Why Doesn’t Ryobi Still Make The Wood Drilling System?
By Chuck Cage
I knew a guy who had one of Ryobi’s special woodworking drill presses — known as the WDP1850 “Wood Drilling System” — back in the day, and I can’t help but wonder why Ryobi stopped manufacturing it. With a “VersaTable” base that tilted for angled work and an accurately-marked fence, this was a true woodworking drill press as opposed to a re-purposed metal drill.
But it’s gone. Amazon lists it but no sellers offer it. Ryobi doesn’t mention it on their product page. I even struck out checking eBay for one. Maybe I’ll give Craigslist a look next. It seems to me that this would fly off the shelves at Home Depot if it was priced halfway reasonably.
If you run across one, drop a comment. If I’ve got the cash, I’ll jump on it, or if I’m too slow, I’m sure one of our readers would be interested. And if you owned one of these, I’d love to hear your comments about it, too.
Via Amazon (Not In Stock, But Info Available)
May 30th, 2007 at 9:53 am
It does look like an interesting system. I’m wondering if they couldn’t bring it down to a more reasonable $200ish price. Popular Mechinics didn’t care for it too much: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18388406.html
August 20th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
I’ve had a standing search on eBay for three or four years now for one of these and I have had a single hit the entire time.
August 20th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
… I haven’t had a single hit, I mean.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Hello, For all of you drooling woodworkers LOL, I have a WDP1850. I purchased mine new from Tool Crib Last century(1999). It is still going strong but in stock form has a few short commings. 1.) The versa table, even though it was a excellent idea there is a lot of flex in the tabletop, believe it or not Ryobi did offer a Mortising set for this tool. 2.) The built in hold down tends to slip and not hold adjustment. 3.) The top crank to adjust the speed should have been made of metal instead of plastic, mine hasn’t broke or given me a problem, but for what I paid new for this puppy they could’ve put a better handle on it. Now with my venting out of the way, The drill press is still an excellent tool. I’ve attempted to upgrade the table over the years to prevent flex but it still exists. I will be building a new table myself to prevent the flexing. The speeds change smoothly with the turn of a crank and can be adjusted anywhere between 500 rpm and 3000 rpm. I’ve considered selling it on a couple of occasions , but I could never find a replacement like it. If you want to know more contact me. Also, I haven’t seen any other ones other than mine, it makes a great conversation piece when others see it. Bill
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Eric and guys, I have one in excellent shape, I haven’t used it much in my basement workshop. Send me an email with an offer and I’ll consider selling it. I live in Kansas City for pickup or could ship it UPS. I’m at JOHNL10351@aol.com
John