WEN 4214 12 Inch Variable Speed Drill Press
Apparently, WEN was started in 1951 offering affordable electric soldering guns, engravers and jigsaws. Overtime the company kept adding more tools to their arsenal for sale. I was totally unaware of their existence until just a couple years ago. They have a knack for making incredibly affordable tools for every project. The question I have is, “Is this tool any good?”
At the time I think I got this drill press off of amazon new for $200. I wanted the biggest bench top model I could afford that could drill repeated consistent holes. I watched review after review of various drill presses, and this was the one I thought had the best chance to perform beyond expectations. The one thing I could never find from reviews and even from the WEN website was its horsepower. Despite never discovering its HP I was convinced that this power tool was one the one for me.
That being said there are 5 criteria I judge every tool around.
Cost - I place Cost above all else because you’ll find that there is no end to how much tools can cost. When you go down this rabbit hole, you can probably find a super expensive version of this tool that will do what you want, 20x’s faster, be automated, and tell you where you left your keys.
Performance - Does it do what I paid for it to do? Can it perform the task I need it do well?
Durability - How long will it do what I ask it to do? Is it flimsy? Does it feel “cheep?” It can be a little difficult to use as long as it’s going to stand the test of time. A new tool that’s easy to use but breaks immediately is worth less than a tool that is “fidgety” but lasts forever.
Ease of use - After I buy a tool the first thing I do after opening it is throw the instructions immediately into the trash. This is because I’m a man… and that’s what we do. It’s to test the tools ease of use. Is this thing easy to use? Is it intuitive? Does it have a million parts? If I have to put this thing together, does it make sense? If, the answer to any of these questions is unfavorable I run to the trash and get the directions out.
Aesthetics - I’m not too picky. Aesthetics doesn’t mean much as long as the other 4 criteria are met but I don’t want a tool hogging up space in my shop that looks like it came from the stone age.
For simplicity's sake each criterion can only get up to 1 Star. At the end I’ll add the stars up. No scale and no math. Highschool was almost 25 years ago. I’m not using any equations to review tools.
1) COST - 1 ⭐
At the time I bought the WEN 4214 it was my first “Major” power tool purchase, and I just wanted the beefiest benchtop drill press I could find in my price range. So admittedly the bar for this star was set pretty low. I really didn’t want or need a floor standing model.
2) PERFROMANCE - 3/4 ⭐
The one thing I was concerned about at the time is that there is no stated HP specification available for the WEN 4214. I did see some reviews expressing speculative concerns on how well it would perform drilling large Forstner bits through hard woods… Even though no one provided any credible evidence to validate their concern. To this day I have no idea how many HP this drill press has but it can indeed plow a 2” Forstner through hard maple. Simply utilize the easy-to-use variable speed handle to slow the RPM’s, slow your feed rate, and go to town. The only time I witnessed this drill press struggle was when I was building a birdhouse. This drill press has done everything I ever asked until I stepped the bit up to a 3” hole saw and it actually stalled out. I do not recommend using this drill press for any bits larger than 2”
The variable speed lever is amazing. Pulling a lever to increase or decrease your RPM’s so much more convenient that screwing around with belts manually.
The throat depth on the WEN 4214 is very nice. It comes boasting a whopping 12." For this price a 12” drill press is hard to not take a second look at. You can drill a hole in the middle of a board 1 foot wide.
The onboard light is awesome! Especially, if this is the first major tool you buy, and your shop has piss poor lighting. When I bought the WEN 4214 my 400 square foot shop only had one 4’ bulb. It was very dark in there and the onboard light made a major difference.
The table can be rotated left and right to almost angle. Rotating the table does require the use of 3/4” socket or wrench. The need to use a tool is a smidge inconvenient but it’s easily accessible and when you’re done making the adjustment you can be sure that your table isn’t going to move. It’s rock solid. This is a perfect of example of how performance is more important than the ease of use. The rotatable table does come equipped with an adjustable angle indicator. Mine came out of the box calibrated to 90 degrees. I have only bought one of these so if that is the norm or not is yet to be determined.
I found the laser guidance system to be lack luster yet never needed. You have to calibrate the lasers when you setup the WEN 4214, which is expected. They are nice. It’s nice to know exactly where your drill bit will land when you pull that lever down. But, as soon as you adjust the height of the table the lasers aren’t exactly precise. Adjusting the lasers isn’t exactly a quick fix… so I quit using them.
3) DURABILITY - 1 ⭐
The most important parts of this are cast iron. It shows up to your door in 1 box with 2 parts weighing in at approximately 100lbs total. Neither component is too heavy alone… but when assembled the weight is considerable. The neck, base, and table are cast iron. After 3 years of use I can say the motor is reliable, maybe not strong enough, but the overall construction is solid. I have no doubt that this press will last for quite a long time.
4) EASE OF USE - .8 ⭐
Setup is super simple. Place the head on the body and tighten a hex screw and your off to the races. Using the WEN 4214 is pretty straight forward, plug it in, turn it on, and pull the handle. Everything was easy and simple until it came to the lasers. They require their own battery. Adjusting them requires finely tuned screwing and unscrewing… and the moment you move the table they’re not accurate. Now this is a moot point when considering how easy and awesome it is to use the other features of the drill press.
5) AESTHETICS - .95 ⭐
The black and orange doesn’t exactly match my shop but it doesn’t look bad. If I had to knit pick, I’d say that the colors remind me of Halloween, which I love.
