Pillar drills - what to buy?

[N2ae86]

Howdy chaps!

I have been mulling over getting a pillar drill for a while now and wondered if anyone had suggestions for what to buy, what to look out for?

Its got to be man enough to do most jobs but also not crazy expensive - would even consider second hand if its a decent purchase.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks

 

[rtbcomp]

IMHO you'd be better off with a decent second hand professional one than say a brand new Clarke type machine.

The main thing to check would be play in the shaft and that the motor is suitable for your mains supply.

 

[gavuk]

Whats your budget? and what do you intend to drill,what size holes etc ,older drills are often better quality than modern stuff,depends on your needs

 

[N2ae86]

Probably arund £80 tops - so dosnt give me many options. A decent second hand jobbie would be ideal, but other than Ebay I am uncertain on where I could look for one - other than getting lucky and finding one in the free ad's etc?

Use wise - its going to be fairly light, I want to have a go at fabricating more stuff myself and when needed put some neat holes in things. Using a hand drill isnt great.

 

[gavuk]

sometimes come up in trade-it ,i bought a sealey bench drill from there, as rtb said need to check the clearances on the shaft ,fully in and fully extended, the tables that are adjusted by lifting and clamping are a pain ,much better tables have a screw /handle adjustments,main pillar diameter and overall weight are a reasonable guide ,bigger and heavier the better.....motor size ,bigger the better.....have a look in b&q,homebase etc to see what not to buy,as you drill the tables flex down etc ,look at the handles ,they won't take much downforce......good luck

 

[N2ae86]

Thanks for the heads up - going to trawl Ebay for an old Meddings, Kerry, Fobco then and see what I can get for the money. Seems the old ones are built like brick outhouses! This is good!

 

[julianthegypsy]

I have an old Elliot, built like a tank, but my favourite was another make who's name escapes me currently, it had a planetary gearbox, you just pushed a lever right above the drill to change speed ranges, beautiful. Something star, I seem to remember, but all the old ones are better, they weren't built down to a price.

 

[ronan]

I have an old Elliot, built like a tank, but my favourite was another make who's name escapes me currently, it had a planetary gearbox, you just pushed a lever right above the drill to change speed ranges, beautiful. Something star, I seem to remember, but all the old ones are better, they weren't built down to a price.

I have to agree , i have an old progress drill i got from a friend and its streets ahead of most of the modern stuff , proper gearbox and thick cast iron casings , everything properly machined and heat treated, and they go for less then the modern junk too.

 

[s410man]

Something star

startrite?

 

[hotrodder]

Or Fobco star?

 

[graffian]

Looking at some Progress drills they look very similar to some of the Fobco drills. Nicest drill I have used[barr an Archdale radial] was a 12/8 Fobco. I was looking round a stealers last year and he had a row of the things, £1295 each!
Local papers seem a good place to get drills,. I have had several Denbeighs, I paid a fiver for a floor standing one from a ad in the paper;-) I have a startrite now, believe we gave £25 quid for it, local paper again.
I think any of the British drills will probably do the job for you. Bearings shouldn't be a problem, the ones I have replaced I found new bearings in my stash of std bearings. can't think of anything that has ever needed doing to any of the drills I have had, apart from replacing bearings in two of them.
Motors shouldn't be any problem, all of mine came with three phase motors, it's not hard to find single phase motors to fit, well I didn't have any problem.

 

[astro_al]

It is fairly common for the return springs to go, but they can be replaced pretty easily - another thing to check though.

Al

 

[paul_f]

How do you know if the bearings have gone, is it play or noise?

I have a Startrite drill (which was made in Gillingham!) which is nice, but it wasn't used for 20 odd years and seems very noisy. I have nothing to compare it to though

 

[gavuk]

How do you know if the bearings have gone, is it play or noise?

Can show itself as either ,if its gear driven either select a high speed gear or neutral posistion and spin and rock the spindle to check for slop and tightness of bearings,if belt driven remove belts and do the same ,worth doing with chuck at different extension of the spindle as well.Top up oil or pump grease into nipples as well,gear driven whilst better and stronger are often noisy through the drivetrain compared to belt driven......when buying a pillar drill ensure it has suitable speeds for its intended use ,eg holesaws and large drills require slow speeds ,most of the smaller drills won't go below 2-300 rpm,also spindles with morse taper can be extremely useful ,not being restricted to smaller drills or reduced shank drills due to size of chuck....

 

[julianthegypsy]

startrite?

That's the one, startrite mercury if I'm not mistaken. Beautiful drill, really slick range change, but not all of them had it. I sold mine because it was three phase and I only have one three phase socket which I wanted for Mr. Fronius. I wish I'd kept it and changed the motor.

 

[jordan1]

Here you go, take your pick:-

160589958660
330566034665
250820957542

Edit by RTB - Ebay item numbers

 

[graffian]

Bearings, just grab the spindle and give it a wiggle..
My Startrite sounds like a can of nut's n bolts compared to the Denbeigh it replaced, been like it since 1990 and not[noticeably] got any worse.

 

[pete23]

i got a cracking "mossers hogarth" or it could be "hogarth mossers" one of them any way.
heavy as ******y, have to take it to bits to move it, had a 3ph on when i got it, best pillar drill ive ever had.

never seen another one like it.

 

[s410man]

That's the one, startrite mercury if I'm not mistaken. Beautiful drill, really slick range change, but not all of them had it. I sold mine because it was three phase and I only have one three phase socket which I wanted for Mr. Fronius. I wish I'd kept it and changed the motor.

my boss has one with the bearings gone but before that it was a lovely drill to use

also has another one next to it

sunbeam or something

quitest drill i have ever heard or even not heard

lovely to use all day

 

[johnheritage]

IMHO you'd be better off with a decent second hand professional one than say a brand new Clarke type machine.

The main thing to check would be play in the shaft and that the motor is suitable for your mains supply.

Exactly what I'd suggest.

I bought one of those Clark style mini ones for £50 at one point for some incredibly light use - drilling holes in jar lids.

It worked for that, but it was just nasty. If you were trying to enjoy what you're doing and drill accurately, go for one second hand. Repaint the covers and give the table / pillar a clean if it's grubby.

The Clarke (it wasn't actually a Clarke I think, but the same castings are rebranded and sold under numerous names) mysteriously stopped working. It was only used for approximately a day or two, then put in storage. Got it out again recently and it wouldn't switch on.

I used to love Machine Mart when I was in my early teens. Now 26 (certainly older and hopefully wiser), I wouldn't buy a single item with the name Clarke on it. I get it all the better stuff second hand and give it a clean.

While I was working welding gates and railings for a summer job in my teens, the guy's son worked at another commercial fabrication place. They gave him, for free, an utter monster of a drill. It was about 8-9ft tall and was well over a ton of cast iron. It looked more like a Bridgeport, on steroids and whey shakes. They gave it away because they wanted to empty some of the extra premises and couldn't be bothered with sorting all the delivery stuff.