Looking to buy a bench-top pillar drill

[Benchwayze]

Hi folks,
I've been looking at Axminsters 'Jet' Pillar Drill, at £83.00 (approx)
Can anyone tell me what these are like in use please? Bearing in mind the low cost, are they worth it, or should I go a bit higher?

I don't do much metal work, but fiddling with a Record stand and the Bosch drill's small range of speed variance is limiting me.

Cheers

 

[Charlotte]

I have a Draper drill stand which I use with a cheap Bosch 600W mains drill. It was about £30. It was fine for all of the engine work I did on my VW that didn't need to be done by an engineer anyhow. The only real issue with it is the lack of depth - it drilled dead straight and could manage a 10mm hole in cast metal.

Jus re-read your message - you seem to be on this route at the moment! Perhaps upgrade your drill for something with more speed control?

If you do go for a dedicated machine, can I recommend you get one with an auto lubricant dropper? Makes life much easier with metal!

 

[Benchwayze]

Thank you Charlotte,

Like you I have no problems with the drill-stand, other than the speeds are not easy to control and of course they are much noisier than an induction motor. In fact the depth of drilling I can achieve is probably more than the 50 mm these pillar drills can manage, but I have been asked to select a birthday present, so I might as well go for a pillar drill.

Well, things move on! Automatic lube ! I'll check that out. Could save a lot of hassle! I could use that on my old Coronet Major Lathe!

Thanks again.

 

[beech1948]

My solution was a used Meddings bench drill.

35 yrs old. 85 mm quill movement, heavy, quiet, high quality, powerful motor.

Cons, would be that it has had a life spent working moderately hard and has a few paint scapes and lots of dirt to clean off.

Cost me £42 off Ebay.

regards
Alan

 

[selly]

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_8701.htm

???

 

[motownmartin]

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_8701.htm

???

I have one of these and it does exactly what I want it too, it drills holes in wood at 90 degrees, if I want it to do more then i'd obviously upgrade to something with a radial and tilting table like the Axminster HD16BC Pillar Drill, but for now I have something that replaced my drill stand.

 

[pren]

I've had a B&Q bench drill for the last few years. Very similar to the Aldi one. So far, it has worked just fine (if a little underpowered when using larger bits).

The only thing I'd change about it is the capacity between the base and the chuck. I was recently trying to drill 140mm timber using a spade bit. I couldn't actually fit it under the bit.

If I upgrade, I'll be looking for a floor standing one with more 'plunge' than 50mm but, for small tasks, it's great.

Bryn

 

[mrwilby]

Lyndhurst do a 550w induction bench drill, which looks rather good. You'll have to ask on price, but one went on ebay quite recently for ~£142 + delivery.

 

[OLD]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned play in the quill which the cheaper m/cs have. I hate it so i got a old startrite with no play and i am very happy with it ,so consider good s/h they have greater travel good depth stops and are well made.

 

[RogerS]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned play in the quill which the cheaper m/cs have. I hate it so i got a old startrite with no play and i am very happy with it ,so consider good s/h they have greater travel good depth stops and are well made.

As ever, Old, you're spot-on.

I've got a Clarke bench drill and thought it was OK. That was until I started drilling some holes using a Forstner bit. Moving between the workshop and site, I couldn't understand why the holes were ending up oversize in the workshop and that the holes drilled with a second Forstner bit in a handheld drill on site were perfect. I measured the two bits using a micrometer and they were spot on. I then ran a dial gauge on the bench drill and again it too was spot-on. Scratching head time.

Then :idea: :idea: :idea: I lowered the quill and checked. My God....talk about slop. No wonder the holes were ending up oversize. So I'm now in the market for a decent drill.

 

[Boz62]

I agree - I inherited my Dad's old Wickes pillar drill. All it has really done is prove how useful it is to have one. But it leaves me very frustrated at the lack of oomph, lack of drill clearance and play in the quill. Forstner bits really show up a small drill's faults. And accurate metalwork is a joke.

BW - I would seriously think about what it might end up being used for to avoid future frustration

Good luck
Boz

 

[JonnyD]

I have had a couple of cheap bench mounted pillar drills the last one was a draper and i experienced the problems that have already been stated.

I decided to go secondhand and managed to bag myself a wadkin drill for £60 of ebay. It has 150mm of travel a foot pedal to control the drill so you have 2 hands free to hold the work and an excellent table which allows about 1000mm under the drill. In use its absolutely superb the best drill i have ever used. The only slight downside is that it is single speed.

A good quality secondhand drill may be worth considering. I think meddings and startrite are a few names to look for.

Jon

Jon