Pillar Drill Needed - Recommendations Please

Pillar Drill Needed - Recommendations Please

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Discussion

Smiler.

Original Poster:

11,752 posts

229 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
I need to add a Pillar Drill to the tool bank.

A quick scout of Screwfix shows prices ranging from £80 - £300.

Ideally, I'd like to spend as little as possible but don't see the point in skimping.


I'm not sure what features to look for but I don't have any twist drill bit greater than 12mm dia (above that, it's hole saws).

I assume I can use a hole saw with a pillar drill - at least to 25mm dia (plastic & possibly steel).


When "drill height" is quoted, is this without a bit? I'm going to need at least 300mm with a bit fitted (or hole saw).

Most of my drilling is done with battery tools at the moment, and this is mainly in plastic enclosures.


I might have to fabricate a clamping device for the enclosures - I already have a machine vice but this is not big enough to accommodate them.

I need to drill a variety of holes in the enclosures repetitively & for multiple units, so hoping I can set up a template to hold the enclosures & drill in the same place each time.


All advice welcome smile

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
Worth a visit to Axminster Tools if there is one near you.

oddball1973

1,178 posts

122 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
buy a second hand Pollard 150A. might be 20 -30 years old but built to last another 20 - 30 if from a good home. Will have a gearbox for extra torque and might even have power downfeed if you're really lucky. Axeminster stuff and others is just far Eastern cheap nasty belt driven junk, OK for a few bits of timber but horrible to use, especially once you've used something built properly

Edited by oddball1973 on Friday 29th August 20:56

mgtony

4,014 posts

189 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
Don't go for cheap Screwfix ones. The smaller versions have limited distance from the chuck/drill bit to the pillar which can limit what you can drill.
I've got a floor standing Axminster one, for the price it's a fairly decent drill. The benefit of the floor standing one is that with the table lowered right down, you can put something large under there to drill. For instance a complete drawer if you wanted to drill for the handles etc.
You can mount a timber table/panel to the metal drill table then fix a template to that.

moustachebandit

1,264 posts

142 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
Don't bother buying anything new - It's going to be crap (cheap modern Axeminster included). Buy an old second hand Fobco, Meddings or Startrite. Genuinely built to last and great drills to boot!

Bought a FobcoStar moons back and still runs like a dream!

bakerstreet

4,755 posts

164 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
I have a clarke one from Machine Mart and its a great bit of kit. My mum bought it for my Xmas present about 7 years ago. Think it was £80. Its a bench one, but does everything I need.


dbfan

183 posts

122 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
I've got an old floor mounted pillar drill from a school where I used to work (I was given it a year or two after I left!). We had various makes and types of pillar drill from cheap "own brands" through Screwfix and Axminster to Startrite and Boxford. The cheap ones were almost disposable items - we changed three or four in four years. I had a B&Q bench mount drill and it was pretty useless - too fast, not very accurate and generally poor build quality. My old (Boxford? - I can't remember the make) is brilliant and will happily work through thick steel with a 1" drill without wearing the drill out!

Keep an eye out for a decent floor-mounted drill (you'll need that to get your 300mm clearance) and you won't go far wrong - and you'll get your money back if you ever want to sell it! The only snag is that they take a lot of space. I won't be able to buy a bigger car as the drill is just over a Mk5 Golf's length from the garage door!

Gingerbread Man

9,171 posts

212 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
You can get 'blacksmith' drills which are big and chunky rather than hole saws.

Smiler.

Original Poster:

11,752 posts

229 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies.

I'd love to have the budget for a "proper" machine, but from what I've seen, they are 10 times the sort of price I can afford & of limited supply.

The last time I used one was as an apprentice & like most things then, never appreciated what I using.


A floor standing drill also has two issues for me, one is space. The other is my working height. My benching is 1100mm affl so that I don't cripple myself. As such, I really need something bench mounted.

I take on board the points about height from work surface to chuck so will have to live with what gives me the biggest distance for the money.


So having had a better look at what's available, I'm considering this

It's a bit more that I'd hoped to spend but if it serves me well, a good investment.

blueST

4,378 posts

215 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
I'm after a pillar drill too, so I'll watch this thread with interest.

The fox one you linked above seems substantially cheaper here http://www.foxmachinery.co.uk/acatalog/Pillar_Dril... have no view on whether it's any good or not, but looks similar to the other far eastern stuff to me.

I'm waiting for the next VAT free day Machine Mart and will likely go for this one https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details... or the floor standing version if I can make room. It's still a far eastern hobby, but the spec seems about as good as you can get for the money.

Edited by blueST on Saturday 30th August 10:51

Simpo Two

85,148 posts

264 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
I was looking at pillar drills a few years ago and remember seeing that the more expensive ones had ballrace heads while cheap ones didn't. So I bought a cheap one (Ferm, about £40) and whilst it's fine for most work, if trying to drill angles or into metal the drill can wander off line.

On the principle of 'buy good buy once', how about:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FORN72M/ref=wl_it_dp...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00766C1A8/ref=wl_it_dp...

or one from Axminster: http://www.axminster.co.uk/wood-working/drills-mor...



Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 30th August 11:50

Riff Raff

5,086 posts

194 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
Smiler. said:
I take on board the points about height from work surface to chuck so will have to live with what gives me the biggest distance for the money.


So having had a better look at what's available, I'm considering this
Bear in mind that if you bolt a vice to the table, you'll lose a bit of distance from the spindle to the table. I've got a two way vice mounted on mine, which is about 5 inches high. It comes into its own though for accurate positioning of work.

Simpo Two

85,148 posts

264 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
Smiler. said:
I take on board the points about height from work surface to chuck
Of possibly equal importance, depending on what you intend to do, is depth between drill and pillar. No point having the height if you can't get the work back far enough!

Jonnas

1,004 posts

162 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
Definitely buy something older and used, they really don't make them like they used to. I don't know where you are based but a trip to a local used machine tool dealer should find you a nice one plus you should be able to pick up all the drills and work holding you'll ever need. They are usually aladdins caves of good engineering stuff......

moustachebandit

1,264 posts

142 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
Smiler. said:
Thanks for the replies.

I'd love to have the budget for a "proper" machine, but from what I've seen, they are 10 times the sort of price I can afford & of limited supply.

The last time I used one was as an apprentice & like most things then, never appreciated what I using.


A floor standing drill also has two issues for me, one is space. The other is my working height. My benching is 1100mm affl so that I don't cripple myself. As such, I really need something bench mounted.

I take on board the points about height from work surface to chuck so will have to live with what gives me the biggest distance for the money.


So having had a better look at what's available, I'm considering this

It's a bit more that I'd hoped to spend but if it serves me well, a good investment.
A decent drill doesn't have to cost the earth, my Fobco Star only cost £60! There is more steel in my drills base plate that there is in the total construction of a new machine mart, screwfix, Clarke etc drill.

Just check ebay there is always a few up for sale - meddings, boxford, startrite, Fobco should turn up some good results. I reckon 150 would get you a great unit from the above makers, and it will be worth that years later.

I don't know how much clearance you need but the tables can swing out of the way for extra room and if your feeling inventive you can always swing the drill head a full 360 and drill off the side of the work bench, essentially giving you the clearance of a floor stander (solid workbench and bolting it in place are obviously required so it doesn't topple over and crush you!)

GnuBee

1,272 posts

214 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
moustachebandit said:
A decent drill doesn't have to cost the earth, my Fobco Star only cost £60! There is more steel in my drills base plate that there is in the total construction of a new machine mart, screwfix, Clarke etc drill.

Just check ebay there is always a few up for sale - meddings, boxford, startrite, Fobco should turn up some good results. I reckon 150 would get you a great unit from the above makers, and it will be worth that years later.

I don't know how much clearance you need but the tables can swing out of the way for extra room and if your feeling inventive you can always swing the drill head a full 360 and drill off the side of the work bench, essentially giving you the clearance of a floor stander (solid workbench and bolting it in place are obviously required so it doesn't topple over and crush you!)
Have to agree with this - it was my experience to. Search eBay and find old Fobco Star - although I paid a massive £80 for mine and it's a world of difference.

I'd stay well clear of anything on the Axminster site that has anything other than the Industrial use tag on it and even then I'd be looking at other options (this is from someone who shelled out £400 on one of their "bandsaw" that was so cr@p I sold it for 80 on the eBay and was actually happy to get that).

Wozy68

5,387 posts

169 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
moustachebandit said:
Don't bother buying anything new - It's going to be crap (cheap modern Axeminster included). Buy an old second hand Fobco, Meddings or Startrite. Genuinely built to last and great drills to boot!

Bought a FobcoStar moons back and still runs like a dream!
Startrite is a fave of mine, fab bit of kit for the money and easily last a lifetime. We've owned ours over 25 years, and that's in an industrial environment. Good as the day we bought it.

Agrispeed

988 posts

158 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
As many of these machining tools it is a good rule of thumb that an older tool is normally better quality, and can sometimes be picked up surprisingly cheap. Many precision companies still use lathes and drills that are over 100 years old, and are more accurate and reliable than a modern equivalent. smile

Crafty_

13,248 posts

199 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
There is an old startrite on the usual auction site for budget, a few other old ones as well. I think I'd be inclined to buy old good stuff rather than new low quality.

blueST

4,378 posts

215 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Most/all of these old drill would have been 3 phase. A few say they have been converted. What has actually been done to convert one? I don't think they fit a new motor.