Budget pillar drills

[Refugee]

Here is the thread for budget pillar drills.

This one is branded "WorkZone" and is occasionally stocked locally so keep an eye on your local discount store.
It has a nine speed pulley set as opposed to the three I have seen on many floor standing models and three was what I was expecting when I unpacked this sub £100 machine. The downfall of this is that there is an interlock on the belt cover as well as a belt tension adjustment that is needed and could do with being cycled a few times before it gets easy to adjust.
There is also an emergency stop that has to be rotated to achieve a reset so that there is no chance of resetting it before you have sorted out why it was pressed in the first place.
The build quality overall is not that far from much older models that I have seen in the past and is very good for under £100.
The spring that keeps the chuck up sounds a little bit squeaky but that is just a dab of grease away from spot on before use in anger.
In my humble mechanical workshop it will not be in use all day every day so it should remain ready for action for many years.
It was shipped set to the highest speed and was quickly tamed with a change of the belt ratio.
I have not fitted the swarf guard as these tend to get dirty and you can't see what you are doing after a few hours use.
It would be pretty difficult to to get one from the usual places without prohibitive shipping costs.
These are even worth it it you only want a motor for a small lathe.

[ppppenguin]

Since this is branded Workzone I presume it's from Aldi. They have some very good offers on tools from time to time but nothingof this type is stocked regularly.

[Craig]

I used an el-chapo pillar drill for quite a while, but then upgraded to a Fobco Star. Best of classic British manufacture and of course long defunct. Mine cost £150, but you have to be careful that the table is in good condition. They tended to be used in school workshops and generations of kids have drilled through something and into the table.

I love mine dearly - a real professional grade workhorse.

[AlanBeckett]

but then upgraded to a Fobco Star.

Made in Swad.
I favour Denbigh.

Alan

[Refugee]

You are right about it coming from Aldi but at other times there will be much the same in Lidl. They normally do not put the same stuff on at the same time apart from groceries.
Last time I went to Swad they were demolishing all the old pottery kilns way back in the 1970s.

[AlanBeckett]

Yes, I fear that's all gone

Alan

[Terry]

You are right about it coming from Aldi but at other times there will be much the same in Lidl. They normally do not put the same stuff on at the same time ...

No,but it is surprising the number of near misses I've noticed over the years, to the extent that I went into the wrong shop once and was surprised at how little of 'that' week's promotional items were left. It was only afterwards that I realised that they were left over from a similar promotion a week or two earlier!

[Refugee]

Aldi also do 500mm LED strip lights for about a week or so about once a year. These have a ghetto blaster mains lead input on one end and a female on the other and are supplied with long leads and short link cables. I bought a basket full of them last time they were in. During the previous promotion I tested one nuzzling it all around an AM radio and the ballast did not cause any problems with reception as the PCB is in an aluminum extrusion. 3 will replace a 4 foot old school strip light.