I assume you are looking to upgrade so you have more reach with a 12"  You have to look at the types of patterns you do and will a 4" increase mean that much to you. I would and have the Delta 12" but I use my floor model mostly for drilling holes for fret work. I would stay away from the Ryobi and do not know much about the shopfox. The Delta is a tried and true beast that has been around  a long time. Another option is to get a plunge router setup for a dremel tool and this way you can place it wherever you want on however big the pattern is. The main key here is to drill straight up and down and that is why you need a device such as a drillpress or plunge router base.

One thing to think about is how much room will the 12in take up on the work bench.

For a few extra dollars you can get a good floor model and give your self more work bench space.

 

I got a floor model for $245.00 at www.busybeetools.com . Just a thought before you buy a bench top model.

 

mike

 

 

Unless money is no object my advice would be to buy the cheapest drill press you can find if you're only going to use it for wood. You can buy a floor mounted 16" drill press for as little as 139 dollars.

 

I would spend the extra money on higher quality scroll saw, sanders, planers, etc. Drilling wood isn't that difficult and isn't that hard on a drill press.

 

I bought a cheap bench model in 1982 and a floor model in 1986. Have used them almost everyday since then and other than a new capacitor for the floor model and a new return spring for the bench model I have had no problems.

 

Now if you want to do a lot of metal drilling or other heavy work that might be a different story.

 

MarvSandy 1

i also got to add this i dont even use a drill press because sometimes it cant get to the middle of any big peace so whjat i use it the kind of drill press that you put the drill on it and then push down and them is springs back up and go to the next hole and it can gl anywhere you want it to will, never get a drill press again workes real good for  me and trust me they camm me captian sawdust  and they are cheep reall got both of mine with drill for less than 30.00 let me know what you think have fun