Small bench pillar drill

[chippy1970]

Im thinking of getting a small pillar drill sub £150 got any recommendations ?

Spotted this one on ebay are they any good ? Fox F12-941 or are the small Axminster ones any good ?

I normally use cordless drills in my workshop but every now and then it would be handy to be able to drill a really accurate hole ie when building jigs etc.

EDIT anyone got this one Axminster WD16SB Bench Pillar Drill

 

[Karl]

I've been browsing for a small pillar drill myself Chris, so it'll be interesting to see what comes of the thread.

Usual advice is to go 2nd hand for a used Fobco/Meddings/Startrite model.

Rob (Woodbloke) bought an Axi or Jet model recently - be interesting to hear what he thinks of it.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Lowlife]

I have one, a few years old now, that is very much like the current Axminster WD13S, and it's a good little drill for the money. Typically they just take an existing drill and add a bit of value to it, usually in the form of a better chuck, switch, motor, that sort of thing, so you can find almost identical drills with a different badge and differing quality and price, IMO you get pretty good value with the Axminster ones.

Of course there are better drills available if you want to spend more money, depends on your requirements I suppose, I have several pillar drills at work but needed something at home too and it fits the bill perfectly for me, anything it's not up to I can do at work.

 

[chippy1970]

Thanks guys Axi sounds good then. Oh and hello lowlife good to see another Shepperton resident on here.

 

[Lowlife]

good to see another Shepperton resident

Aha! Where are you? I'm in River Ash Estate down by the river.

 

[chippy1970]

Pm sent lowlife

 

[fluffflinger]

Before you commit please take note of the following;

I picked up a Fobco Star recently from ebay, paid £65. Honestly until you've seen one of these or a similar Meddings you won't realise how good they are. Don't be put off by a three phase one either I replaced the motor on mine for a single phase cost £35 and put on a modern NVR Switch and replaced the belt. Total cost under £120. But I looked for about 6 weeks before I found the right machine.

If you don't mind waiting until the right one comes along you will not regret it one bit and trust me it will be drilling very accurate holes long after you've gone.

I know it may seem odd paying the same or sometimes more for an old machine but these puppies were built to last. The build quality is simply fantastic and they are just simply not the same animal as the models you are contemplating. Not sure if this is still available, I was going to enquire if nothing came up closer on ebay. Give the guy a ring it's been advertised for awhile I think. http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/classifieds/view_ad.asp?ad=4510

The advice on the forum to hold out for one of the older models is spot on. I took the same advice when I wanted to buy a bandsaw and ended up with an old Startrite 352 again a fantastic machine and I ended up with a far, far better saw then the equivalent cash would have brought new.

The only down side is that you do need to wait until the right machine, preferably local, comes along. Oh and the fact they are about ten times heavier than their modern counterparts so have an extra Weetabix or take a mate when you pick it up.

I know I sound like an advert for good old British Cast Iron and for that I make no apologies. Trust me I've owned more than my fair share of cheap modern rubbish to speak from bitter experience.

 

[RogerP]

With these cheaper drills it's worth checking (particularly for wood working) that the chuck travel and the throat depth is adequate for your intended uses. Many have only 50mm chuck travel and 100mm or so throat.

 

[RogerP]

The advice on the forum to hold out for one of the older models is spot on. I took the same advice when I wanted to buy a bandsaw and ended up with an old Startrite 352 again a fantastic machine and I ended up with a far, far better saw then the equivalent cash would have brought new.

The only down side is that you do need to wait until the right machine, preferably local, comes along. Oh and the fact they are about ten times heavier than their modern counterparts so have an extra Weetabix or take a mate when you pick it up.

It all hinges on the right machine turning up for sale at the right time, it's local, you have someone to help, you have a suitable vehicle to transport it and you have the time, skill and inclination to fix it up.

Personally life's too short I'd rather find a decent new machine at a good price, click on the "buy" button and have it delivered next day to my door

 

[Lowlife]

I agree with the advice to wait and buy a good used one if time allows, the older ones we have at work are much better than my Axi one and could probably be bought used for around the same price, as mentioned though the problem can be finding one close enough to be able to collect it, or cheap enough to pay for courier delivery.

In my experience this is rarely the case, otherwise my home workshop would be full of wonderful old machinery bought for a song, whenever I look for old machinery most things worth having are up in the midlands at best. I've picked up the odd local bargain, but usually when I didn't really want it!

 

[artfu1d0dger]

The snag with looking on Ebay to try and find a solid old machine is that I live in Cumbria, at least an hour before I get to the motorway and sadly the bulk of ebay sales seem to come from south of Birmingham. My only real choice is to buy new. Can anyone recommend a small pillar drill similar to the Axminster WD13L Pillar Drill 230V. Im a bit reluctant to purchase from Axminster as they are bumping up their prices from tomorrow

 

[RogerP]

Even allowing for Axminster imminent price rise I think you'll find similar drills from different makes (re-badgers) all about the same price. The drills are, after all, from the same far eastern suppliers..

 

[DonJohnson]

Hi,

I was getting a bit frustrated by my small pillar drill's restricted throat, and spotted the Axminster AWBRD550 Bench Radial Drill (its listed under woodworking machinery - not metalworking so I didn't spot it at first) but its here: http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod719353/

I've unpacked this Christmas present from my wife and set it up and it has worked pretty good so far for the price (currently £166.50 so order quickly ??? LOL)

This is MY review - which is awaiting ratification:

My existing drill had a small throat, but the only alternative seemed to be to get a much larger floor-standing version. This drill is the answer to both space and price limitations!
The only assembly problem I had was when I dropped the locking piece for clamping the top section to the column inside the casting. I really did need two people - as it advises in the manual - to shake the pad out again (phew!). So then I used a dob of grease on the back of the piece to hold it in position, and carefully rotated the head assembly from lying on its (piece recess) side onto the column.
The chuck uses a morse taper. Larger - morse taper - drills can be fitted directly into the spindle sleeve, extending the capacity beyond that of the chuck alone.
Depth stop is very positive, but I may mod the belt lid so that I can snap it open/shut rather than removing/replacing a screw.
The only slightly odd thing is that the long dark grey belt cover and whole head assembly makes me think of Alien !

I hope this is of some help

BTW - I also got the Axminster Pillar Drill Table: http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod364868/ which goes well with this drill - although two new holes are needed for mounting to this model (and little rebates on the underside of the replaceable table centre). The guides and tracks are fine, but the hold down clamps may hold 'down' but it is difficicult to get them to hold things 'still'. (Knobs possibly too small to clamp effectively - I will have to work out some improvement). Unlike some other models (I believe) it can be mounted so that the drill table elevating lever is NOT too close to prevent rotation or smashing knuckles.

Don

 

[chippy1970]

Yeah I know what you are saying about 2nd hand being the better way to go but I wouldnt know where to start or what model to buy. Buying new with good advice Im hoping will be ok for my needs. I will try to find something on ebay if I can, Ive even asked at schools Ive been working at before but they hardly ever need to sell as they never break lol.

 

[RogerP]

I bought this Ryobi a while ago and I'm very happy with it. It's a much larger drill than those so far mentioned and is a bit more expensive but it has every feature I need and is very convenient to use.

 

[chippy1970]

looks very good Roger, shame its gone up in price so much I read the thread from when everyone bought them from Tooled up for £145 looks like I missed out there

EDIT

Cheapest I can find one is at a company called Toolbox at £211.

 

[RogerP]

looks very good Roger, shame its gone up in price so much I read the thread from when everyone bought them from Tooled up for £145 looks like I missed out there

That's when and from whom I bought mine. I was initially surprised just how big it is, this isn't apparent from photos, it's a hefty bit of kit and works beautifully.

 

[johnf]

I got this one for christmas
http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-jdp- ... rod362424/

very impressed with it so far

 

[chippy1970]

Price is creeping up :lol: looks nice John but I don't think I will be spending that much

 

[RogerP]

Price is creeping up :lol: looks nice John but I don't think I will be spending that much

It's cheaper here.