Bosch PBD 40 Variable Speed Drill

[PaulR]

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience of this drill? The reviews are mostly positive, a bit of lateral quill movement is reported by some though. I'd only be using it for small projects with most holes in the 2mm-8mm range.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Home-Garden-Drilling-Diameter/dp/B00766C1A8

[redhouseluv]

From my limited experience the thing that seems to separate workshop machinery is rigidity. I was given this by a mate whose dad originally bought it in the 60s. It is rock solid and is a 2 person job to move, however, I do appreciate it may take more bench space. Although the footprint may not be much more even if the height is?

I also like using older equipment which has stood the test of time and can mostly be picked up cheaper than new. Sorry don't know anything about the Bosch!

[PaulR]

Nice and very much like a machine I used to use at a model engineering club. Trouble is, the only pillar drill like that I could afford would be second hand, probably well used and possibly as bad/worn as the Clarke pillar drill I've already got. I rather like the idea of the digital depth gauge but mostly the lack of hassle in changing the belts!

[redhouseluv]

Agreed the belts are a pain to change speed and they are quite high up. The depth gauge is on the 'to do' list, involving a cheap DRO mounted on the side 

[uuu]

I've gone the same route as Sanjay and have an old industrial machine.  It's heavy as a single piece, but I was able to move it by myself by splitting it into manageable bits (motor, head, table, base).

It's three-phase.  That made it cheaper to buy - less attractive to the hobby user.  But with a second-hand VFD from eBay it runs beautifully, and has variable speed, to reduce the need to shift the belt about.

Wilf

Edit - lateral rigidity is perhaps a little less important in a pillar drill than a mill or lathe.  You often want a bit of movement, so the drill finds the centre-punched mark.  With a rigid drill, you have to leave a bit of wobble room in the workpiece.

[rjconway]

Work holding is good as you can slide a vice around to position it and I think I "feel" safer having a larger table (as sometimes my vice used to hang off the table on my old drillpress.  The DRO is a great addition plus the fact no belts so dial up the speed.  The depth stop is also great for repetitive tasks.  The work holding is OK with that clamp for wood but I do like the guide on the rear of the table to place my machine vice against.   BTW -If I want accuracy I use my Mill.  I know what you mean about some axial movement in the quill but once it spins up I have not found an issue.  Although I do mainly aluminum.  I purchased mine on prime day through amazon and got a 45% discount.  I dont think I would be as happy if I paid Recommended Retail Price.

[ddmckee54]

I'd look on Craigslist, or whatever the local equivalent is, for a drill press.  You'll probably find several, and they'll be heavier duty units than that Bosch - probably a lot cheaper too.  If you want/need variable speed, I repowered my drill press about a year ago using an industrial sewing machine servo motor.  The new motor is a lot smaller, and a LOT lighter than the original.  The servo motor and drive cost me about $110-$120 US.  An industrial servo motor will tolerate a lot more abuse than that Bosch will.  You can get them set up for the power on your side of the pond too. 

When I repowered the drill, I went from a 3/4 Hp single speed motor to a 1 Hp motor that will run between 300 Rpm to 4500 Rpm - without me having to touch the belts.  (The motors/drives are available up to 2.2KW if MORE power is your thing.)  I've got an 4 digit Rpm display on the drive, it only displays to the nearest 100 Rpm though.  But I've managed to live with that.  I've got a thread about the conversion over on HMEM.

Don

[PaulR]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not going to buy a secondhand drill press because there's no guarantee it'll be better than my existing one which isn't too bad but I hate having to use the belt to change speed. I don't have any electrical skills so I'm not going to buy a motor to retro-fit the existing pillar drill. So, it's either soldier on with the existing one, take a chance on this Bosch model or maybe wait until this one is back in stock: https://www.rutlands.com/products/variable-speed-pillar-drill-250mm

[uuu]

That Rutland one does look nice.   The variable speed using expanding pulleys will give you decent torque at lower speeds.  And a proper induction motor.  There's even a crank to wind the table up and down (I wish my drill had that - the table is heavy).

Wilf

[Roger B]

I have slightly bigger version of the Rutland variable speed drill. I chose it for the 80mm quill travel and MT2 chuck fitting. I have seen a similar machine from other distributors.

https://www.einhell.co.uk/p/4250715-te-bd-750-e/

[PaulR]

I have slightly bigger version of the Rutland variable speed drill. I chose it for the 80mm quill travel and MT2 chuck fitting. I have seen a similar machine from other distributors.

https://www.einhell.co.uk/p/4250715-te-bd-750-e/

Very nice (but twice the price )