Pillar Drill or Pillar Drill/Lathe

[Life Saab Itch]

I'm looking at Pillar Drills.

I'm going to get a reasonable sized one, but I keep looking at the Pillar drill heads that are mounted on a small lathe.

Are these a decent Jack of all trades or are they a bit st at both jobs?

For another £100 I could get one of these which would mean that I wouldn't need to get a hobby Lathe later.


Worth it? Or am I just better off getting a Pillar Drill and at some point in the future getting a seperate Lathe?


Any experiences with these?

[Life Saab Itch]

Big Al. said:

You could just mount a small pillar drill on the end of your lathe bed if it's long enough that's what i've done, but I'm limited for space.
Is there a specific reason why you want it mounted on a lathe? are you going to be drilling lots of radial holes around turned parts?

If you're not then I'd just buy a bench or floor standing drill.

It's purely because they are available that got me thinking about them.

Yes, I would possibly do radial drilling, but the drill would get used on it's own more often than not.


It's really down to whether they're a bit crap at both jobs or whether they do both well.

If they're crap, I shan't get one. If they're good, it's another consideration.