Bench drill press / pillar drill

James Harris · 2026-09-04T14:00:24+00:00

I've reluctantly decided that my drilling is neither as straight nor as precise as it ought to be - and I should buy myself a drill press.But which machine to buy? I am hoping you guys could help me choose.Although I wouldn't use it a great deal I'd be fine with a dedicated unit (rather than one to which one attaches a drill) and it should sit on a bench rather than on the floor.The standard distance from the axis of the drill to the back of the machine seems to be a little over 100mm so I guess that's OK for most uses - and would certainly be enough for what I am trying to do at the moment.I've seen reviews of a cheap Titan model which say that the aluminium table is unsteady. If it is, that would be a problem for me. I've bought tools in the past which are imprecise and I tend to avoid using them so I'd rather pay enough to get something accurate. Maybe £100-£200?Other than that I can't think of any particular requirements. Any suggestions on what I should look out for and any recommendations of a make or a specific model?All advice appreciated!

Sep 04, 2026 Last reply: 1 month ago 23 Replies

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alan_m 1 month ago

This sounds very much like the spec and price point of my Einhall pillar drill

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Manual etc. can be obtained from the download link from the above page

Vertical movement around 50mm, chuck axis to nearest point of pillar is

105mm

Guard, plastic and flimsy and gets in the way - just wear safety glasses.

Control to lock the table to the pillar not the easiest to get tight. I modified mine with a bit of threaded rod, some nuts and a large threaded knob. Some of the nuts were to lock others on the threaded rod using the old trick of tightening them up against each other.

The adjustable depth stop difficult to set up and zero depth around

2/3mm out, with corresponding errors at other depths.

Fairly heavy base that can be bolted down, cast aluminium table (machined flat on top)

Irrespective of pillar drill being purchased I recommend getting a drill press vice for holding smaller parts

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wasbit 1 month ago

When you have marked your drilling points, indent them with a sharp point eg a nail if you don't have a suitable tool. This allows the drill bit to locate precisely & also stops it wandering.

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James Harris 1 month ago

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Cool, 130mm is more of a distance than I expected.

Thanks, I think that's exactly the kind of thing I need to watch out for that would never be in the specs.

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I took that approach and still ended up with holes which are not as good as they should be. That's why I thought it about time I got a pillar drill.

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Roger Mills 1 month ago

In retrospect, I think that mine is the next model up from the one you're considering, but yours should have a clearance of over 100mm, which will be adequate.

Yes, I think someone else in this thread has posted about needing to re-engineer the clamping mechanism.>

Sorry, I was assuming when I wrote that that you *would* be using a pillar drill. As long as you keep the workpiece flat on the table, your holes will be perpendicular to the surface. What I was suggesting was allowing the workpiece to move horizontally slightly on the table so as allow the drill to do the centring, using your conical dents. A practice run using scrap materials may not be a bad idea.

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