I purchased the Reliant 13" model locally on sale for $129 + tax a few months ago. I figured for that price, I'll give it a shot. Is it worth the money? You decide. Here's my experience.

It's a hefty bench model - 60 plus lbs. After assembling the unit, I noticed the pulleys were off alignment by a good inch or so. I swapped it for another unit. This time eventhough it wasn't perfect, it was close enough with minor adjustments.

Fairly painless so far but when I turned on the machine, I noticed some noise from the other pulley, the one above the spindle. This was caused by the pulley rubbing against the housing and I took care of it with some grinding and sanding. Now it sounds like a drill press.

My last check was to make sure the table is perpendicular to the spindle. Well, it's about 1 degree off from its indicator (left to right). I don't believe there's a table adjustment for front to back.

Even though it's only a 1/3 hp motor plus the slowest speed is 650 rpm, it may be a little fast for some applications. Since this is the only speed I use, so far I have not had any problems.

It took me half a day to get all the kinks out but it has performed rather well. I have had it for 5 months now and in my opinion, I got my moneys worth and very happy with it. I've yet to find out its durability and wondering when will I outgrow this unit. When the time comes, I'll definitely think twice about Reliant again.

Remember, I had to return the first unit. I would not recommend this drill press if you have to mail order.