When you want precise results from your woodworking project, a quality drill press can make a huge impact. It allows you to make several holes at a constant depth.
Manual drilling may not often give you such type of results.
If you are already familiar with drill pressing machines, Nova might be a common name you have often heard. Though the brand has created hype in the market, many users are happy using Nova Drill Press.
If you have decided to buy this pressing machine, read this post till the end.
Problems With Nova Drill Press
Since a drill pressing machine requires a reasonable budget, your investment should be as realistic as you expect. Here are some common problems with Nova drill press that people complained about.
- Impractical Table design
A table plays one of the critical roles in making precise holes. According to many users, Nova didn’t work adequately to design their table.
People think Delta and Powermatic have far better and more realistic table designs. The base and column of the table are not as rigid as the competitors.
Plus, the base could have a wider stance, and the diameter of the column could be larger.
Many users think its table design looks too old, like a 30+-year-old Craftsman Drill Press.
Other than these, you may struggle to level the table and plumb it at the same time. In such a case, you have no option but to take apart the feeler gauge and use two of them as a shim.
- Heavy Lifting Mechanism
Another notable thing about this drill press is its inefficient lifting mechanism. Though it has many advanced features, the manufacturer has still not improved the lifting system.
Hence, older adults may need a helping hand to operate the machine. Many reviewers wished it had a hydraulic lifting system to move the machine’s upper area easily.
- No laser guide
A laser guide is a common thing that many standard drill press. Unfortunately, Nova Drill Press doesn’t include any laser guide.
Having a laser guide would help you cut holes exceptionally accurately. Though it is a digital-based machine, a laser guide will improve the preciseness of your work.
Laser guides could be one of the most alternative options for people who are not used to setting up cutting diameters through digital functions.
Hence, knowing how the function works is mandatory to operate the machine. Otherwise, you may end up creating holes inaccurately in the wrong area.
- Requires Learning Curve
Don’t expect to acknowledge all the functions of this drill press overnight. Spending a reasonable amount of time will be necessary to take full advantage of this machine
Plus, the mess is more if you are not familiar with such type of drill press in the past. It will be complicated and tedious to learn all the functions within a short time.
- Inaudible Electronic Warning Beep
When this machine is running while drilling, you will merely hear the electronic warning beep. This is an outstanding positive factor to have in the machine, but many users called it “useless.”
It could have been better if people could increase the volume of the beep sound using the setting. You can only hear the sound when working at a significantly lower speed.
- No Locking Feature For The Drill Press Chuck & Table
Several customers complained they often fail to fit chuck into tapered driveshaft snugly.
Since it doesn’t have any locking mechanism, users often struggle to tighten the chuck evenly and secure it around the shank.
This sometimes compromises the tapered spindles of drill presses
Apart from the chuck, the manufacturing company doesn’t include any locking mechanism for the table and column.
A highly expensive drill press like Nova must have this feature. Otherwise, it appears like a traditional old drill press.
- Incompatible Smart Features With MAC
The smart features of the Nova drill press are worthy of appreciation. But it must work for all devices, right? Unfortunately, these functions only work with Windows Platform PC.
The company claimed it would work with any devices after downloading new firmware. But several MAC users fail to connect it with the machine even after doing a factory reset.
- Poor Customer Service
Should not you deserve good customer service for the price you spend? Woefully, Nova didn’t provide as good customer service as the users expected.
Some customers complained that they didn’t respond at all, even after several phone calls and emails to customer support. This is highly disappointing for a prominent brand.
- Incompatible Machine Parts
Machine parts don’t last a lifetime. Replacing them after a particular time is necessary.
If you regularly use it for commercial purposes, it will show weary signs more soon.
Since the Nova drill press is a more advanced machine, various parts of this machine don’t have a similar dimension to the traditional drill press.
Finding the correct size parts may not always be possible unless you live in a town or commercial area.
Plus, it may take several days to receive products from online stores.
- Highly Expensive
Nova drill press is not the most expensive machine on the market. But many users still think its price a far higher than similar quality machines.
In fact, some people think they should spend the same price to get a better quality drill pressing. This generally depends on what features and functionality you expect from a drill press.
- Requires An Assistance To Assemble
The head of this drill press is a bit heavier, weighing more than 100 KGs. Assembling all these parts alone will be a little bit risky.
That’s why it is a good rule of thumb to get a helping hand while installing the drill machine. Make sure to use the instruction manual for a convenient setup within a short time.
Final Thought
So, what have you decided after going through all the Nova drill press problems?
No doubt, the unit is an advanced machine that has many smart features, which are absent in traditional-based drill press machines. However, its price is twice or three compared to the old drill press.
Not all people will need these features except the regular ones.
Apart from that, users believe it will not be as durable as a traditional-based drill press. Their parts’ quality is not as good as the price you spend.
That’s why many people prefer to get a less expensive drill pressing machine than the Nova drill press. However, it is up to you whether you have this type of budget and need such smart functions to operate the device precisely.