Sub £1000 bench drill for wood, steel and aluminium in a tiny workshop?

[Jof]

Hi again, all.

I did a decent amount of forum searching prior to this but couldn't find an exact answer so hopefully someone can help.

So I have a tiny "workshop" that is actually my living room where I do all my woodcarving, 3D printing etc. I'm now looking for a bench drill that's not huge but I'm beginning to realise that's conflicting with my other requirements!

Here's some use cases that I'd love to be able to do with the drill:

• Drilling and boring holes in wood - largest 25mm diameter in 50mm thick birch ply so far
• Drilling and tapping <=5mm holes in 6mm aluminium plate
• Drilling 12mm holes in 6mm mild steel plate
• Reaming 15mm holes in mild steel plate
• Drilling and tapping <=5mm holes in 4mm box section mild steel to build the frame for a copy carver

Is there anything on the market that fits the bill? If the runout and head flex (+/- 0.2mm!!) on the Bosch wasn't so bad that would be perfect

I've followed eBay for a little while and almost all of the machines require local pickup a long way from me. Taking into consideration fuel, time, car rental it may sense for me to splash out a bit more on something new. Unless I find someone who will ship it.

Also what do I need in order to drill the box section reliably? Presumably a base with some sort of fence?

Thanks as always
Jof

 

[Spectric]

The best answer is used, most new stuff is cheap and cheerful unless you spend big money which is more than used, the likes of Ajax, Meddings etc which were built to last but are heavy so hopefully your coffee table is strong enough !

To drill box section you just need to use a punch and drill through with small drill, then you could either drill out to size from one side or drill from both sides.

 

[Jof]

The best answer is used and the likes of Ajax, Meddings etc which were built to last but are heavy so hopefully your coffee table is strong enough !

Ta muchly, I'll have a look. My coffee table's a big boi; just under 2 inches[1] of 1.5m long iroko on 4 massive box section steel legs. Somehow I just about keep it looking like a home as well as a workshop That said, my 700mm tall 3D printer on a concrete plinth does stick out a bit amongst the victorian vibe.

[1] Just to that I might be building something quite a bit bigger and thicker soon. But the press can sit on a plinth bolted to that just fine I imagine like my wood carving clamp does

 

[Jake]

If space is limited, might be worth considering a mag drill (and a steel plate to mount it on).

 

[Sideways]

The best drill stand you can buy (?) will cost you Eur 700 from Dieter Schmidt.
https://www.fine-tools.com/bohrstaender.html

Pair it with a good power drill that has a 43mm collar. I'd consider the 4 speed 18v brushless drill made by Fein. That will give enough torque for big wood bits and enough speed for small holes in steel.

It's an oddball choice and not cheap but you get a superbly strong and accurate stand in a fairly small footprint, and an excellent cordless drill that will be usefull off the stand.

For a corded drill that is ergonomically better for the stand, look at Metabo.

 

[Jof]

The best drill stand you can buy (?) will cost you Eur 700 from Dieter Schmidt.
...

For a corded drill that is ergonomically better for the stand, look at Metabo.

I did consider these (although wasn't aware there was such a good stand around) but my concern was the runout of handrill chucks typically isn't all that great. My Dewalt for instance is visibly wobbly. Is the Fein pretty good then?

 

[Jof]

If space is limited, might be worth considering a mag drill (and a steel plate to mount it on).

Huh, that looks like a really good idea. Never heard of such a thing before! Anything I should know (brands, specs) when searching for one? I see in general they seem to be higher(looking) quality than the bench drills of the same price...
Are they able to take standard drill bits, taps etc?

 

[Jameshow]

For the price these a gvm.

Being Korean the quality is a step up from the Chinese rubbish.

Then made a milling machine similar so shows the strength of them...

But go for the 16mm version

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39555366...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[TRITON]

what about this ?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32610281...hash=item4bed3e2413:g:~1MAAOSwvbhmKhe2&edge=1

Mini mill/small pillar drill -Nose to table 255mm, 140mm throat. 45deg L-R tilting I imagine its got the torque and accuracy
Tech details here - https://www.axminstertools.com/media/downloads/axminster_engineering_brochure.pdf

TBH i think its a lot better choice than a basic pillar drill or stand as it gives you scope for other projects

 

[imageel]

I'd second the recommendation if corded works for you for a Metabo, I don't know what the newer models are like but the older model I had was variable speed, sintered metal gearbox and a decent keyless chuck that had no runout I could determine - I occasionally would use 1mm bits in a pin-chuck for drilling PCB's and it was fine.
The speed control on them is superb and they have enough torque to take your hand off if you aren't careful.
I had mine mainly mounted in an old Record bench mounted pillar that had the morticing attachment so the whole thing was pretty solid and didn't even struggle when I was drilling some 23mm dia holes in SS round bar with some Starrett TCT tipped hole-saw bits.
Am sure you could pick both up cheaply on ebay/facebook if you care to sort out the cr@p

 

[Jof]

I'd second the recommendation if corded works for you for a Metabo, I don't know what the newer models are like but the older model I had was variable speed, sintered metal gearbox and a decent ...
Am sure you could pick both up cheaply on ebay/facebook if you care to sort out the cr@p

Silly question maybe but how to I keep the drill running continuously?

 

[imageel]

My Metabo had a lock button beside the variable speed trigger squeeze so you could lock it on maximum, and just dial in your desired rpm.
Sometimes would have it running for 30mins or more and no issues with overheating even when tackling difficult materials

 

[Jof]

My Metabo had a lock button beside the variable speed trigger squeeze so you could lock it on maximum, and just dial in your desired rpm.
Sometimes would have it running for 30mins or more and no issues with overheating even when tackling difficult materials

Any particular model? On the whole they seem to be priced at the lower end so presumably I need something a bit more fancy for a high quality chuck?

 

[imageel]

Take a look on Facebook Marketplace or ebay, loads to choose from nearly new to well used.
I can't remember the precise model mine was but it was a1000W motor and was one of their range whose part number ended with /2 S R+L which had the variable speed dial on top at the rear.
There is a looks like unused 700/W one on ebay at present with only a £50 reserve...
It also had a magnetic safety clutch which from memory only broke drive once whilst drilling concrete with a large diameter core drill, certainly on low speed and whilst screwdriving some window frame fixings it damn near took my hand off the torque was so great and at one point it pinned my hand between the drill and the frame.
Lots were 110V I presume because they were destined for site work

 

[BCS1980UK]

I have a Bosch PD40, and for my very simple woodworking needs it fits the bill.
I don't work with metal but this might be worth watching:

 

[Sideways]

Any particular model? On the whole they seem to be priced at the lower end so presumably I need something a bit more fancy for a high quality chuck?

All the powertools have declined in build quality over the last 20 or 30 years. Value engineering.
Metabo wasn't as widely known among the general public as some other brands because they didn't really target the DIY market. If you wanted drills or grinders that would stand up to heavy daily use in a factory, they were one of the best.

Take a drill like this :
https://www.metabo.com/uk/en/tools/...lls/sbev-1100-2-s-600784590-impact-drill.html

Big, powerful, and rather noisy, this isn't a cheaply made drill. I don't own one but I suspect it's every bit as good as the best that came out of the Bosch Scintilla factory

 

[Jacob]

If you use drill stand and electric drill I'd wear ear muffs as you tend to be closer to it than when working it as a hand held drill.
Unless you are into semi industrial heavy usage then cheap and cheerful gives plenty of options. Mines a Nu-tool 12 speed and seems very precise. £50 on ebay.
Something like this: https://rdbarrett.co.uk/product/b16-12-speed-450w-bench-pillar-drill-by-sip/

 

[Jof]

Any idea if my Dewalt 996 would be any good for this? https://www.dewalt.co.uk/product/dcd996p2-gb/18v-xr-xrp-hammer-drill-driver-2-x-5ah I don't have it to hand (on holiday right now) to check runout.

 

[Spectric]

All the powertools have declined in build quality over the last 20 or 30 years. Value engineering.

One reason could be the buyouts where a bigger company swallows up the competition but quality has gone down and may have started the decline 30 years ago but the last ten have seen a more drastic fall off.

 

[Vulcan]

If you can find one the Fobco Star is a wonderful little drill.

https://www.lathes.co.uk/fobco/