Australian Wood Review – June 2017

With its digitally controlled variable speed

motor system, this New Zealand designed

and Chinese made press takes drilling

options to a whole new level.

Being a direct drive system there are

no archaic belts to move and fiddle with

when changing speeds. In fact speed

is from 50rpm to a sports car 5500rpm,

outstanding for a drill press. And it runs

smoothly with minimal noise and virtually

no vibration to speak of.

It’s a big machine at about

1800mm overall height and 136kg.

The quill travel is an excellent 150mm

(6”) operated with large handles. The

table is a generous 420 x 420mm and

all the castings are thick, cleanly milled

and finished. In fact the build quality

is excellent.

It does follow the basic drill press

design of a column holding the

motor head and table, and

there is nothing new about

the table locking or depth

stop. The latter was a bit too loose on the

threaded shaft – a locking screw would

help. However, there is a digital depth

stop that for most jobs eliminates any

thought of using a mechanical stop.

Mounted high on the column is the

motor and computer controller. If you

are short you may need a step, because

the display read-out is about 1700mm

from the ground.

The on-board computer with its display

and buttons is the heart of the drill.

You can set myriad options. To select

speeds you follow the digital display

prompts to choose drill type and size,

and the computer inside will then

suggest speeds for soft or hardwood.

Alternatively you can simply turn the

knob to adjust speed!

Set your desired depth on the screen, set

the zero point (the top of the wood being

drilled) and then select what you want the

drill to do at the desired depth. Stop the

motor only, or stop the motor and reverse

out of the hole to help clear the swarf.

You can select metric or imperial depth but

I did find the digital 1mm increments not

fine enough. I am told a future software

update will include a finer depth setting

range. (A USB port under the head allows

connection to a PC computer to install

software updates.) The digital depth control

is good but remember that if you keep

pushing down after the drill stops you will

drill a tad deeper. For some jobs you will

still need the mechanical depth stop.

You can set parameters for tapping so that

at set depths the drill will reverse to clear

8 Australian Wood Review

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

Nova Voyager DVR Drill Press

Reviewed by Raf Nathan

Nova’s new drill press

is digitally controlled

and offers multi-

functionality for drilling

wood, metal, acrylic

and other materials.

$