Best Pillar Drill 2026: 9 Ranked, and the Numbers That Don't Add Up

This is the pillar drill to start with because the two numbers that matter agree: a 13mm chuck and 13mm drilling capacity in metal. That is not a given in this list. At 710W through a two-speed gearbox it tops out at 2,500rpm, and the digital system reads speed and depth as you work — the sort of thing that stops you scrapping a hole in oak. However, the same sheet credits that 710W motor with 650 Nm of torque. At 2,500rpm that works out at roughly 170kW, so treat the torque figure as a typo rather than a selling point.

In practice the quick clamp and parallel guide are what you are paying the extra for. The clamp grips round stock, which is where most bench drilling goes wrong, and the keyless chuck retightens itself on the bit. The 40mm wood capacity covers hinge and dowel work; for steel, 13mm is the honest limit and it is the number the chuck matches.

That said, £279 is roughly double the Scheppach and more than twice the Silverline, and it arrives in carton packaging with no stand and no vise. If your work is occasional shelf brackets, this is more machine than the job needs.

This is the most capable pillar drill press in the list on paper: 750W, stepless 450–2,500rpm, a 16mm quick-action chuck and a separate MK2 socket for morse taper bits. Crucially, the 16mm metal capacity matches the 16mm chuck, which is the check that separates an honest listing from a padded one.

The table does the practical work: it adjusts for height, tilts and swivels, and has width extension elements for long stock, with an LED lighting the cut. The depth stop is easy to set and the LCD shows the speed you have dialled in. Twelve Amps at 230V would be 2,760W, however — nearly four times the 750W the motor is rated at. The listed 60 Nm of torque would need about 15.7kW at 2,500rpm.

Even so, at £339 it costs more than the Bosch, and the speed control is electronic rather than a mechanical two-speed gearbox. If you need repeatable high-torque work in steel beyond 16mm, neither this nor anything else here will do it.

Third on kit per pound, not on raw power. For £159 you get a 13mm keyless chuck, a cross-line laser, an LED and a digital readout of speed and depth — features the two machines above charge far more for. Its own bullets claim holes up to 40mm in wood and 13mm in steel. Meanwhile the spec field on the same page gives 13mm in wood and 13mm in metal, a three-fold gap between two lines of one listing.

In practice the two-speed gearbox spreads 170–880rpm and 490–2,600rpm, which is a genuinely useful range for a variable speed pillar drill, and the 100mm stroke with 280mm chuck-to-base clearance takes long bits and taller work. The 350 x 300mm base and 9.4kg build keep it steady on a bench, and the supplied quick-release clamp holds flat and round stock.

The catch is the 16 Amps on the sheet, which at 230V would be 3,680W from a 710W motor, and a 4.1-star average from 414 ratings that is the lowest here, with 15% of the breakdown at two stars or below. If you need a machine for daily steel work, this is hobby-grade.

The cheapest machine here that still has a cast base and a 13mm chuck, and nothing on its sheet contradicts anything else. 350W, 2,650rpm, five belt-drive speeds, 13mm in wood and 13mm in metal. As a pillar drill for a home workshop, that is the whole spec you need.

Belt drive means you move the belt to change speed rather than turning a dial, which is slower but has fewer parts to fail. The fixed head and adjustable cast table are the reason a bench drill press beats a hand drill for accuracy: the bit cannot wander because the head cannot move. It takes a 13mm bit, so the practical ceiling in steel is modest.

Worth noting the compatible-devices field on the same page calls it a floor drill, against a title that says bench. The trade-off is convenience: five fixed speeds, no digital readout, no laser, no work light, and a keyed rather than keyless chuck, so the chuck key lives within reach. It also lists one year of EU spare part availability, against seven for the Scheppach.

On the headline numbers this looks like the bargain of the group: 450W, 2,650rpm, a 50mm chuck and 50mm capacity in both wood and metal for £123.75. No drill in this list comes close. The same page then says the motor draws "450 Amps", where a 450W motor on 230V draws about 2A, and a bullet describes 50mm as the maximum drilling depth. Three different meanings for one number.

What is actually there is reasonable: a three-arm rubberised handle for controlled feed, a ball-bearing spindle, a drilling table that adjusts infinitely in height, rotates 90° and tilts 45°, and a depth stop. In theory a 50mm chuck is enormous — on a 13.6kg bench drill with a 42 x 21.8cm footprint, that is not a thing you see.

That said, the second bullet on the listing describes a brushless motor powering through overgrown lawns, text lifted from a completely different product. Which means the written spec here deserves less trust than the photographs. If you want a pillar drill with a straight, checkable spec sheet, the Silverline costs £8 less.

At £74.99 this is the cheapest 13mm pillar drill here, and the only one whose Amps figure nearly holds up: 1 Amp at 230V is about 230W against a 350W rating, close enough for a belt-drive machine. Chuck size and metal capacity both read 13mm, which is the pair to check.

You get a cast iron table with slots for clamping, a telescopic chuck guard and an aluminium motor housing, with five belt-drive speeds up to 2,600rpm. In practice the slotted table is the useful part — it lets you bolt down a vise or clamp, which is how you get repeatable holes rather than one lucky one.

However, the same bullet list calls it a 250mm drill and gives the swing as 290mm, while the dimensions field reads 16 x 16 x 58cm. The 18kg shipping weight is heavier than the 13.6kg Einhell that claims twice the capacity, which tells you which frame is built up. If you need a name brand with a spares network, this is not it.

Spec-wise this is the Silverline's twin: 350W, 2,620rpm, five speeds, a 13mm chuck, 13mm in wood and 13mm in metal, at £119.85. Nothing contradicts anything else in the sheet. By contrast, its listing runs to a single bullet reading "Portable" and nothing more, which is thin for a £120 machine.

A drill press for wood and metal at this price is a fixed-head, belt-drive machine: you set the belt to the speed you want, clamp the work to the table, and feed with the handle. The included drilling depth gauge is the practical extra — it is what turns a drilled hole into a repeatable one.

Where it falls down is evidence. There are 75 ratings, with 12% of the breakdown at two stars or below, against 756 ratings for the Silverline at the same money. At the same time, a 4.1 average from 75 buyers is a small sample. Either way, if you want a large review base before you spend, this is not the one.

This is a different class of machine, and the listing is mostly straight about it: 100W, a 6mm chuck, 6.35mm in wood and 3.18mm in metal. Compare that with the 13mm metal capacity the £75 and £116 machines claim. The 0.55 Amps at 220V works out near 121W, which is the closest a listing here comes to its own wattage figure.

Speed is set by moving the belt between three pulley positions — 0–8,500rpm, 0–6,500rpm or 0–5,000rpm — and a handle lock holds the head down for repeated holes. In practice it drills small holes straight in plastic, thin sheet and softwood, which a hand drill will not do reliably.

The catch is torque: 45 inch-pounds is about 5Nm, and at 8,500rpm that would need roughly 4.5kW from a 100W motor. Even so, at £64.99 with 539 ratings at 4.3 stars, it is the cheapest honest way to try a bench drill press before spending three figures. Do not buy it for anything above 6mm.