The instructions that were included were garbage, but as usual common sense/youtube made it easy to figure out as far as assembly goes. Shipping was quick as far as freight goes and the unit arrived in perfect condition.

At this price point the drill press is fine. No complaints there. However, you should check your runout when your machine arrives. The drill chuck Jet sent me the first time had runout that exceeded .01". To their credit, they very promptly replaced the chuck with one that's running ~0.002" runout. I'm happy with that.

This is a profession quality drill press. It is hefty at around 150 pounds of steel. Not a lot of plastic crap on this drill press. Motor and mechanical runs super smooth and true. Table is rock solid and can be set on a tilt. The three handles for operating the press have been updated to a super comfortable and solid thick rubber grip over steel rods. Make sure you have room for this guy—it isn’t small!

Some of the other reviews here will disagree with me but perhaps Jet has improved things. My biggest problem with this product was that I ordered it on Feb. 3 with a feb 13 delivery date. It was finally delivered on Feb 17th. For some reason it went from TN to GA to CA and then back to AZ and then finally to here in Colorado. It was delivered within the 7am to 5pm window. Now for the actual product. It was well packed in a box on a pallet. The box was slightly beat up but everything in the box was surrounded with at least an inch of Styrofoam. All items were present and easily identified. I could have probably assembled it without the instructions, but there are a couple items that go better if you read the direction. It is better to have help placing the head on, but I was able to do it by myself, since I tried to lift it and could. I had a hoist available but managed it ok by myself. The wattage for the lamp (not included) is stated as 60W on a plate above the switch, but these days everyone will be using an LED or CFL bulb which will be way under the limit. My problem was that my Wixey Laser is in the way of a bulb so I will be working something else out for a light. Several reviews talk about runout and so I found my dial indicator and set it up. I first checked the lower smooth part of the chuck and got what looks like .0025 or .003 inches. I then put a 1/2" shank router bit in and checked that out with identical results. I looked at several YouTube videos on this subject and saw that they said some runout could be related to how accurate your dowel/drill/rod are to being round. I mostly do woodwork to a .003" runout means nothing compared to how wood likes to move with the change in humidity. I like the crank that moves the table up and down. It is a little sloppy until you lock it in position. I used a square to check table level and it looks good to me. If you want to do precision metal work, you probably need to look at something else. If you do wood work and occasionally drill metal for something you are building you should be fine with this drill press. I know it is a good step up from the Ryobi DP100 it replaced and even the floor stand 50–60-year-old Craftsman I recently sold.