New Pedestal Drills and Drilling Machines for sale

Find the ideal new pedestal drill or new drill press for your drilling requirements in our list below. Varying capacities and motor wattages are available.


New! From 25mm to 40mm

• 6  month guarantee
• Geared head
• Manual feeds
• Rise and fall table
  
• Drilling depth setting
• 8 speed motor (selected models)
  

What is a pedestal drill or drill press?
A drill press (also known as pedestal drill, pillar drill, or bench drill) is a fixed style of drill that may be mounted on a stand or bolted to the floor or workbench. A drill press consists of a base, column (or pillar), table, spindle (or quill), and drill head, usually driven by an induction motor. The head has a set of handles (usually 3) radiating from a central hub that, when turned, move the spindle and chuck vertically, parallel to the axis of the column. The table can be adjusted vertically and is generally moved by a rack and pinion; however, some older models rely on the operator to lift and reclamp the table in position. The table may also be offset from the spindle's axis and in some cases rotated to a position perpendicular to the column.

The size of a drill press is typically measured in terms of swing. Swing is defined as twice the throat distance, which is the distance from the center of the spindle to the closest edge of the pillar. For example, a 16-inch (410 mm) drill press will have an 8-inch (200 mm) throat distance.

A drill press has a number of advantages over a hand-held drill:

• Less effort is required to apply the drill to the workpiece. The movement of the chuck and spindle is by a lever working on a rack and pinion, which gives the operator considerable mechanical advantage
• The table allows a vise or clamp to be used to position and restrain the work, making the operation much more secure
• The angle of the spindle is fixed relative to the table, allowing holes to be drilled accurately and consistently
• Drill presses are almost always equipped with more powerful motors compared to hand-held drills. This enables larger drill bits to be used and also speeds up drilling with smaller bits.

Speed change is achieved by manually moving a belt across a stepped pulley arrangement. Some drill presses add a third stepped pulley to increase the speed range. Modern drill presses can, however, use a variable-speed motor in conjunction with the stepped-pulley system. Some machine shop (tool room) drill presses are equipped with a continuously variable transmission, giving a wide speed range, as well as the ability to change speed while the machine is running.

Drill presses are often used for miscellaneous workshop tasks such as sanding, honing or polishing, by mounting sanding drums, honing wheels and various other rotating accessories in the chuck. This can be unsafe in some cases, as the chuck arbor, which may be retained in the spindle solely by the friction of a taper fit, may dislodge during operation.