Bosch PBD 40 Bench drill

[Baddabing]

I know the safety officer police will come after me but that safety shield was the first thing I removed as the first few times I used the drill it really annoyed me. I am of the belief that too much safety guarding can make many operations more difficult and as a result more dangerous. I am safety conscious to the point of being obsessive, but not all guarding adds to the safety of a process. It is only me using it in a home shop and if I ever decide to give the drill press away I still have the shield. All the best. All the best.

me too... I hated that shield, it was so annoying

[Chris Parks]

I don't know about other users but every time I look at one of these drills the quill has noticeable movement in it so my money stays in my pocket.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi Chris,
Do you mean runout so that holes are oval?
I haven’t had that problem.
David

[Chris Parks]

Every one of these drills I have looked at I can hold the chuck in my hand and then get detectable movement when I push it side to side and I can feel the movement without the use a dial indicator so it is substantial to be detectable in that manner. I guess I have tried four or five different drills since they were released so I posted that as a buyer beware and not as a don't buy. I can't condemn every drill but I would want to open the box and try before leaving the store.

[FenceFurniture]

That may be the case for twist bits which have what you could probably call a "vague" centrepoint that can wander off, even in timber. For a Forstner bit or a Brad Point I would expect that once the point is embedded in the timber then it will stay on track.

Evidence of the latter can be found in my Wabeco rig (see post #10) which takes a normal power drill with a 43mm collar. Before a recent adjustment (thanks Tony) it had the equivalent of quill movement which was anything up to 2-3mm, but the holes were always circular (it was just a matter of whether they hit the right mark by 2-3mm )

[P.W.H.]

Every one of these drills I have looked at I can hold the chuck in my hand and then get detectable movement when I push it side to side and I can feel the movement without the use a dial indicator so it is substantial to be detectable in that manner. I guess I have tried four or five different drills since they were released so I posted that as a buyer beware and not as a don't buy. I can't condemn every drill but I would want to open the box and try before leaving the store.

Mine is the exception to your experiences then: the spindle bearings are tight and there is no perceptible slack or {side to side} movement.
It's bang on, very steady looking at the tip of my forstner bits, and I've bored a lot of hingecups and knockdown fitting holes with it.
Having said that, I think your advice to open the box and check is probably 'bang on' under the circumstances.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Well, as I have said before, I am a pretty light-weight user of my drill press. However, its precision can't be faulted in my use. My precision can be faulted (far too often) but the drill does the right thing. Having said that, I checked mine today for side to side movement and, stationary, it is there indeed. Spinning and drilling I get no runout that I can measure.

I think that we have to remember that this is a relatively inexpensive little bench drill for amateur use. As such, it fits my needs because I am just an amateur, retiree woodworker. The accuracy of the laser cross hairs and operational repeatability are a big step up from the pedestal drill I used to own, and the digital, fully adjustable speed control leaves the belt change system for dead. But even the most cursory glance at this Bosch Green machine shows it's not a professional, heavy duty drill.

[Chris Parks]

Well, as I have said before, I am a pretty light-weight user of my drill press. However, its precision can't be faulted in my use. My precision can be faulted (far too often) but the drill does the right thing. Having said that, I checked mine today for side to side movement and, stationary, it is there indeed. Spinning and drilling I get no runout that I can measure.

I think that we have to remember that this is a relatively inexpensive little bench drill for amateur use. As such, it fits my needs because I am just an amateur, retiree woodworker. The accuracy of the laser cross hairs and operational repeatability are a big step up from the pedestal drill I used to own, and the digital, fully adjustable speed control leaves the belt change system for dead. But even the most cursory glance at this Bosch Green machine shows it's not a professional, heavy duty drill.

All good points and if it does the job don't fix what ain't broke. I think the concept is a great one let down by the quill movement which is a shame.

[GRK]

I've had one of these for four years now, and it takes a fair beating. I read the bit about side play in the quill, so went out and checked my machine. No sign of any play whatsoever, either by feel or sound - when I have some time I might check it out with a dial gauge to make sure. In use, always works without any issues.

What I like is the depth indicator (enables accurate hole depth) and the depth stop (effectively, with the stop unlocked, it moves down as you move the head down, when you get to the right depth, just lock it, no fiddling around with screws/nuts). Unit has plenty of torque - I use holesaws up to 120mm without missing a beat. Easy to control with variable speed control and high/low range gearing.

Would find it hard to go back to the old pedestal drill.

[Gwhat]

Hi All

FWIW I've had one of these for a year or so, absolutely love it. My only beef was the size of the table, great for metalworkers but limited as far as larger cabinet work goes. Seeing we sell our ProDrill Press Table which was originally intended for conventional drill presses, I decided to tweak the design so it could be easily mounted on the Bosch. The 600mm wide table and 915mm fence make it far more suitable for panel work.


These will be available early July.


Apologies if I've hijacked this thread, but needed somewhere to pass on the news


Regards


Grahame

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Interesting. I have mine set on a wide bench so have had no issues. I will be interested to see a photo of it fitted to the Bosch though ... may be useful in the future. I haven't been making cabinets since the 'children' became adults and moved away - nowhere for cabinets to go. But if we end up living near them I'm sure the requests will start again.

David

[Gwhat]

Hi


The modified Drill Press Tables are ready to ship, they now work with both the Bosch PBD 40 and most conventional drill presses.

Attachment 458435 Attachment 458436 Attachment 458452 Attachment 458453

[They can be seen HERE

Regards

Grahame

[Old_Tom]

I have had the Bosch PBD40 for about 2 years and love it. I am a occasional user in both wood and metal. I do have a bit of side movement (slight right kick) at one point when lowering the bit, but I got used to it now. I like the idea of not changing belt positions to vary speed, also it can be done on the run. I have got used to the chuck, but as others mentioned I had bits fall out of the chuck and drop on the tips when I was changing them.

Also like the inbuilt light and the laser centering indication.

When I want to use a long bit to drill holes in the end of a post or round wood I unbolt it from the bench, move it to the new position at the front edge of the bench. I undo the post locking screw for the base and turn the base 180 degrees, do up the post screw and re-bolt the base to my bench. Then I use some clamps to hold the timber. Little bit of fiddling, but works well. Also I don't do this often.

As I said it is a good drill for the price as long as you realise it is a DIYselfers drill.
Cheers, TomAttachment 458443

[Xanthorrhoeas]

That's a lovely neat workshop Tom. I wouldn't dare to show my bench!

I like the idea of rotating the unit to get more room for long bits. If it was a frequent need one could also have a secondary bench attached to the front of the main bench - it could simply be a hardwood beam on adjustable pegs or similar.

David

[Old_Tom]

Trust me David, that bench is not always so clean. Cleaned it up a bit for the photo. I was considering some form of height adjustable bench (go below the bench top) in the front that folds down when not in use.