# Aldi Pillar Drill and a few other bits and pieces



## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

Just for info 

Just had an email for a few bits and pieces at Aldi coming up 

The most significant being a 500w pillar drill at £60 with free delivery 

I know some will scoff at Aldi stuff but I have found them okay and with a three year warranty to boot


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## Phil Pascoe (16 Oct 2017)

Some Aldi and Lidl tools are good, but a barge pole is the first thing that springs to mind when pillar drills are mentioned.


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

Perhaps beggars can't be to choosy ;-) 

We can't all afford what we would like to buy so have to make do 

A cheap pillar drill is better than no pillar drill if you need one 



phil.p":7jjk3d3q said:


> Some Aldi and Lidl tools are good, but a barge pole is the first thing that springs to mind when pillar drills are mentioned.


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## fezman (16 Oct 2017)

whatknot":3jentwgd said:


> Perhaps beggars can't be to choosy ;-)
> 
> We can't all afford what we would like to buy so have to make do
> 
> ...



That depends on whether the pillar drill is usable. As mentioned in the Parkside drill thread, the one i bought from Lidl was total junk. The drill wobbled at all speeds - rendering it unusable. i believe the quill was bent. To be fair Lidl took it back without any issue and i was refunded. 

I spent an extra £25 on a clarke drill and it has performed well. I will replace it when funds permit, but only because i want a rack and pinion table lift. it is a lot of faff without one.

I did buy the £30 workshop heater from there. It looks like it takes a while to heat up, but for the money has a reasonable flow of hot air for those upcoming cold winter nights in the garage.


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## Phil Pascoe (16 Oct 2017)

A cheap pillar drill is better than no pillar drill if you need one? Sometimes - but the main reason for using a pillar drill is accuracy, and these are known not to be accurate.


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

Seems a tad trite to blanket dismiss all pillar drills from two suppliers, just because the one you bought was a dud, particularly as the one you bought was from Lidl 

They may not be as good as something three times the price, but who in their right mind would expect them to be 



That depends on whether the pillar drill is usable. As mentioned in the Parkside drill thread, the one i bought from Lidl was total junk. The drill wobbled at all speeds - rendering it unusable. i believe the quill was bent. To be fair Lidl took it back without any issue and i was refunded. 

I spent an extra £25 on a clarke drill and it has performed well. I will replace it when funds permit, but only because i want a rack and pinion table lift. it is a lot of faff without one.

I did buy the £30 workshop heater from there. It looks like it takes a while to heat up, but for the money has a reasonable flow of hot air for those upcoming cold winter nights in the garage.[/quote]


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

I find one very useful for repetition which is my main use 

And will at least drill at or very close to 90 degrees, much better than drilling by hand 




phil.p":2hk0me8h said:


> A cheap pillar drill is better than no pillar drill if you need one? Sometimes - but the main reason for using a pillar drill is accuracy, and these are known not to be accurate.


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## marcros (16 Oct 2017)

so is the aldi one any good, or is this another thread promoting stuff for sale that may or may not be junk?


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## Cheshirechappie (16 Oct 2017)

Quote - "A cheap pillar drill is better than no pillar drill if you need one "

That is HIGHLY debateable. Having used both cheap pillar drills and good ones (and industrial drilling machines), I regard cheap pillar drills as little more than scrap waiting to happen. If you don't mind holes that aren't round, aren't straight, and don't quite happen where you meant them to, by all means buy a cheap pillar drill. If you want something approaching accuracy, save your money for something better. Like a decent hand drill.

There's always a tendency to reduce the price of things to the point of effective uselessness. This happens a lot with tools and 'hobby' machines, and when it reaches the point that the materials to make a decent one cost significantly more than the cheap item, you do have to ask yourself what corners have been cut. In the case of some cheap hobby machines, the answer is virtually all of them.

New pillar drill for sixty quid? Forget it - whatever the branding.


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

As I said originally, I knew some would scoff 

But I mention it for those who may find it useful 

No ones forced to buy one after all ;-)


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## Cheshirechappie (16 Oct 2017)

I wasn't scoffing. I was speaking from bitter experience.

Anybody is, of course, entitled to spend their own money exactly as they see fit. However, advice offered on the basis of experience comes absolutely free of charge, and may save somebody's hard-earned for better acquisitions!


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

I was speaking from experience ;-) 

Those items I have had from Aldi have been fine and exactly as I would expect from an item of the price 

I only have one Parkside (Lidl) item, a second hand belt sander, that also works well 




Cheshirechappie":395qa87e said:


> I wasn't scoffing. I was speaking from bitter experience.
> 
> Anybody is, of course, entitled to spend their own money exactly as they see fit. However, advice offered on the basis of experience comes absolutely free of charge, and may save somebody's hard-earned for better acquisitions!


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## Rob B (16 Oct 2017)

I see this coming when Aldi do a deal. What is so great about £60. Argos do one, Guild, 2 yr guarantee and available all year round, normally £65 but often drops to £60.
I think I'd rather Argos than Aldi/Lidl unless someone can enlighten me as to whether it's the same drill.
Rob


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

So would I if it comes to that (use Argos over Aldi) 

The Argos one looks remarkably similar to mine, whose make evades me as I bought it 2nd hand for £20

The Aldi one is 500w, where the Argos one is 350w

I haven't checked all the specs of both, the only thing I noticed is the Argos one has a depth stop, the Aldi one doesn't, I rarely use a depth stop anyway 

And the Aldi comes with a small hand vice

Last I looked for a Guild item on Argos it was no longer supplied (Bandsaw I think?) so hadn't thought to check Argos for a pillar drill, again Guild is a cheap and cheerful brand (or rebrand) but does a job for not a lot 




Rob B":313f5dd9 said:


> I see this coming when Aldi do a deal. What is so great about £60. Argos do one, Guild, 2 yr guarantee and available all year round, normally £65 but often drops to £60.
> I think I'd rather Argos than Aldi/Lidl unless someone can enlighten me as to whether it's the same drill.
> Rob


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## MrTeroo (16 Oct 2017)

Does anyone own the aldi pillar drill and can chip in?
The lidl one being poor doesn't mean that the aldi one is also poor.

Is 500w powerful enough?


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## whatknot (16 Oct 2017)

Your question had me wondering what wattage mine was so went to find out ;-)

I found its a Titan 350w 

And I find its powerful enough for my needs but I guess it depends upon your needs 

Looking at Screwfix who do Titan they have an Energer very similar to my Titan version (possibly the same one) at £63

So there are options 





MrTeroo":39gjx1ab said:


> Does anyone own the aldi pillar drill and can chip in?
> The lidl one being poor doesn't mean that the aldi one is also poor.
> 
> Is 500w powerful enough?


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## MrTeroo (16 Oct 2017)

I've just ordered one. Free delivery as usual.

For what I do it may well be perfect for me, we'll see  

If it is as good as their compressor and band saw I will be very happy.


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## MrTeroo (17 Oct 2017)

Aldi have kindly sent me a £10 off on items over £45 referral link. For first time buyers.

If you haven't ordered online with them before this would get you this pillar drill for £50

PM me if you would like the link?


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## MrTeroo (19 Oct 2017)

Mine just arrived, weighs a ton. Glad it was free delivery.

The Yodel man didn't look happy at having to carry it  

(No, it wasn't Frank Ifield)

I'll have to wait until the weekend to try it out, too much on today & tomorrow.


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## fezman (25 Oct 2017)

HI Mr Teroo - how did you get on with the Aldi pillar drill? I would be intrigued to know the build quality and compare it to the lidl disaster i tried.


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## MrTeroo (25 Oct 2017)

Sorry fezman, it's still in the box  

Been really busy with work. Maybe this weekend...


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## MrTeroo (27 Oct 2017)

I got a spare hour this afternoon so I started to assemble the bench drill.

Got as far as putting the plastic foldable chip guard on but discovered it was broken. Must have happened in transit.

So I will now discover how good Aldi customer service is


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## whatknot (27 Oct 2017)

As I mentioned earlier I have the Titan version which appears to have the same part for the guard, its very fragile and is broken on mine, it was clinging by a thread when I got it and despite glueing up didn't last long 

Frankly it gets in the way anyway so am none to bothered, but with yours being new you want it right don't you 

So far I have found Aldis regard to returns to be first rate but haven't needed to return any large items like the drill press

Hope they will sort it out for you


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## MrTeroo (27 Oct 2017)

Yes I'm hoping they can send me a replacement part rather than the whole thing being returned.


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## whatknot (27 Oct 2017)

I may be wrong but I suspect it will be the whole thing 






MrTeroo":kigyqy9p said:


> Yes I'm hoping they can send me a replacement part rather than the whole thing being returned.


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## MrTeroo (29 Oct 2017)

Well as far as my limited expertise tells me, the drill is ok.

I don't have precise requirements though and I have never owned a bench drill before.

Couple of points.

The depth stop ring isn't very good. It is very difficult to make it tighten on the setting you choose. Very fiddly and it moves as you tighten.

The system of holding the vice to the table is poor. Just two bolts and nuts.

Again, very fiddly.

But it was only £60. Hard to believe that they make this, ship it across the world and sell it for that price.


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## whatknot (29 Oct 2017)

Looks remarkably like my Titan

Re the depth stop, I didn't use it on mine but as I said earlier the guard split and I removed it hence no depth stop any more, no loss for my usage 

Re the hand vice, mine didn't come with one, so I bought one at a boot sale, I don't secure it to the table as I don't often need it, so it sits underneath the table until required, I just keep a piece of scrap wood on the table to save splinter out, nearly all my work is on wood 

As you say for £60 you cannot expect a super duper all singing all dancing machine, but it should do a job of work for you at a reasonable price 



MrTeroo":2bva82l4 said:


> Well as far as my limited expertise tells me, the drill is ok.
> 
> I don't have precise requirements though and I have never owned a bench drill before.
> 
> ...


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## MrTeroo (30 Oct 2017)

whatknot":2b24avlf said:


> Looks remarkably like my Titan
> 
> Re the depth stop, I didn't use it on mine but as I said earlier the guard split and I removed it hence no depth stop any more, no loss for my usage



Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how does removing the chip guard stop the depth stop working?


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## whatknot (30 Oct 2017)

The Aldi badged pillar drill may be different but on my Titan and several others I have seen the depth stop is attached to the guard

The attached shows a Scheppach but basically the same as the Titan 





 MrTeroo":1trebhtm said:


> whatknot":1trebhtm said:
> 
> 
> > Looks remarkably like my Titan
> ...


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## MrTeroo (30 Oct 2017)

Ah, I see.

It's different on the Aldi one.


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## whatknot (30 Oct 2017)

Thats a better idea than being mounted on a plastic guard which is brittle in itself, a small amount of pressure and it cracks 





MrTeroo":1j0wuf6v said:


> Ah, I see.
> 
> It's different on the Aldi one.


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## greenfingers2 (30 Oct 2017)

Hi 

Can anyone tell me if the table and base on the Aldi bench drill are pressed steel or cast iron?

I've seen a youtube video of the Lidl drill being assembled and it looks like pressed steel.


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