Bosch 0603B07070 Bench Drill PBD 40 (710 W, Maximum Drilling Diameter In Steel/Wood: 13 mm/40 mm, Drilling Stroke 90 mm, In Cardboard Box)
-
Comfortable and effortless work
The working height remains the same and drilling is effortless, as the motor block moves with the drill when it is lowered
-
High functionality
Exact and secure positioning of the workpiece thanks to the PBD 40’s parallel guide and large working surface
-
Digital display
Drilling can be perfectly controlled using the continuous speed settings
Technical data
•Power input: 710 W
•Max. drilling diameter in steel/wood: 13 mm/40 mm
•Drilling stroke = 90 mm
•Machine weight: 11.2 kg
•No load speed: 200–2500 min-1
| Weight: | 11.2 kg |
| Dimensions: | 74.2 x 37.2 x 27.5 cm; 11.2 Kilograms |
| Model: | 0603B07070 |
| Part: | 0603B07070 |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Bosch |
| Quantity: | 1 |
My first bench drill and what a buy. Simple to put together (set aside 3 minutes). Simple to use and adjust. Adjustable speed at the turn of a knob. Great bit of kit. My only regret is not buying one sooner.
A member of the family purchased one several years ago and I have wanted one since.
When my old pillar drill died I felt it was time to purchase a new quality unit.
After using this PBD40 for two weeks on several occasions, I am more than happy that I have purchased it.
Many thanks.
My 20-year old pillar drill gave up the ghost. Its replacement was to have been the Silverline one, about 80 quid here. Almost identical to my old one. Nah.
This is quite an upgrade. light enough to move around, lots of useful features and very well screwed together – the cheapo versions made by Scheppach, Parkside et al are poor by comparison.
Minor gripes:
1. A bit too much runout with the supplied Rhm SUPRA-SK E chuck – the Rhm SUPRA-S 1/2″-20 Quick-Action chuck 871050 would be a better bet.
2. the swarf collects in the hole of the stand and bungs it up. Working on a fix.
3. Nowhere for the supplied Allen key to sit.
4. Laser not yet accurate.
Apart from this, a superb machine, been around for at least 7 years.
I find the wheel ok to use. The clever little clamp is intuitive, and the depth adjustment is a breeze.
Well made, solid, vertical drill. Had read a few reviews of various drills, and this seemed the preferred one. Not as noisy as I expected from other reviews so that was a pleasant surprise, easy to change bits, accurate laser, easy to change speeds.
Bought used for 180 approx, was a risk I guess, but it’s all good. Clearly lightly used once maybe, and got the drill bit stuck. So a couple of tries then a trip to buy a strap wrench, job done. A free forstner bit included
I know these things are pretty good, and the runout on this is very acceptable. I’m a happy chap.
A well made and accurate drill, light enough to move around if needed. Variable speed so no pulleys to change. Not sure about the keyless chuck, time will tell how well it works.
Moreover, it has many different features, some of which I show in the video. Apart from the reasonably accurate, built-in LED cross-hair and LED light it’s built like a tank – well, that’s German engineering for you. Built in China, sure, but designed by German engineers.
This was not exactly cheap for a DIY drill (all the Bosch DIY tools are green coloured, unlike the blue Pro series) but you get what you pay for.
Personally, I’m delighted with it. Don’t forget to extend your warranty for three years (no charge) when you get it!
Have purchased many bosch tools over the years, as always well designed very reliable and does exactly what it’s made for. Just a tad pricey otherwise it would get five stars.
The drill functions perfectly as a bench drill but what makes this perfect for me is the LCD depth display. It allows repeated drilling to the same depth on multiple holes. The laser helps to position your workpiece for drilling and the variable speed control is much easier than changing belts on older drills.
As all the reviews have said,its accurate,fairly easy to assemble (watch out for the set screw that secures the pillar/dont throw the packaging with the screw in it) and is definitely as good as you’ll need short of a professional pillar drill.
This is a good drill, with modern design and features. The laser guidance is useful, although not completely spot on for fine drilling. The light is also helpful, but sometimes it’s better without it, as reflections on the work surface get in the way. Make sure you have an alternative light source to hand.
I’d strongly recommend that to make yourselves a small table jig for deeper drilling as well as a side brace – left or right – as I’ve made to make it more stable to hold the longer pieces down.
I’d gladly recommend this drill 100%.
Don’t like the rotary switch to stop and start, no NV protection.
Gears sound noisey no provision for lubrication to extend life
Lazer line ‘springes’ and is thicker than some drills.
Clamp is a complete mystery
Make a ‘blue’ one Bosch and get it right next time
Over all I like this machine. However, after talking to Bosch about the chuck wobble and being told that all I can do is return it to them for investigation or to Amazon for replacement I am not entirely happy. They know there is a problem, users have told them but it seems the fault has not been sorted. And to top it all, it is made in China. So, if you don’t need accuracy it’s fine. For most DIY joinery this is probably not a problem.
The chuck is great and has next to no runout.
The very speed works well and saves all the messing of moving belts.
The digital depth gauge is spot on. as is the laser.
The only downside for me was the base is light so it will move when you put something substantial on it. you can bolt it down, but that doesn’t work for me. so i fixed it to a wooden base and packed the gap under the alloy base with lead.
I found this to be a superb drill, the variable speeds, light and laser made it a pleasure to use. bolted down to my bench it is very stable, the clamp for holding what’s been drilled is very good. My only problem with the whole thing is with the instruction book. you need to set the height of the drill by winding up or down the rack then lock it in place. what my instruction book does not seem to say is that you have to tighten the locking mechanism as far as it will be go to unlock the actual drill on it’s spring mount, by withdrawing a locking tab, to make the drill descend on it’s spring mounting.
That said, the clamping mechanism is the worst designed piece of any tool I’ve ever encountered. Every time I use this thing I end up in a blind rage cursing the parentage of everyone involved in its design and production. For the sake of your sanity plan to throw it away (ideally through the window of the design team’s office) and use some other clamp – there are slots in the base that can allow for this.
I ummed and arred about a pillar drill but I must say that I am more than happy with this one. It was simple to set up and a breeze to use. It is light enough to move about easily but it sits on the bench very stable. I love it and it is quiet to run. I really like the clamp and steady stop for safe drilling. The laser and light are a fantastic addition and make lining things up simple. A great machine even though a tad pricey but quality often cost that little bit more and the build quality on this is sound. I would recommend.
The drill arrives in 2 main pieces. All you need to do is attached the base plate to the drill, tighten up the allen screw, and you’re good to go.
You can bolt the base plate to your work surface, via the 4 corner holes. It also vomes with a clamp that fits on the bottom of the pillar. It’s not really necessary to the work I do, but it seems to work ok.
Operation of the drill is super easy. On the right hand side you have a 2 speed selector switch.
Speed 1 giving you a speed of 200-850 rpms, and speed 2, 600-2590 rpms.
There is a useful little table on the side of the drill, giving you recommended speeds for drilling aluminium and steel. (With wood, you can pretty much drill as fast as you like.) Although I tend to go slightly lower then they recommend, particularly with large bits into steel.
(Whenever you are drilling metal, don’t forget to use lots of lovely cutting fluid, to help to keep your bit cool).
Adjustments of speed is via the main knob on the front. It’s very good under load, with the drill constantly adjusting the speed as the torque increases and decreases to keep it at your dialled in speed.
It also has a very accurate depth stop, which you set with the upper of the two column levers. You can then switch the display from showing rpms to mms. I’ve found it very accurate, with great repeatability. I didn’t think I would be using it much but, due to it’s accuracy I use it a lot.
It also has a built in light (very useful), and a built in laser (not so useful, but still nice to have). These are turned on and off by separate switches on the front.
It also has a very good emergency stop button, where you can just hit the on/off button to turn off. You may find that like me, you turn it off this way a lot of the time.
The chuck isn’t the best, and my original intention was to swap it out, for a more accurate model. However in use, it works well, and as you can see from the attached video, on my drill the run out accuracy is around 0.01mm. Which for a drill at this price is pretty amazing.
The only quibble I have with it, is that the smallest bit it accepts is 1.5mm, and I know there will be occasions, where I will want to drill 1mm.
The controlling handle is something I don’t particularly like. There is a reason that every other pillar drill has always had a 3 spoked handle, and that’s because it works the best.
For drilling wood, the provided handle is fine, but when drilling big holes in steel, you need a lot of downward pressure, and with the wheel type, I find that difficult to consistently achieve. I swapped mine for a traditional 3 spoke, and for me, it works a lot better. It’s an easy swap.
Overall, I’m very happy. The drill has a powerful 710w motor, a lot more powerful than any others at this price.
Ergonomically it works really well, and certainly in my case, is super accurate. I would happily recommend it.
I hope you found this review helpful.
OK so I bought a cheaper version of a bench drill thinking to save money. Well the cheaper one worked but was noisy and a bit rough and ready. I bought this one which cost twice as much but is more refined. Has a built in light, laser cross hair and a variable speed control. I have used mostly to cut 30 -40 mm holes in wood. This it had done perfectly. So highly recommended, expensive? Well yes but well worth i
Accurate guages, well made and user friendly design. The cross hairs on the laser is out on one axis. Because I know it is fractionally out I can use the edge of the laser rather then the thickness. This has proved suitable for my needs. Read the instructions carefully, everything will then be perfect. I would buy it again if needed.
Considering its Bosch and its supposed to be “Amazon Best Seller”it was disappointing to see radial movement of the Drill Head and Post. This I suspect is too much clearance between the K’way come Rack and the Head resulting in this movement.As far as I can see there is no way to adjust this and has nothing to do with clamping the unit too the Post.
Apart from that the Build quality of the rest is excellent and well thought out with a first class chuck,,easy to use.,but you will get drill”wobble” because of this design issue.
For the money it is still the best around and easily beats the cheaper copies that are abou
The laser & light are useful. Being able to adjust the speed is fantastic & its main USP. There is a little wobble with the shaft, which could probably be eliminated with some tinkering. The digital depth measurement is something I’ve still not mastered but that’s probably a user issue, rather than a fault with the tool.
Overall I’m glad I invested in this & it has given me good use so far.
This is my first ever pillar drill and I’m very satisfied with it. I’ve been using it to drill holes in aluminium square tubes and have been very pleased with the accuracy. The laser guide is perfect and the clamp works fine.
Great bench drill for the hobbyist. Not mm perfect though so for engineering purposes probably not suitable, but for diy its pretty much spot on. Plenty of online tutorials showing how to increase accuracy and remove any play in the drill if you wish to do that.
Not too many flaws, only issue was that out of the box the lazer sight was off centre, but again, an online tutorial showed me how to put that right.
Only real issue in use is that the turn wheel takes 1 and a half turns to move the drill along its full length of travel, which obviously is a bit tricky if you need to move all the way in one go.
Otherwise a great bench drill and i am very happy with it.
Cant say anything that’s already been said, but buy with confidence, so pleased went from a belt to this.
Works well,lots off speed adjustment.Dont rely on lazar to be completely accurate.
It is good but comes with some flaws – mainly the cheap chuck and not so good bottom bearing – that affect its centring. I bought this because of its ease of use, especially speed control. I did know it needed improving so I addressed its flaws as soon as it arrived. It’s an even better machine now.
I read a number of poor reviews for this machine so delayed making this purchase. One of the criticisms is accuracy and the inability of the chuck to take small drill bits. There are an equal number of good reviews for the machine. I don’t have space for a floor mounted pillar drill and I use the pillar drill occasionally, not all the time. I find the drill accurate enough for what I do in the way of joinery and carpentry albeit it is noisy. The chuck isn’t really an issue although the plastic collar is disappointing but one can get a superior Rohm chuck and retro fit it. Pillar drill purists won’t agree but I find it a great improvement on the old carpenters drill press that I had and more than meets the demands of a busy workshop.
This neat machine arrived just 4 days ago but I’ve spent a lot of time putting it through its paces to see how accurate the positive reviews were that I read before taking the step to buy it. I’d spent a lot of time researching bench drills and was put off many of them partly because of their relatively short “plunge” depth of around 50mm, which would be very limiting. I did find a traditional style bench drill with a plunge depth of 80mm but it was a monster in size – and I’d have had to get the stepladders out to change the belt every time I wanted to change speed. The Bosch PBD40 is half the size of that monster – but it has a plunge depth of 90mm – AND it changes speed by turning a knob, as simple as turning up the volume on a radio.
First impressions.
Taking the machine out of its box, I noticed that it felt quite weighty – usually a good sign of a well engineered product. Assembly was a piece of cake – the average 10 year old would have managed it blindfolded. The overall “feel” of it gave the impression of quality. Ease of use? – a doddle. The LED display gives clear and precise information on RPM and depth of drilling. The built in work light is more than adequate and the laser guide crosshairs system eliminates guesswork. I was originally planning to bolt it to the bench but after trying it out I decided it didn’t need it – it’s perfectly stable – this also helps its portability as it’s compact enough to store under the bench when not in use. Noise? I watched a review on Youtube where another happy owner said it was quieter than his vacuum cleaner. It’s quieter than my vacuum cleaner too. The included fence and cam lock clamp are useful and very effective. I use a lot of countersunk head woodscrews in my projects and I can now cut an infinite number of countersinks of identical diameter by courtesy of the instantly usable digital depth reading. The chuck is quick and easy to use and any runout (if I could see any) is negligible.
I’ve not had this fine machine a week yet so I can’t comment on its longevity but it does have a three year warranty. So far I’m delighted with it. Well done Bosch!
Highly recommended.
Eric Collett.
This is a great design for a very accurate working machine that weights just the right amount for easy handling and is small (but not too small) for storage
A great bit of kit, well worth the more expensive price over others.
Pros
– Heavy and stable. Well built with a high quality feel.
– Easy to assemble. Even easier to use.
– Depth measurement is accurate as is the laser.
Cons
– Laser can be hard to use on some materials, and requires a little guess work sometimes with larger pieces.
– You’ll need a normal drill press vice when drilling multiple holes as the built in vice is only really good for holding a piece for a single hole (or at least slows you down).
– Chuck takes a little bit of getting used to.
There is nothing not to like about this one. I have found nothing to moan about – not even a small quibble.
So yes, to this.
That is all, just… yes.
Very pleased. It is compact and takes little room to store. Most important of all it does the job & does it well. And no more pouncing about with belts!
Overall this is an excellent drill. Solid, precise, well made, and easy to use. It definitely deserves 5 stars and is head and shoulders above the cheap pillar drill it replaced. Based on my experience of a few hours drilling lots of holes in wood I do have three small niggles where I think Bosch could have tried a little harder to make this an even better product:
a) The “quick release” chuck is a pain, frankly I’d prefer a traditional chuck. It’s no faster than a traditional chuck and rather fiddly. Plus on a few occasions it has failed to grip the drill tightly enough. If I could find how to swap it for a boring normal chuck I would. Has anyone done this?
b. The workpiece clamp is a touch too tight on the pillar, it often sticks and has to be wiggled around before it can be raised. I tried a drop of WD40 on the pillar but that didn’t seem to help. This is probably the most annoying issue because it makes repositioning the workpiece more fiddly and time consuming than is necessary.
c) The laser line is too thick. It really needs to be thinner because I have drills narrower than the laser line. I’m planning some very precise drilling in the future (eg on a PCB) and I’m sure I’ll find this annoying.
I have to stress these are only small issues, and not enough to deduct a star. But maybe if the folks at Bosch read this they could tweak the design a touch in the future.
Received this Bosch PBD 40 bench drill less than 48hrs ago so this really is only a first impressions review.
The whole thing is very simple to to set up and the controls barely need any explaining but there’s a good enough instruction booklet that comes with it which covers most things you’re going to want to know in multiple languages.
Did some test wood drilling and the laser/chuck concentricity seems fine for this sort of work where sub-millimeter accuracy is not vital.
I am in the process of replacing the chuck with one of known better concentricity performance because that’s what I need. The Rohm Supra SK E or similar type the drill comes with is not specifically designed for use with bench drills. Its more than adequate for many DIY jobs but there are plenty of YT videos out there which show that with a chuck designed for use with bench drills, Rohm’s Supra S range for instance, you can improve its performance.
For those interested I have asked Bosch themselves and received confirmation from them that the chuck mount is 1/2″-20. There are a range of chuck mount sizes/threads used on bench drills, depending on the model and manufacturer, so you need to make sure the one you’re buying is correct or it won’t fit.
Criticisms of the PBD 40? Only one so far: I’m certainly not impressed by the finish of the clamp arms or their design. My one seems to have a rather rough finish – I’m guessing that it is cast iron or aluminum and that the casting was not as good as it should have been.
The design is questionable too, I may be worrying about nothing but if anything on the machine looks like it might break that is it. The arms have a V shaped cut out to accommodate the clamping of tubing or doweling in what is already the thinnest part of the clamping arms. The design could be changed to be more robust IMHO.
Conclusion: seems like a great piece of kit so, that criticism aside, I’m pleased with my purchase so far.
Worked in engineering all my life so used to having very nice and very expensive pillar drills at work, purchased a couple of cheap pillar drills over the years for home use and been disapointed, the difference is like having a Rolls Royce at work and a knackered old sit on mower at home, so after some disapointment trying to get results with the cheap stuff bit the bullett and got one of these bad boys, run out on the chuck is minimal and allows for good accuracy, powerful motor (unlike the cheap stuff), if your after a decent small home pillar drill do yourself a favour, stop throwing your money away on the cheap Chinese rubbish and get one of these, it will be the last pillar drill you buy
Bought this to use on a wood working project I was doing. Really easy to use. Great for drilling accurately and repeatedly. I had over 15 pieces of wood I had to drill several holes into. All came out great. Love the laser to line up the drill. I didn’t realise it has a digital display that shows the depth that you are drilling. Very useful. A well made product which I expected from Bosch.
All my power tools are Bosch Professional. Tried drilling holes in steel box section with one of my drills to the detriment of my right hand thumb. I putcheased this drill press and what a difference, this is a great way to bore holes without pain.
Am only doing light aluminium work, but this thing is so smooth and slick I’m very impressed. The locking chuck is great, the lasers are surprisingly useful too. Very little run-out and its not even very noisy. I didn’t even realise that it has a built in quill DRO which is not super high precision but good enough for a drill press. All in all I’m having an absolute blast using this machine as an amateur maker.
It also gets an extra star for not using any polystyrene packaging.
Easy to set and change the heights etc, quick release chuck, variable speed.
Everything you need to do some precise drilling. I’m using mine with an x/y milling table.
And it’s got a laser.
I bought this as I needed some help centering my drill holes, due to eyesight problems. So the laser cross, should be of considerable assistance. But I’m not getting a clear cross, two sides are mostly missing. Not sure why. I can work out where the centre is, but not as easy as I had hoped.
The clamp, for holding materials for drilling is very good, but loosening it isn’t intuitive! The lock mechanism for the drill bit, is good but again doesn’t seem intuitive, maybe it’s me, but I often turn it the wrong way and the drill bit drops out
I haven’t used the depth control very much, so cannot really comment on its accuracy.
I’m hoping like my other Bosch tools it will be long lasting.
As for value, it’s considerably reduced on prime today, which makes it excellent value. But I missed that.
Love this drill. Use it regularly for woodworking and find it a delight to use. All drills should be designed like this!
Easy clear display tells you everything you need to know. Convenient easy to use depth stop and the depth is shown on the display. Nice little easy to use clamp to hold your work in place. Speed adjustment easy, just by turning the knob. Easy to use chuck for drill replacement.
Not sure about the power as I have only used for woodworking, but has handled everything very well so far. Seems very accurate.
Highly recommended if you are looking for an easy to use drill.
Great tool, I love the belt free variable speed control, depth gauge, laser cross target, work lamp and ease of setup.
The chuck is the only weak part as it’s not got as much grip as for instance a DeWalt chuck.
I took an age to finally bight the bullet and am so pleased I did.
It was very simple to install and more than meets my needs as a DIYer. Plenty of you tube videos to show adjustments and add ons, but it works great for me out of the box.
Fast delivery and a fantastic offer too. Delighted.
A little more than I wanted to pay but a great machine. No chuck wobble and no messing about with belts to change speed. Excellent.
I bought this when my old cheap belt and pulley driven drill died. Maybe died is a misnomer, I just got totally fed up with it stalling when using anything other than normal drill bits. A forstner bit or holesaw stall all the time.
This green beauty munches through everything I throw at it run-out is very acceptable, power is great 710W. Best thing is no drill table to crank up and down, the drill comes down to the work piece.
At first I was worried that the handle will be uncomfortable since I’m used to use classic handles with 3 arms. On the contrary it’s both comfortable and easier to drill at accurate depths.
The height lock mechanism need some time to get use to it. But now I prefer this was as you can adjust height with single arm and lock.
Have drilled wood, metal and plastic great drill and easy to use
I had been looking at a few and plumped for my trusty Bosch make.
Sets up quickly, very sturdy and easy to use and, even though not used that much yet (in the middle of a garage re-org) what I have done has been well clamped and accurate.
Happy
I love the ease of use. It’s so straightforward, I didn’t need to look at any instructions. I just love using this drill!
The keyless chuck seemed strange at first, but I quickly got used to it, and swapping drill bits is a pleasure now. The unitl looks really well made and holds the work firmly and safely – just what I was looking for.
I have used it for several months now, with no problems at all.
Easy to assemble, use and cost effective. What’s not to like?
Really pleased with this. As a DIY tool I thought I might be going a bit OTT compared with less expensive options but you do get what you pay for. Great precision, stability and safety. Love the chuck design. The clamp is great but it can’t always be used depending upon shape of workpiece.
Very good machine works very well nice to have so many speeds without having to change flywheels
Another great product from Bosch. Well engineered and easy to assemble. Takes up a bit more space that the usual drill and separate stand, but the benefits are – easy to use drill chuck that locks and releases the drill with a simple twist, solid base to hold items, helpful wheel action for graduated drilling, simple dials to select drill speed, advantage of a laser cross hairs for easy lining up, simple speed changes without the need to move belts on to different pulleys. I am sure that it will last a long time.
Ok for general use , but chuck has a bit too much play , laser is ok as a guide but a little out and no way of adjusting…. ok if you centre punch metal work…. ok for wood work though…
The laser is very useful as is the depth control . On the downside I have found the hand- wheel not quite to my liking it is awkward to grip I would have preferred the capstan type system.
Overall a very useful addition to the workshop.
Great bit of kit and now I have mounted it on a bench it is a great addition to my tiny workshop. Love the lazer and ligh
First bench drill I have owned so can’t compare. However, I have used it quite a few times and found it does what you would expect, no fuss, and easy to use. Appears very well manufactured, as you would hope and expect from Bosch.
I noticed a certain amount of adjustment when assembling so it took a little bit of trial and error to get laser aligned. I wonder if those complaining of misalignment have loosened the grub screw at the back and made sure everything is aligned. Worth a look if yours seems out of alignme
Required a few trial runs to familiarise myself with its operatio
Lots of useful features. Really nice to use. Only loses 1 star as there is a little bit of play/moveme
More than I would have liked to pay for a pillar drill but in hindsight its worth it. I especially like the laser guidance
This is a stylish and accurate bench pillar drill. Easy to use and quite compact. Bad points are, no guard around the chuck and it’s too lightweight for other than DIY
My new favorite shed accessory. Love it. Haven’t figured out how to use square drill bit with it yet, but for all else I’m pleased. The laser and light are really useful.
I’m well happy, I got it in the sales …. top product at a very good price. At work we had a variety of pillar drills but the Bosch is the one I used all the time. Managed to drill out the inserts on my Grandson’s kiddy bike carrier, awesome job.
The only dislike that I have with this drill is the chuck. I find it rather complicated to insert and release the drill bit from the chuck, I would have liked the drill to have a conventional mechanism which I have used with ease over many years.
It was very easy to assemble easy to use and very accurate
I just wanted one of these drills. I don’t use it that much in reality. Use the laser guided drilling for accuracy and like this facility. It’s not the end of the world to have one, but once bought I wouldn’t go back.