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Best pillar drill UK: wood, value or a floor height

Updated: 2026-10-21

You opened amazon.co.uk for the best pillar drill and the first screen has already mixed a £55 craft stand with the Bosch PBD 40 at about £279.94 and a floor drill at about £703.90. Those are not the same job. In this set you pick by the work: mostly wood, light metal that needs a slow belt, or a column taller than a bench head. The [Bernardo pillar drill comparison](/hub/workshop/bernardo-pillar-drill) holds the full table. This page names a short list from that table only. It is not a UK-wide ranking and it is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You opened amazon.co.uk for the best pillar drill and the first screen has already mixed a £55 craft stand with the Bosch PBD 40 at about £279.94 and a floor drill at about £703.90. Those are not the same job.

Our top picks

Bosch Bosch PBD 40 bench drill

Best overall

Bosch Bosch PBD 40 bench drill
9.2/10about £279.94
View offer
Einhell Einhell TC-BD 450 bench drill

Best value

Einhell Einhell TC-BD 450 bench drill
8.6/10about £123.93
View offer
SIP SIP Pro F16 floor pillar drill

Alternative

SIP SIP Pro F16 floor pillar drill
7.4/10about £385.55
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Best for a small workshop that is mostly wood
  2. 2.Best value when £280 is too much
  3. 3.When a floor drill is the better buy
  4. 4.What not to call the best

Best for a small workshop that is mostly wood

For mixed DIY wood, the Bosch PBD 40 is the top pick in this folder. It is 710 W, with two gearbox speeds and electronic control up to 2,500 rpm, a digital depth reading, a 13 mm keyless chuck, a quick clamp and a parallel guide. The line is 4.5 from 869 reviews. The table lists 40 mm in wood and 13 mm in metal, at 11.2 kg. Use that watt figure, not a higher number from another write-up. Ignore the 650 Nm cell. A mechanical depth stop is not named, the table does not tilt, and a BS 1363 plug is not named on the 220 V listing. Owners who like it for wood doubt it for serious metal, and they mention chuck release and run-out.

Best value when £280 is too much

Best value is the Einhell TC-BD 450 at about £123.93, for light wood, if you ignore a bad cell. It is 450 W, five speeds up to 2,650 rpm, with a depth stop and a table that tilts to 45 degrees and rotates to 90 degrees. The line is 4.3 from 389 reviews, at about 13 kg. Owners praise the price and report vibration, a broken belt-cover catch and missing screws. The table says 50 mm for the chuck. The bullets call 50 mm the drilling depth. Refuse the chuck reading. If the slow step matters more than reviews, the KATSU 100221 at about £149.99 states 12 speeds from 250 rpm and has no review block. The Draper 38255, 3.8 from 48 reviews, has a chuck that comes off. The KATSU 161212 adds an emergency stop and a bent-column report.
Bosch Bosch PBD 40 bench drill

Testsieger

Bosch Bosch PBD 40 bench drill
9.2/10about £279.94
View offer

When a floor drill is the better buy

A floor drill is the better buy when the work is taller than a bench column. The SIP Pro F16 is about £385.55, 550 W, 16 speeds from 220 rpm, 80 mm of travel and 160 cm, with an NVR switch and a chuck guard, at 42.6 kg and no reviews. The Draper 95092 is about £703.90, 1,650 mm and 78.2 kg, with a BS-approved plug and no reviews. A 19 mm capacity cell fights a 3–16 mm chuck bullet. Skip both unless that height is the actual limit. The SIP bench listing is 750 W. One 5.0 review does not outrank 869, and the taller column is not the stronger motor.

What not to call the best

Do not call either mini the best pillar drill. The LengSuaa is 2.8 kg, 3.1 from four reviews, and one owner says it is not really seven speeds. The Buyfun is 100 W and a 6 mm chuck. A UK review says the lead has no fuse and the earth pin is not solid brass. Craft bits under 1 mm are the only honest use, after a proper fused lead. Do not call a Bernardo the top pick either. The TB 16 T and TB 20 T are on the euro shop, not these ASINs. Axminster’s AW315PD, from £289.98, is not a row here. One 5.0 on the SIP B20 is not a market win.

Common questions

What is the best pillar drill for a home workshop?
In this amazon.co.uk set, for mostly wood, it is the Bosch PBD 40. The sample is 4.5 from 869 reviews, with digital depth and a two-speed gearbox. It is 11.2 kg and the table does not tilt. It is not a claim about every UK shop, and it is not a lab test.
Is the Bosch PBD 40 the one to buy?
Buy it when the work is wood and light DIY and you want the largest review sample. Do not buy it because of the 650 Nm cell, which is not credible for 710 W. Owners who want serious metal often look for a heavier column. The listing says 220 V and does not name a BS 1363 plug.
Is a cheaper belt drill good enough?
For light wood, the Einhell at about £123.93 has 389 reviews and a tilting table, if you refuse the 50 mm chuck cell. For a slow belt step, the 12-speed KATSU from 250 rpm is the listing that states it, with no reviews. The Draper 38255 is cheaper again and has chuck complaints that repeat.
Which one is best value?
The Einhell TC-BD 450, on price and review volume, for light work. The condition is that you treat 50 mm as the depth bullet, not as a measured chuck, and you accept five speeds that are fast for larger steel bits. The 12-speed KATSU is the value argument only when that slow step is the whole point.
Is a floor drill the best if I have the space?
Only if the workpiece needs the height. Space on its own is not a reason to spend about £386 to £704 on an unreviewed column. The SIP floor listing is 550 W. The SIP bench listing is 750 W. Taller is not automatically stronger.
Why is Bernardo not the top pick here?
Because Bernardo’s own machines are not in this amazon.co.uk set. Naming one as the winner would be a different shop and a euro price. The TB 16 T stays on the manufacturer’s euro shop. The picks on this page are listings you can open on amazon.co.uk.

Related pages

Pillar drill buying guide

Pillar drill for metal

Bench drill or floor pillar drill

Bernardo pillar drill

How to use a pillar drill: bolt, clamp, then drill

Sources

Public UK and manufacturer sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026.

  1. HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. HSE: Work equipment and machinery introduction (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. HSE: UK law on the design and supply of machinery (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. BSI: BS EN 12717:2001+A1:2009, safety of drilling machines (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Bernardo: bench drilling machine TB 16 T, 230 V (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. ManoMano UK: pillar drill buying guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. DIY Doctor: using a pillar drill (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Metaldrilling.co.uk: drilling mild steel (retrieved 21 October 2026)