Thread: Best Cost-Benefit Life-Time Drill Press in Australia

A critical factor is indeed the speed settings if you intend to use for various bit types or for various mediums
High speed steel bits vs Forstner for example .... a speed readout and speed setting knob is a great luxury

Brobo Waldown. Unfortunately you'll be very lucky to get one for $500...

On behalf of another forum member a few years ago I looked at a couple of drill presses and the one that stood out the best for rigidity was the radial type like this one. They are sold under many different brands; I just picked Carbatec at random and it looks like they are having a clearance sale...

Ive had one of these for 8 years. D592 | PD-325 Belt Drive - Pedestal Drill | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au

Is it perfect, far from it. But has always done what I need it to do and never had an issue.

Seems to cover most of your specifications. Depends what you want to do with it and are you looking for machining precision. They are not particularly heavy, but a few dyna-bolts into the floor will fix that.

As I did for mine you can always make a bigger table with a fence out of plywood.

Happy hunting.

Originally Posted by LEORITY

CHUCK SIZE: 1 to 16 mm or more (can't have any play or wobble - unsure what models are OK)

A $500 budget (new or used) means they will ALL have some play or wobble the question will be how much.
The chuck itself doesn't matter that much as the all usually come with keyed chucks and I would recommend purchasing an after market keyless chuck.

SWING: unsure what that is??

Thats the gap between the chuck and the upright support post

SPINDLE TRAVEL: >75 mm

Ideally this should be >100 mm but that won't come with a $500 budget

BASE DIMENSION: the more the better

The base is not a big deal because you can always add a custom base to it.
Most drills are too low anyway so a custom base is a simple way of adding height

TABLE SIZE: the more the better

Same comment here as for the base. Most WW add a custom table to their DP

# OF SPEEDS: not really crucial

Actually it is very important.
Most DPs with fewer speeds have large gaps in their speeds that don't permit operation at the correct speed for many bit sizes or types

SPINDLE SPEED: the lower the better up to 3500 rpm

I reckon 120 to 3000 is plenty.

The Radial arm DPs I saw at CT and TC both had too much movement for my liking - also they came with only 5 speeds which is not enough.

Originally Posted by BobL

A $500 budget (new or used) means they will ALL have some play or wobble the question will be how much.
The chuck itself doesn't matter that much as the all usually come with keyed chucks and I would recommend purchasing an after market keyless chuck.


Thats the gap between the chuck and the upright support post


Ideally this should be >100 mm but that won't come with a $500 budget


The base is not a big deal because you can always add a custom base to it.
Most drills are too low anyway so a custom base is a simple way of adding height


Same comment here as for the base. Most WW add a custom table to their DP


Actually it is very important.
Most DPs with fewer speeds have large gaps in their speeds that don't permit operation at the correct speed for many bit sizes or types


I reckon 120 to 3000 is plenty.

The Radial arm DPs I saw at CT and TC both had too much movement for my liking - also they came with only 5 speeds which is not enough.

Thanks guys for your advice and tips.

What if I go to a budget of AUD1,000? Does it help to get rid of plays, wobbles and increase # of speeds, etc?

I can justify to the boss at home that it will be an investment, not expense (I hope hahaha).


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Waldowns get a lot of love here - to get one new is >$5000, but they come up 2nd hand on ebay now and then. There are quite a few on there now, and I would think they'd be more solidly constructed and of better quality than anything new for similar money. Mine certainly is, and it's probably 50 years old. Obscenely heavy!
waldown | eBay

A second hand Waldown would be my suggestion too if you can find one in decent condition. Only seen one up close in person but it had been hammered for years in a workshop and still ran beautifully.

I've used a few Waldown DPs. The one I used the most is the one we had at work which was well maintained and ran true - a nice basic machine. At the mens shed we recently acquired an elderly ex=Highschool unit which had unfortunately been beaten up and is on the sloppy side. OK the good ones run true and that is very important but I struggle to see what else there is to rave about. The ones I've used have not been that heavy, a tad underpowered. only have 5 speeds and changing speeds on the mens shed unit is a proper PITA so members don't bother and the bit is usually running too fast or too slow.

Yeah i'm probably a bit biased, I have a serious soft spot for the old Waldown machines.

I had a look at the Waldown ones on eBay, but they seem to be too old to me.
As I don't work with wood as a profession and want to have a DP to perfect my projects, I will probably need something brand new. I had a look at this one online:
https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/a...BUILT/136573/#
It looks promising!
Any other suggestions or recommendations, please let us know.



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Originally Posted by LEORITY

I had a look at the Waldown ones on eBay, but they seem to be too old to me.
As I don't work with wood as a profession and want to have a DP to perfect my projects, I will probably need something brand new. I had a look at this one online:
https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/a...BUILT/136573/#
It looks promising!
Any other suggestions or recommendations, please let us know.



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6 months warranty is a bit light - 2 years seems to be standard and I see Timbecon has just gone to 5.

You could also look at the Bosch PDP 40.
Australian Wood Review has reviewed it and posted some videos here Bosch PBD40 Drill Press Roadtest - Australian Wood Review
Price wise it's within your budget.
and in respect to your other criteria -- well it meets some of them, but no drill that satisfies your budget meets all of them.

Without knowing what you plan to use it for I will make a few quick comments.

Chuck size 5 - 20 mm. That could be fine for your use. I changed my chuck so to one that could go down to 1 mm.
It is a bench model. That may limit what you can do. If you have the space, see if you can get a floor mounted one. Even this drill might come in a floor version.

Price is $500 + GST. Plus freight if required. At 87 kg, probably in a crate, would be too heavy to put in a car, would require at least two or three people to move in a suitable vehicle if picking up.

Just 2 cents worth.

Yes, I gues I would change to a keyless chuck that goes to 1mm too. They do have a pedestal model for this one (90kg). As I am living in Groote Eylandt - NT at the moment, shipping would be too expensive for sure...
I had a look at the Bosh model and it might be for me. I will need to check the price though...
More suggestions are welcomed .
Thanks guys!