Meddings or Fobco?

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Deadeye

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I'm just finishing re-furbishing a Meddings DrilTru MkII; it's taken a while, and in the meantime a Fobco Star has arrived.
They're both great drills. Which to keep and why? Both are benchtop and neither has any fancy differentiating features.
 
Deepest throat
Longest quill travel
Best range of speeds for what you need
Least damaged table
Least runout
Most snug fit of quill in the head
Least vibration
Best motor / vfd compatible 3 phase 240V type
Best condition taper socket in the spindle...

There are lots of things that might influence a decision.

If they were pillar drills, having a rack and pinion height adjustment on the table is a great usability feature, as is a big table with T slots.

On any drill you want it to be as easy as possible to slacken the belt, reposition and retension it. If that isn't easy, you won't be bothered to change the speed as you should when you change drill bits and materials. You'll end up using the drill at the wrong speed and it won't perform as well as it could.
 

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