Reasons to like this drill press. 1) Automatic RPM control, so when drilling becomes harder, the drill will increase torque to maintain selected RPM. 2) The easy drill bit swapping. That is really great design and makes so easy to make first small hole for guidance and swap to larger etc. 3) The digital depth measurement, allows exactly that 0.1 mm accuracy. And if really repeating holes, use a physical stop. 4) The table and V-groove does exactly amazingly well for when drilling to pipe or something round. No difficult positioning etc. Just mark the starting position, place there and drill. 5) The power knob. Amazing "Off-On-Rotate" feature where you just turn knob to start bit rotation and stop it. And if emergency happens (hopefully never for anyone) then hit the red button and drill stops there. 6) The wheel handle works fine, it is just trouble when need need to drill something at end of the length, so better either lower the drill, raise the piece or install brodie knob on the wheel for easier full rotation.

Great review. I’ve had one of the for almost 3 years and it hasn’t missed a beat. I chose it for exactly the reasons you cite: it’s compact and you can change speed as you drill. It’s definitely a woodworker’s machine rather than for metal work, although I’ve used mine for aluminium and copper with no issues. Re the wheel-type lever, it felt weird to me to begin with so I looked into adding one of those knobs that disabled drivers and taxi drivers often have on steering wheels, but in the end I just got used to it and the wheel’s been fine.

Detailed and honest review, Paul. Thanks.

Thanks Paul, I'm seriously considering buying one of these in the UK and this has given me lots of useful points to consider

one of the best thought out reviews out there thanks

always love your reviews Paul

Very thorough review. Gave me a lot of confidence in the product.

Best review of the Bosch PBD 40!! Actually showed a lady how to change the drillbit. Thanks!!!

Thanks for the review.

I have just bought one of these but unfortunately is does not drill upright. The Left and Right axis is fine, but the Front to Back axis about 1 degree out. Does anyone know if there is a way to adjust it? Thanks

I've had mine for a few years and I'm super happy with it, value for money wise.

The variable speed and digital depth readout would be very handy. I tend to use my drill press often, just the habit I've gotten in.

Hi, really nice review of the machine, i use the same one since 2 years and have the same thoughts about the machinge. The clamp is good for wood but not for small things. In this case I have a little clamp that fits into the rails on the base. The plastic protection is not there in germany, so one problem less ;). I often struggle with the deep stop, because the bold tends to jam. Over all I am really happy with the machine and i really like the laser cross (in my case its exactly fitting). Greetings from my german channel, Arne

Thanks for great and honest review!

Great vid as for the wheel I agree. I attached a steering wheel gizmo that's that clamps on and is shaped like the end of a gear knob.

Cool review thanks buddy.

I do have this drill press for almost 2 years and it is great for a hobbyist like me. I’ve added a wheel knob to the wheel, it’s easier to grab it. I would like to build a base but never took the time to design it. Good review anyway.

great work for the review, wow for bosch

Your explanation was very helpful....Thank you.

Interesting unit, might have to give it a look sometime!

I bought this drill press but don’t like the hand wheel so I added a steer wheel knob to it making it a lot easier to handle.

Great stuff. I should really stop looking ahead so far as the Drill Press is many projects down the list but as I am eyeing off this style I had to come check it out. Definitely a contender!

Very useful review, thanks a lot.

Thanks for the review. Thinking about getting this drill press.

Drilling through steel requires much lower rpm, besides some oil to help lubricate things and transfer heat between the bit and the part Fortunately, as you said, this goes down to 200 rpm, that might be enough. As for the speed clamp not grabbing thin stock and the issue with the aluminium bursting on the exit side, a simple slab of wood placed under the material *should* fix those issues, at least partially. Thinking to buy this instead of a cheaper, much larger, classical drill press, mostly because of the precision and long life I'm used to expect from a Bosch tool. This might be ideal for my small shop, especially since I'd be mostly using it for wood. Think it has a lot of potential to help speed up my joinery. Edit: not thinking anymore, I bought the tool right after work and tested it now, I'm quite impressed and very glad I got it!

Yes, the clamp has its limits. The motor is very nice . The chuck has a very shallow grip so that sometimes bits wobble and this can be frustrating. I would have preferred a traditional clutch. Given that the motor moves, its a pity that the stem and the guide teeth are not longer. One mod that one can do is to laterally rotate the stem and motor 180 degrees, mount the base plate onto the edge of a table, so that the motor hangs over the edge of the table and then build a 90 degree vertical drop with a moving tray support. If done accurately, one ends up with a jig where the drill can be moved laterally, large pieces can be drilled with longer bits and where angled holes can be drilled.

You can adjust the laser - bit of a faff but there are grub screws inside the outer shell you can use.

Just bought one of these after seeing your review. Very happy - it's a pleasure to use!

A dial indicator is a great thing to have around the wood shop. It’s great for setting the table saw and other tools. It can be argued that woodworking with power tools is essentially matching wood.

Just found this Paul. Great video and review. I was looking at these and didn't' know much about them. I might have to head out to banning for a 2nd look.

I've been eyeing up one of these for awhile. I was abit unsure after some of the other reviews. But after watching this I bought one. There is a little chuck wobble but I'm not sure it actually affects real life applications I'm using it for. The handle doesn't seem to be too much of problem. If material is clamped you can use two hands. Otherwise, if the piece is not too thick I find it best to lower the drill as low as possible so you don't need more than half a turn with one hand. We don't have the little plastic gaurd in the UK :) I drilled some Bosch Rexroth aluminum profile and it performed adequatley for making access holes. Bosch - Let the man keep the drill press !

Really like this!

I was tossing up between this drill and the Full Boar bench-top (also with electronic speed control) from Bunnings. This has totally made up my mind that I'll go for the Bosch. Thanks so much for this review!

Great to see an Australian review mate! Yeah looking at the other comments regarding price I think it is way to expensive. Having said that, Bosch produce quality tools so perhaps there is something to be said for it. I find the accurate speed setting to be important. I would intend to use it on steel as well as other materials and drill speed is very important on tough materials. You would probably use cutting oil normally for steel! It reduces the load on the motor to quite a large extent.

Thank you, now I’ve actually purchased this, I’m watching again. Do you think it needs to be bolted down

Is the table reliably vertical to the drill by construction, or is there a way to adjust its angle?

I'm considering getting one of these as well, to replace the cast iron monster similar to your old one. I'm fed up of shuffling the belt around and the wobbly spindle and everything.. One thing that struck me as odd is that the laser seemed to be quite a few millimeters off in your demonstration.. is that something to be expected? i.e. should i rather ignore that it has a laser, or can that be adjusted?

Just mentioning: in steal, a drill is used to "roughen" a hole, not to finish it if tolerance is important. For bigger holes (> 15 mm )u need a miling machine.

C'mon Bosch. Let the man keep the drill press ffs.

Is it any upgrades version with more power or another alternative brand suitable for metal works?

Can drill depth of 2.6 mm be set accurately, repetitive and without center offset of spindle

I had no idea Wolverine reviewed tools in his off-time.

I bought the Bosch and the laser were off by 0.5mm. Lowering the machine to a lower setting makes it get stuck sometimes. Not by using the wheel but when unsettling the toggle in the back. Not a huge issue. The what’s the word suffers from the same thing. It grips to the cylinder as well and it can be annoying and hard to set it without moving whatever you try to clamp. Other than that it’s fantastic!

Hi, Quick question, is the wheel and up and down motion smooth and controlled when operating it, or can you feel the teeth and jerkiness of movement because of that? Another one I have, when you let go the wheel will the machine go up on her own or does is stay in position, height wise, where you left it? Just received mine and it is certainly used not new one :(, with hard operating wheel, where the teeth can be felt and it does not come back up (the limiter is not engaged). Also the depth measurement is broken :(

Another reviewer just showed 2 easy screws to remove that guard. look under there. Nice review. I want one!

i bought one. Does everything required.

I can’t seem to find these types of drill presses in the US. I wonder why??!!

Hi, can this Bosch drill have its body swing 180 degrees around the main post to the back so that base plate is out of the way, to drill some thick or long stock, end grain, or dog holes on a bench? Thank you !

This drill has a play of a few tenths of a millimetre on the chuck shaft. Impossible to adjust as this is due to the low quality ball bearings used in the motor drive. When you add the length of the drill bit, you quickly reach 0.5 millimetres of play at the end of the stroke. This makes it difficult to centre the drill hole correctly and makes the hole wider. So maybe I was unlucky with my drill? I don't know if all have this problem? There are several posts reporting the same problem. But at 250 euros I consider I'm paying the price to avoid quality issues!

Great video on how to use the PDB40. I just bought one and found that the digital depth gauge doesn't work. Is there a quick (or otherwise) fix to this that you know of? There's no realistic option of returning it for another.

Nice Drill press!

Paul, is is possible to rotate the head so that one can drill into a surface which is not sitting on its base? E.g., a large, wide panel or the floor? I.e., Can the pillar and head rotate with respect to the base? If so, I'm thinking this would be great to drill MFT-type 20 mm dog / clamping holes in a workbench top.

I was expecting it to be quite noisy, but it doesn't seem too bad. Better depth stop and a third cheaper than it is and it would be a winner I think. Where do you get your carbide bits from?

Thanks, informative review and demonstration but why didn't you open it up? How can you judge the quality of a product without seeing how it is build?

I still have closed captions turned on from your breadcrumb board video. When you said "bradpoint" it came up as "breadporn". Apt in the greater context.

Me gusta está máquina,siento no entender este idioma para saber más de las explicaciones.

Great review, really liked it :) I just got a PBD 40 as a birthday gift. Got a question, not sure if I can explain it clearly enough: when I rotate the wheel to move the drill press, I can feel the teeth on the rack (i.e. for every height of one tooth there is a slight "notch" in the feeling). If I move the wheel fast, I also hear a corresponding sound. Is it supposed to be like this, or should the rack&pinion system be fully smooth, like car's steering? Also, after moving the drill up and down on the column, parts of the column got covered with a thin layer of black residue (oil, I guess), I guess that's normal and I should wipe&re-oil from time to time?

En yakın zamanda Alaçam birtane Bosch PDF 40

Hi Paul. can i say really enjoyed your vid. i do think they should at least show a little thanks by giving the you the drill or giving a good percentage off the price well done. One Q i have is does this model get hot. I intend to purchase this drill but don't want motor burn out. its the amount of time used than the size of drill or pressure on the wheel. thanks Paul

does it make really vertical holes 90 degrees?i dont see anyone measure this..thanks

Where can I get this???

It's interesting that Bosch didn't make a pro version of this. There's a clear mid-range gap in the market; there's the junky Scheppach one, then this with its well publicised chuck/bearing accuracy issues, and then a HUGE gap to high end machines from Flott and Nova, so I guess that none of the manufacturers, including Bosch believe that there are enough potential customers to warrant development of a machine that would fit in the price point of the gap (around 500-800 euro).

Just bought this - There is nothing that even comes close, with regard to customer reviews (across many sites/countries) and at this price point. BlackFriday deal of £205.69/€236.16. Bosch did do a two-day flash deal of £188.30 on 13-14th Oct'20

This press has worked like a charm for my projects kzfaq.infoUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!

I like that drill press. But I live in the 🇺🇸 and there's no 240 power in this house.

hi, do you know if there is a suitable mortising attachment available that fits this drill press?

A mate if mine bought this drill press and I borrow it sometimes. Seems OK overall, but that hand wheel is a disaster. Ergonomically it's awful.

To be honest 13mm chuck is actually standard for adjustable chucks. Dimensions above that are in many cases in morse taper drills traditionally. That 13mm is actually good as many hobby level things come with puny 10mm chuck and that's annoying af.

If they have a diy version they should have a pro version. Pro version im unable to find.

Can it turn left/right?

I understand your sponsored by Bosch and this drill is ok, however there is a lot of negative reviews regarding runout and inaccuracies with the laser. It seems to be a bit hit and miss if you get a good one or not. I haven't ruled it out completely but to be honest I would rather a bigger drill press. If Bosch made a blue version and it was larger size and larger motor than it would be the drill press for me. However it comes across as to much of a toy and with inaccuracies it puts me off, hence still sitting on the fence. Fair review however

My first question would be what do you have to do to take off that foolish "guard," destructively or otherwise?

5 years on and there is still nothing on the market that comes close to it. Unless you want to spend over $1600. Even for metal work people are doing 50mm hole saws in 2-3mm steel plate, and it does them with no troubles. Only bad thing I've seen is the drill chucks seem to be shallow and not hold onto larger drill bits

I've had a Bosch PBD40 for a number of years now. I would not recommend one. It has a lot of run-out in the chuck, the digital depth gauge no longer works, when drilling concentric holes if you need to raise the drill head for a larger drill bit the alignment is lost. It is not for anyone who wants accuracy.

Pretty pricy at 429 bucks, appreciate your review. :-)

I have noticed that those not in the US have either absolute garbage options, or absolute expensive options, here for 40 quid I got a benchtop press, that out of the box had 2 thou runout and runs tween 500 and 3000 rpm with a simple 1 belt, and star knob ... tilts in 2 axis and slides in the Z 8 inches, has 5 speeds which is enough for people who know how to deal with the real world

This drill has been on my "to buy" list, but every time I save up enough it has gone up. It's doubled in price at Bunnings since Masters went out of business :( Last night I was actually looking at drills again and almost decided on the one you're getting rid of due to the price increases on the Bosch.

Why are you using sped up video to demonstrate cutting capability?

Bunnings has them for $400 plus dollars,I think for what it is it'sbit much.

Machine is not available in India.

Bosch biutiful and electrónico speed.

Yeah lik we when I still learned in carpenter school - we had a meaning about Bosch - Blue series - amature, green - for newbegyners/learning tøys for teens

I got one of these to attach to the wheel. Works a treat. smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N3VYMJ8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the laser is adjustable, you are mis informed my friend

Hi Paul, ich hab hier mal eine Idee für eine Bohrtischerweiterung kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g6qhetCBttO1j3k.html

Enjoyed the video, but what’s with your eyes mate, the camera is in front but your eyes all over the place, LOL....guilty of something perhaps 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Exactly this drill press is the worst. It is not accurate, there are a lot of videos in internet to show how bad is this drill press.

Looks like a toy

I bought this drill after I saw so many reviews about it. I have drilled 6 holes with it before I returned it. it is not only the worst drill I have ever worked with, but also one of the worst tools I have ever used. bosch should be ashamed for making this trash.

That was boring.