I always wanted a proper bench drill in my workshop but to be honest I don’t really need it that often but when I do it is one of those tools that just make life so much easier. When exploring the market for something of a decent quality I always ended up having to pay too much and still not be satisfied with the engineering. I was therefore checking out the second hand market on the classifieds sites when I stumbled upon the Bosch PBD 40 at a local hardware shop…
Promo video
Unique features
The Bosch PBD 40 710W bench drill comes with a ton of unique features as shown in the promo video above. The clamp and fence system is super easy to use, the LCD with RPM and depth of cut is miles better than anything I’ve seen before.
The cross-hair laser also works well. I use it all the time but if something has to be super accurate I always find myself predrilling to make sure that all is perfect.
My experience
I have now had the Bosch PBD 40 for around two years and as an amateur woodworker and DIY hobbyist I have to say that it has worked brilliantly for all I have used it for.
The motor seems very capable and used with a 35mm Festool forstner style drill bit it it was like a knife through butter with no hint of labouring under the load. The adjustable speed control is also one of the main benefits of this machine – no mucking about with belts – just turn the dial and you’re done.
The combination of the clamp and fence combined with the LED light and the cross-hair laser makes everything very swift and efficient. The LCD display with the depth of cut shown also supports this experience and the Bosch is just overall well thought through.
So far so good… Now what about design faults? I have read reviews where some complain about accuracy and as you can read below from the list of cons I could list a few minor things that could have been made my experience of the Bosch PBD 40 bench drill better. But considering the cost and all what it does well it is negligible.
Pros and cons
Pros include:
- Clamping system works great and also works well with pipes an round objects
- Clear, backlit LCD display showing RPM and depth of cut, with measurement shown to the nearest tenth of a millimeter
- Strong motor that will drill steel or wood with large forstner bits
- LED light and cross-hair lasers
- 21st century technology at an attractive price
Cons include:
- Drill waste is cumbersome to remove
- Larger drill benches have fences and stops making them better for repeat work
- I still prefer the classic drill bench pull handle over the dial wheel that the Bosch PBD 40 is equipped with
Conclusion
For the hobbyist with a small workshop I would consider the Bosch PBD 40 drill bench the perfect choice. Sure there are classic bench drills that can be bought second hand that would be great alternatives but the Bosch still has some tricks up its sleeve with the bulk of innovative features it packs.
So there it is I’m giving this a solid 4 stars because I think it’s the near perfect piece of kit for the person it is clearly designed for – the DIY woodworker and I would have no hesitation in recommending the Bosch PBD 40 710W bench drill.
Good review. Perhaps you can answer a question though – I can’t find an answer anywhere else.
How do you drill at an angle with this drill press?
Every other pillar drill I’ve seen has a table that can tilt, usually up to 45 degrees. This one seems fixed though, so is there a built-in way to do this or do you need to resort to an external angle-vice?
Thanks
Hi Ian,
unfortunately the Bosch drill press has no tilting mechanism so you have to use an angle vice or some other type of setup depending of the use case.
Best regards
It seems the general consensus is that you cannot drill at an angle out of the box. You would need an external jig to hold your piece at an angle.
Hi there, I was wondering if you may be able to help me? I can’t find any information anywhere online in relation to the throat depth of this machine, I need to drill some holes that are 140mm away from the edge of the workpiece at the narrowest point (guitar body) would anyone who has one be able to have a quick measure from the centre of the chuck to the forward most edge of the pillar please? Many thanks, and great review, I will most definitely be buying one if the throat depth I require can be achieved
Hi.
Yes, the main fault I have found with the Bosch bench drill is accuracy. This drill is suppose to be an absolutely precision tool. However, the drill motor wobbles on the drill column when not in use. You can test this turning the drill motor off and then by using your hand to move the drill motor left and right. You will soon see that even a small amount of wobble can affect deep holes in metal and you will not get pinpoint accuracy. Bosch product development team must redesign this bench drill column so that there absolutely no wobble. Also, the bench drill has no tilting mechanism 45degrees left+right and front+back. This is extremely useful when you need to ensure that a thick metal workpiece is square to the drill bit before drilling a perfectly straight hole. The workplace is not square to the drill bit.
Thanks.