Need help picking a new drillpress..

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I would like to replace my current drillpress which is a Rigid from HD. My budget is in the $500 to $600 range and I only do metal work, not wood work. The rigid seems more made for the wood worker, mainly because  of the small table without tee slots. What do you guys use?
Reply:Buy a higher end used machine, that price point keeps you in woodworking tools still. I was eyeballing drill presses a couple of weeks ago, basically everything under $750 had whimpy spindels and bearing play ( some a lot worse than others ).  I also wasn't impressed with speeds, for me I want my low speed at 50 rpm and 500 is top end don't need any faster and I really don't need that fast.Here is a local craigslist listing:http://spokane.craigslist.org/tls/2651070544.html
Reply:Originally Posted by sanddan52What do you guys use?
Reply:With a budget near $600, you should be able to find a very nice well built American machine. I have a beautiful Lleland Gifford drill press that I got CHEAP. It was a $10,000 drill press when it was made. I know that prior to buying it, it was re-scraped by their techs at over $2000.You need to be patient and watchful. My machine, picture attached was purchase for $150 at an auction. It is all about being at the right place at the right time. It took many a auction for me to land this, but I knew I would eventually find something I could really use.The model stands over 8ft tall. I had a "smaller" 7ft Leland Gifford DP that I drove over 12hrs to purchase and spent 5x as much. It was still a great deal but nowhere near what this baby was!I just noticed you can see the "little" one in the background. The big dude has a 36" t-slot table that has an adjustable knee crank. It is variable speed direct drive.The one in the background had a top spindle speed of 19,000rpm!!!! I fired it up once and the chuck was not on tight. It popped off directly below the quill and just spun. It was spinning so fast it looked liek it was still. After about 1 minute, it caught and shot across the shop like a bullet!Be patient and look. DON'T SETTLE for a POS!Grant Attached ImagesLast edited by jackalope; 12-12-2011 at 08:07 PM.http://jackalopefab.com/MM210Synchrowave 200DXMiller XMT350 w/60series feederMiller Bobcat 250 with SGA 100 and spoolgunHTP PlasmaFull Machine shop with everything