Thread: Buying a Drill Press

What is it like using the wheel? I played with it instore and it seemed a bit small. It felt like you might get half way down the travel and then need to move your hand. Or perhaps its just the way I was holding the wheel?

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Originally Posted by Rushil_89

Hi All,

I am in the market for a good woodworking standing drill press. Was thinking about the bunnings Full boar drill press. It's nicely priced and the specs match up to other drill press's twice its price.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/full-boa...drill_p6290272

Has anyone had any experience using this drill press? Any good?

Cheers.

I have the carbatec equivalent, similar price point (i think I paid about 350), similar spec. If I had another chance i would go with a better machine. These cheapies are fine for occasional work that doesn't require a great degree of accuracy but other than that they do have many issues. Some of the things i've found with mine

Table that comes with it is sucky and small, i built a wooden top for it and added a fence
The variable speed is a joke, you have to change belts around to get different speeds which can be a pain if you have many different sized bits to go through
The chuck is cheap and nasty, this can be replaced but it's another cost
The motor is supposedly 3/4hp but it bogs down for any larger bit. Anything beyond 45mm forstner is impossible even in low speed/higher torque configuration.
The casting quality is very poor
Adjust is clunky and not very smooth.

In summary it does the job...mostly...but you are better off saving a little bit of extra $$ and buying something that will last... or go second hand with a quality older model.

Originally Posted by P.W.H.

Does anyone actually have hands on experience with the wee Bosch ? (https://www.bunnings.co.nz/bosch-ben...710w_p06200464)

What intrigues me are the electronic speed control,
the laser guide (getting the workpiece into the exact right place, for drilling hinge cups in my old metabo drill press was always a major p.i.t.a.)
the fence also looks good -- IF it's good, it should beat my jury rigged solutions that had to be hand-made from mdf and hardwood
not to mention the belt-less construction,
keyless chuck ....
There are features here that I otherwise see on much more expensive machines.

All those might mean it's like a morris minor with go faster stripes, to lure in the suckers like myself.
But, on the other hand, if all those features work, and accurately, then it could be a light duty winner.
It makes no claims at being commercial, workshop or industrial grade. Bosch GREEN after all.

I am not crazy about having to bolt it to a heavy bench (it's very light, comparatively) and then put down raisers on the benchtop
so I get a flat surface for large work to rest on (i.e. cabinet doors) -- the latter is exactly what I'd want a good drill press for - but that is
no different to what I have (a Metabo stand that you screw your mains powered Metabo drill into).

Don't use my drill press one hell of a lot, so paying out 2800 for an industrial grade machine with these features is in no way
warranted ... (Voyager DVR Drill Press)

T.I.A. for any comments -Peter

Im thinking of grabbing one of these on the weekend for my new workshop, cheap at $400 AUD, and small enough to bolt on to a rolling bench, along with the bench grinder/linisher and bench vice.

A long as it drills ok, ill be happy with it for now, as it won't be seeing any real serious work until i finish building my Campervan

As much as i want the DVR drill press, i can't seem to find anywhere to put it, my shed has seemed to shrink with all this rain

Plus my money i put aside for the DVR has been blown on a new welder Certiflat Welding table and Linishall grinder/linisher (Good price on these Grinders at Machinery Warehouse today)

H&F is currently have a sale , online only until the end of today I think.http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/3DS...3%20DAY%20SALE

Wheel is certainly too small, particularly when you have the amount of travel that this drill does. I've had to 'walk' around the wheel to get a further grip on many occassions
I've been looking for a handle that attaches to the outside of the wheel (similar to those found on forklift steering wheels) that allows you to turn the wheel completely round rather than just in short sections. May have to drill a hole in the wheel and make and fit a freewheeling handle

You want a spinner knob. For example STEERING WHEEL SPINNER HEAVY DUTY CAR /TRUCK HANDLE SUICIDE POWER KNOB M2 | eBay or Spinner Knobs | TotalAbility
There are many more web pages available.
You may need two so as to always be able to feed the wheel. There would be points where if you had one it would be uncomfortable to "drive" the quill.

I picked up one of those Bosch drill presses from Bunnings this morning as i had a few steel plates i had to drill.

The variable speed is handy, didn't have to muck around with any belts.

The inbuilt clamping system is different, but easy to get use to.

The laser is handy, but i don't think mine is right..as i don't get a complete X on the work piece.

I was drilling 13mm into mild steel and it handled it fine, it didn't seem to struggle, but i took it easy at 700 rpm and used cutting fluid

Its got a 2 year warranty, so if its going to break, i'm sure it'll be within 2 years.

Didn't really check to set if there was any shaft wobble, i was too busy and just needed to push out some holes, so i could crack on and do some welding.

Originally Posted by bryn23

The laser is handy, but i don't think mine is right..as i don't get a complete X on the work piece.
Didn't really check to set if there was any shaft wobble, i was too busy and just needed to push out some holes, so i could crack on and do some welding.

I've been using the Bosch for some time now, still really like it, and it's ideal for the smaller WW and MW that I do, I have mine bolted to a small moveable cabinet holding everything I use for drilling, and a small swivel head vice on the side for holding a dust pickup when needed.

The Lasers do not cross if the chuck is close to the work (no X), Laser on mine is accurate when further away, but has about 1mm shift due to parallax error as you get close and no way to adjust for that, although it could be modified to do so.

Some people complained of the Head moving on the column, but if the Locking lever is tightened correctly it does not move. I use it with some big Hole saws in timber and aluminium and being able to use the low speed gearbox and speed adjustment for that means that I simply wouldn't do with out it now.

Only thing I've had to do is adjust the Head unit to Column holding force (two allen screws) and lubricate the column once to keep moving smoothly.

As others have pointed out, It's not a heavy duty thing you just reef on, but for lighter work it is still light years ahead of the small standard drill press that I had been using.

Oh, for some reason I have no trouble with the wheel, found it easier that the 3 rods on the old unit, but I acknowledge a lot of people don't like it.

I've gone and ordered one today.
I went to Mitre 10 and had a play, I decided I would want to modify the wheel more likely than not,
but the one factor that I didn't see mentioned in any of the youtube presentations I saw is this: you do not crank the table up and down.
You crank the head unit up and down.
Logistically speaking, for large work pieces, this is a huge advantage in my opinion. I will simply
create a surround at the same thickness as the height of the table on the Bosch. No jigging stands up and down, trying to get things levelled perfectly flat - do it
once and it will be ready made for good and always at the right height...

I'll post a report once I've done a few concealed hinge cups. I don't expect any problems

That's one of the things that I really like about the design. Although I like the inbuilt clamp it can be to small on occasions, but the table has two spots either side of the column, towards the edges of the table, that are just perfect for two toggle clamps.

Sorry Rushil 89
Seems like the Bosch Fan Club have taken over your thread

Opps i just noticed that myself...it is leaning towards more about the Bosch drill that the full boar model.

As for the Bosch fan club, i don't know about that, who would be a Bosch fan?? when there is festool

just pointing out the other options, pros and con's for around the same price.

Fitted a spinner knob to the wheel on the Bosch, works great BUT the drill base has to be secured front and back to manage the forces on the drill head when turning the wheel (particularly when the drill head is at the top of the mast)
PS Spinner knobs generally don't fit the wheel and you will need to modify the mounting bracket

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

This is the one on my wish list.
D162 - PD-35 Industrial Pedestal Drill - Belt Drive | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse

I realize this is a six-year old thread, but the thread came up on Google's first page, when I was researching a drill press, so this is paying forward for the next person looking for a drill press.

Turns out Machinery House in Auckland carries the same units as the Aussie link, and they had one in stock. I bought the BD 594 ($595 NZ including 15% GST). which is their strongest bench drill. It is solid... 55 kg, and no frills. No digital controls to die, not too many lawyer bits that make it harder to injure oneself. Traditional key rather than keyless. Set up instructions were somewhat sparse, but not too difficult to figure out.

I would say this is an ideal tool for a serious amateur with a workshop or a farm, who needs a drill press to be strong, but not used every day - or even every week. I looked at the Full Boar machines, but had bad luck with the brand. We bought a concrete hand mixer (basically a huge egg beater) and my less than careful assistant cooked the motor. I also find the keyless chucks to be a pain, and prefer the traditional key. The machining is impressive.

This drill press is not much different than the presses of 100 years ago and the company Hare and Forbes is an Australian tool and machinery company that commissions products under their own brand. The BD594 is made in China. But, having done business in China, I find the secret to quality is relationships. If a factory understands you want the cheapest price, they are a master at cost cutting where it matters... poorer quality metal, plastics that will break, etc. But if the management and line staff understand you want quality, the price will be a bit higher, but the right materials, machining and assembly will deliver a quality product at a fair price.

I am expecting this drill press to outlast me, and find it the right balance of quality and price for farm and home workshop needs.