WEN 4214T 12 in. Variable Speed Drill Press

Besides reading all reviews I could read on Amazon and online, and watching all videos, I also listened to all the podcasts. This drill press looked like it would be the perfect fit It took me a few days to figure it out, but after starting it up under no load a terrible sound started coming from it after my first use. I put it aside until I got back to it, and started it again without any I had to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire after the motor started smoking in about two minutes. Even so, I realize that every company gets a lemon every now and then, but what bothers me the most is that I tried contacting WEN customer service several times, but got no There is nothing! Customer service at Amazon was great in facilitating the return, but WEN customer service was not good at all It is real. In my opinion, this makes my decision when it comes to deciding whether I should purchase another WEN product very easy. That's not what I'll do. Neither because I think their products are all bad, nor because I don't want to know if something goes wrong, but I would like to know there is customer service.

Journee Zimmerman

| May 20, 2021

A retired tool maker, I have a Master's degree in engineering. My beloved Delta DP350's variable speed transmission seized and Delta stopped offering spare parts for it, so I was forced to scrap it. I purchased this drill press in order to have a replacement. Oh no! After carefully reviewing all the available options, I decided to investigate a Drill Press. In addition to the best feature set, the Wen 4212 is also the best price. My concern about being made in China was the only negative point. Upon calling Wen (I was able to speak to someone who answered the phone, which gave me confidence that they support their products). This press arrived very quickly, assembled quickly, and worked perfectly. I was extremely pleased with it. It's a good result for me. My favorite press of all time, I work with it on every project over and over again, and it is As a result of my experience with a Big Clausing Industrial drill press and Bridgeport milling machine, I have some knowledge of these machines. The cons are This device does not have a This is a missing element for me, and I may perform "surgery" to the Press in order to include it. In this case There's a lot more to this than I can handle. Despite its 5/8" Chucking (I only need 1/2" ) I was tempted to replace the Key'd Chuck with a keyless Chuck but the supplied Chuck is better than any key'd Chuck I've ever encountered (I'm in love with it). I like the Lasers a lot (to be honest I had never heard of that feature on a machine and thought it would be a "training wheel" but it gave me a lot of valuable information. The content is wonderful (I love it). It is fantastic to have a variable speed. My LED light bulb replaced the supplied Light bulb, which gave me great results. This is an ideal woodworker's drill press, perhaps not a workhorse press of heavy steel, but it has enough power for my largest Forstner Bit ( 2 1/4"). As well as a WEN 4 X 36 Bench Sander, I own a WEN 2 X 36 Top Sander. It would be nice to have other WEN products. As far as "Value for Money" is concerned, they appear to be the best.

Gerald Curtis

| Oct 09, 2020

I am writing it after having owned the machine for only a couple of days. In other words, please understand that this is not a review on the machine's durability or long-term performance. The next time something changes, I will come back and update this review, as I do every two months. You have to understand that I bought this with the full expectation of later modifying and upgrading anything I wasn't satisfied Because the monitor only cost me $225 plus free shipping, I had very modest expectations for its performance, fit, and finish out of the box. The packaging It is well packaged in close fitting foam, and despite broken foam and a cardboard box that shows the wear and tear of the global journey it took, the machine was undamaged and no components were The assembly

You don't need instructions if you are mechanically inclined. There is not much to do in order to complete the full assembly of the machine. It has been partially assembled in a clever way. For mounting the machine on the stand I had sitting around, it took me longer to modify it than it did to assemble it. In less than 45 minutes, it went from being unboxed to being plugged in and running. There were no problems with the assembly. **Performance you have According to several reports, the power of the machine is insufficient. The motor is probably underpowered based on perception of motor size and manufacturer claims (it may not be as powerful as the manufacturer claims. ) (though Ridgid claims the unit Since there are no horsepower, If they were underpowered, they would be underpowered when compared to what they imagined like a 12 inch benchtop drill press would be. The first time I tried it I drilled a 1/4" steel angle and a scrap piece of 1/2" steel plate without a pilot hole with a 1/2" drill (it was a new drill). Neither a bogging nor a hesitation could be detected. After drilling in steel, cast iron, and wood for the past several months, I have now drilled dozens of holes. With over a dozen drill bits already installed, I've tried twist drills, countersinks, auger and forstner drills, and paddle bits. This machine is not underpowered at all, and performs better than any battery-powered A corded hand drill is obviously much harder to use to drill accurately when compared to this device. I can think of no particular order for Features/Fit/Finishing br>1) The laser is accurate, though to me, it is really only useful for quickly punching a hole in something without much concern for accuracy. The feature is still nice, however. 1) I like the work you do - An electric light. Lighting up the work area without causing unnecessary glare can be done well with this lamp. I do not like the slide out material support. 4) The variable speed is nice to have, though I think this is mainly designed as a woodworking drill press since the low rpm range is 550* and I would prefer 200 or fewer. Speeds are adjusted smoothly after some effort, but not without effort. Whenever I've run it, I've been pleasantly surprised by its smooth operation the drive system is a bit noisy (most Reeves pulleys are), but the machine is surprisingly quiet. My only experience with true vibration-free drilling was with drill presses like the Powermatic PM26,000. $1500 is a lot of money for such a machine. You should adjust your expectations once again. *5) The table rides up and down on the rack just as well as machines much more expensive. It locks up square to the spindle (this was a good thing, since there is no front to back adjustment, so casting accuracy was good). 6) The arbor, chuck and spindle all seem to be in good alignment. There will be no test indicator for me to set up, since I am not bothered by this. A mill is not what this is. A piece of drill rod was chucked into the drill press and I did not observe any runout by eye. That is acceptable by (Watch Frank Hoose's video on 3 jaw chuck runout on YouTube and you'll see how easy it is to spot runout by eye. ) 7) The switch is a pain. The machine's worst part is the tamper-proof relay. It is cheap, so it will be the first thing to go bad. In order to justify replacing it with a magnetic switch or a push/pull switch, I hope it breaks soon. All of the castings I examined had no defects. Although there were a few small burrs on the table due to machining, they were nothing more than 2 seconds with a file could fix. Finish of the table – 9) A number of people complain about the roughness of the milling on the I like it a lot. Oh, and it's a lot smoother than it appears. (Like the blade on a nice table saw) Cast iron that's been finely ground is smooth. Using this table's finish, you can clamp the workpieces down without having to use a heavy clamping force that can cause the workpieces to bind. Paint - 10) There's nothing terrible about it, but it's not expensive. This is a decent price for the machine. I like orange since it is one of my most favorite colors. *
Fourth) The chuck is good and locks tightly without a lot of effort. Though, if a key was included, it could be helpful In the near future, I will replace the key with less chuck, as I do not wish to keep track of it. Key holders are available on the keyring, and they are easy to put on and take off.
12) Using knurled thumbwheels instead of nuts on the depth stop is a nice That's a lot better than the garbage depth stops that come with 13) The quill operates smoothly, but the Its very existence is irritating to me, so I expect it will be replaced very soon. this drill press is not remarkable in any way. Despite its higher cost, it still represents excellent value for $225. I reviewed the Jet branded machine, which sells for $400 and is not worth that asking price. Additionally, this is a LOT better than the Harbor Freight offerings in terms of price, features, Unless something catastrophic happens, I will update this review as things break, but it will not deviate from the 5 stars I am currently giving it. It was my intention to modify and upgrade everything possible when I purchased it, and I'm extremely pleased with the.

Neil Leon

| Feb 15, 2021

In a nutshell, I thought it looked really nice at first glance, but there were several problems once it was assembled. It was a bit noisy and vibration coming from the motor and drive. Getting in touch with WEN tech support, the guy tried to convince me that it was perfectly A lot of play was also present in the belt. Approximately two inches was moved sideways by the belt. There was some vibration caused by "3", which caused at least part of it. There was something spinning in the motor that made a noise like there was a loose wire. A few other issues also surfaced. I have gotten one from the local box store to be sure it is not just one defective one, where sparks were flying and the motor was experiencing rapid speed changes. I am very disappointed in the built quality since the design looks good and the ideas are clever. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen the execution.

Casen Choi

| Jan 29, 2021