A really useful accessory for many drill presses, but a mains-powered source would make it better.
Whether you have an "old rusty war horse" of a drill press that predates lasers, or a brand new model, there are many presses that don't have a laser guide. Even amongst the new machines, there's no guarantee that an expensive model of drill press will have included features like a work light or laser guide. Some cheap Ryobi presses have the guide while computerized presses (like the Nova Voyager) that cost thousands.... do not. If you find yourself in need of a laser guide on your drill press to speed up your workflow, you've come to the right place.
The laser guide just creates a laser-projected "cross hair" onto your material so you know where the drill press will put the hole once you lower the spindle. This saves you from repeatedly lowering the spindle to the material in order locate the hole position, which if you have a drill with huge travel range (say 150mm) can get really tiring and time consuming.
The Wixey WL133 provides an after-market accessory that features the laser cross hair guide. It can be mounted to almost any press, whether table mounted or free standing. It simply uses a hose clamp to attach it to the drill press stem/pole. Usually just under the drill press head. However, those with large presses may find the extension plate puts the unit within range of the spindle-lowering arms, and as such may need to be mounted a little lower.
This is one product where is pays to read the instructions carefully BEFORE you attach and calibrate the laser. It is particularly important to use the upright piece of wood to ensure vertical alignment. If you don't do this, every time you raise or lower the drill press table, the cross hairs will drift from the right spot.
Once you do this, the device is almost a set and forget device... and therein lies the problem.
Now, don't get me wrong, I really like the product. However, I would REALLY like a non-battery power supply. This is a drill press accessory, it's always going to be used wherever the drill press will have power, so using batteries to power the lasers leads to the common problem of walking away without switching the laser off, and flattening batteries.
Also, having to swap out batteries can cause movement and loss of alignment if the pipe clamp loosens over time. This battery issue isn't limited to this product, most laser guides on many mains-powered tools are battery powered, and I think this is fundamentally silly.
Yes, I know I can solder a connection to the battery terminals and connect a 3V power adaptor to the beast, and many have done that, but I'm genuinely surprised that this issue isn't addressed from the outset. Including a small power plug on the unit, and then selling the adaptor separately would be a more professional solution, with little modification. In fact, you could keep the battery bay (wired in parallel) for people who like the battery option.
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