Best Drill Presses Australia 2026:
Bosch and Baumr-AG Picks, Runout, Quill Travel and Belts

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What a drill press does that a hand drill can't

A drill press holds the drill dead square to the table and lowers it on a lever, so every hole goes in straight, to the same depth, at the speed you've set. That's the whole reason to own one. A hand drill relies on your wrist, and even a steady hand wanders a degree or two, which is enough to ruin a dowel joint, a hinge hole or a hole through steel that has to line up with a bolt on the other side.

It's also safer and easier on the bit for metal work. You clamp the job to the table, set a slow speed and feed the bit down with steady pressure, so the bit cuts instead of skating and snapping. For anyone drilling brackets, flat bar, angle iron or thick timber, a drill press turns a fiddly job into a routine one, and bits last longer because they aren't being rocked side to side.

It doesn't replace a cordless drill. You can't take a drill press to the job, and anything bigger than the table or taller than the gap under the chuck won't fit. Think of it as a second tool for the shed, the one you use when the hole has to be right. Most people who buy one end up wondering how they managed without it, mostly because they stop redrilling holes that came out on an angle.

The four picks here are all bench or pedestal machines for home workshops, sold by Amazon AU, from $179 to $387. They aren't trade machines and they're not built for drilling all day, every day. For brackets, jigs, furniture, the odd steel job and repairs around the house and farm, they're the right size, and they plug into a normal 10A power point.

Runout, the spec that decides hole accuracy

Runout is how far the tip of the bit wobbles off true as it spins. A little runout makes holes slightly oversize and rough, and a lot makes small bits snap and holes wander. It comes from the chuck, the arbor that holds the chuck, the spindle bearings and how well they've all been machined. It's the spec that matters most for accuracy, and none of the four listings here give a runout figure at all.

That's normal for home drill presses on Amazon AU, so you have to check it yourself when the machine arrives. Fit a straight, new bit or a short length of drill rod, spin it by hand and watch the tip against something fixed. Better still, borrow a dial indicator and measure it. If the wobble is obvious to the eye, the chuck may not be seated on its taper properly, and that's often fixable before you assume the spindle's bad.

The chuck on most of these presses is pushed onto a tapered arbor and held by friction. Clean both tapers with a rag before you fit the chuck, then seat it with a firm tap from a soft mallet or a block of timber. Dirt or a burr on the taper is the most common cause of bad runout on a new press, and it costs nothing to fix. A chuck that's knocked or dropped can also lose its accuracy, so treat it gently.

Chuck size and quill travel

Chuck size tells you the largest straight shank bit the chuck will grip. The Bosch PBD 40 and the Baumr-AG DP13II list 13mm chucks, and the Baumr-AG DP15 and DP17 list 16mm chucks. Most home drilling happens well under 13mm, and larger holes are usually cut with reduced-shank bits, hole saws or spade bits that fit a 13mm chuck anyway. A 16mm chuck mostly matters if you drill big holes in steel.

Quill travel is how far the chuck moves down when you pull the lever, and it decides how deep you can drill in one pass. The DP17 lists 80mm, the DP15 60mm and the DP13II 50mm. The Bosch listing doesn't state quill travel at all, which is a gap on a listing from a big brand. For drilling through thick timber or deep into a post, more travel saves raising the table halfway through and losing your alignment.

Swing is the third size to check. It's twice the distance from the centre of the chuck to the column, so it tells you how far from an edge you can drill. The DP17 lists a 12 inch swing and the DP15 a 10 inch swing, while the DP13II and Bosch listings don't state one. For most home jobs it doesn't matter much, but it's worth knowing before you try to drill the middle of a wide panel.

Belts, pulleys and speed changes

Most drill presses change speed by moving a belt between stepped pulleys under the top cover. It's simple, inexpensive to make and easy to fix, but it's a fiddle, so plenty of people leave the belt on one speed and drill everything too fast. That's the main reason bits burn out and holes in steel come out ragged. Big bits and metal need slow speeds, small bits and timber need fast ones, and the chart inside the cover tells you which.

The three Baumr-AG presses list 12 or 9 speed settings, which is the pulley-and-belt arrangement. The Bosch PBD 40 title says speed selection and digital display instead, which points to electronic speed control rather than moving belts, though the listing doesn't spell out how it works. If you change speed often, that's the main thing the Bosch's higher price buys.

Belts stretch and glaze over time, and a slipping belt shows up as the chuck slowing down or stalling under load while the motor keeps humming. Check the belt tension every so often, keep oil and grease off the belt, and replace it when it's cracked or shiny. On most presses there's a tension lever or a motor mount that slides, and it's a five minute job with the machine unplugged.

Motors, power points and running cost

The motors here are listed from 420W on the DP13II to 710W on the Bosch, so all of them sit well inside the 2,400W limit of a standard 10A Australian power point. Plug the press straight into the wall or a heavy-duty lead fully unrolled, and don't share a powerboard with a compressor or a heater. A thin, coiled extension lead drops the voltage and makes the motor run hot, especially when it's labouring through steel.

The Baumr-AG listings call their 600W motors brushless, and the DP13II's listing doesn't say. The Bosch listing doesn't describe its motor beyond the 710W rating. None of the four state duty cycle or motor protection, which is normal for home machines. If the motor gets too hot to keep your hand on, stop and let it cool, because that's how windings and switches fail.

Power use is tiny. If you assume the 710W Bosch runs flat out for a full hour, that's 0.71kWh, or about 23c at the AU average tariff of roughly 33c per kWh. Most home drilling sessions are a few minutes of motor time, so the power cost is a few cents. Bits, a decent vice and a set of clamps are the real running costs, and they matter far more to how well the press works.

Setting it up so it stays accurate

A drill press is top-heavy, and a bench machine that isn't bolted down can tip if you pull the lever hard on a big hole. Bolt the base to a solid stand or a heavy bench, or at least clamp it, and check the work table is square to the chuck with a square and a straight bit before you start. The Baumr-AG listings describe mountable bases, and the DP17 is sold as a pedestal machine, so plan where it'll live before it arrives.

Clamp the job every time. A bit that grabs in steel or sheet metal will spin the work around in an instant, and that's how hands get cut. A drill press vice for small parts and a pair of clamps for larger pieces are worth buying with the press. The Bosch listing includes a parallel guide and a clamp in the box, which is a handy start for repeat holes in timber.

Set the depth stop for repeat holes, use a sacrificial block of timber under the job so you're not drilling into the table, and use cutting fluid on steel. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves and keep gloves away from the spinning chuck, because a glove that catches pulls the hand in with it. Wear safety glasses, because swarf flies. Most of that is habit after the first week.

What wears out and how to make it last

The parts that wear on a home drill press are mostly the low-cost ones: the belt, the chuck key, the return spring on the quill and the switch. Keep the column and table lightly oiled so they don't rust in a damp shed, wipe swarf off after each job, and blow dust out of the motor vents now and then with the press unplugged. Fine metal dust in a motor is never a good thing.

The spindle bearings are the parts that decide how long the press stays accurate. If you hear a rumble or feel play when you wiggle the chuck sideways with the quill lowered, the bearings or the quill fit are wearing. On a press like these, bearings are usually a common size and not expensive, but replacing them is a careful job. Treat the press gently, use the right speed and don't hammer the chuck, and the bearings generally last a long time in home use.

Switches fail too. Most of these use a no-volt release switch, which turns the press off if the power drops and stops it starting again by itself when power comes back. That's a good safety feature, and the Baumr-AG listings call theirs dust protected. A switch that sticks, needs several presses or cuts out under load is worn or full of dust, and it's a part worth replacing early rather than putting up with.

How I picked these four

I searched Amazon AU for bench and pedestal drill presses between about $100 and $600, kept new listings sold by Amazon AU, and sorted by rank in the Drill Presses category. I left out magnetic drills, which are a different tool for steel fabrication, drill stands that hold a hand drill, and mini rotary tool stands. I also read each listing's model code and speed count against its title, and dropped a pedestal listing whose title and features gave different speed counts.

Three of the four are Baumr-AG, an Australian tool brand sold by Amazon AU, and the fourth is the Bosch PBD 40. The Bosch is #2 in Drill Presses at time of writing, the best rank of the four, and the Baumr-AG DP17 is close behind at #3. The DP15 and DP13II rank lower but cover the smaller bench sizes and the lowest price here. A few close contenders are in the extras below the picks.

Prices run from $179 to $387 at time of writing, and I've stuck to what each listing states. Several of them leave out runout, quill travel or swing, and I've said so on the cards rather than guessing. If you're also kitting out the shed with a mitre saw or a welder, the same rules apply: check the plug, clamp the work and keep the dust out of the motor. If a press motor or switch fails, electronics repairs on the Central Coast and our Erina workshop can tell you whether it's worth fixing.

The 4 picks, $179 to $387

Prices are Amazon AU at time of writing (2026-11-06) and move week to week. Ranks are Amazon AU category sales ranks, checked the same day.

Side-by-side comparison

What we see fail in the workshop: drill presses

Drill presses are simple machines, and most of the faults that come up are mechanical rather than electrical. A few come up again and again, and nearly all of them start with how the press was set up or looked after. These are the three I'd check first before deciding a press is worn out, and most cost very little to fix.

Decision tree: which one should you actually buy?

• You want easy speed changes and the longest warranty? → The Bosch PBD 40 at $387 has speed selection, a digital display and a two year warranty plus one more with registration.
• You drill deep holes or use big bits in steel? → The Baumr-AG DP17 at $309 has a 16mm chuck and 80mm of quill travel, the most here.
• You want the 16mm chuck in a smaller bench machine? → The Baumr-AG DP15 at $269 has the same chuck and speeds with a 10 inch swing.
• You want a first press for timber and light jobs? → The Baumr-AG DP13II at $179 is the lightest and lowest-priced pick, with a 13mm chuck.
• You need to drill thick steel plate on site? → A magnetic drill is the right tool for that, not a bench drill press.
• Your press motor won't start, hums or trips the power? → Bring it into our Erina workshop. We'll check it and tell you if it's worth fixing before you spend anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a drill press worth it for a home workshop?

It is if you regularly need holes that are square, the same depth or through steel. A drill press holds the bit dead square and lowers it on a lever, so holes line up and bits last longer because they aren't rocked side to side. It won't replace a cordless drill for work away from the shed. For furniture, jigs, brackets and steel repair work, most people find it pays for itself in fewer ruined parts.

What size chuck does a drill press need?

For most home work, a 13mm chuck is enough, because most holes are well under that and larger holes are usually cut with reduced-shank bits, hole saws or spade bits that fit a 13mm chuck. A 16mm chuck, like the one on the Baumr-AG DP15 and DP17, matters mainly if you drill big holes in steel with straight shank bits. Check the chuck runs true before worrying about its size.

What is runout on a drill press?

Runout is how far the bit wobbles off true as it spins. It makes holes oversize and rough, and it snaps small bits. It comes from the chuck, the taper that holds it and the spindle bearings. None of the listings here state a runout figure, so check it when the press arrives with a straight bit or a dial indicator. Cleaning the chuck taper and reseating the chuck fixes most runout on a new press.

What speed should I use on a drill press?

Slow for big bits and metal, fast for small bits and timber. Most presses have a speed chart inside the belt cover. As a rough guide, the bigger the hole and the harder the material, the slower the speed should be. Too fast in steel burns the bit and leaves a ragged hole, and too slow in timber can tear the grain. Use cutting fluid on steel and clamp the job every time.

Do I need to bolt a drill press down?

Yes, or at least clamp it firmly. Drill presses are top-heavy, and a bench machine can tip when you pull hard on the lever with a big bit, especially the lighter ones like the Baumr-AG DP13II at about 12kg and the Bosch PBD 40 at about 13kg. Bolt the base to a solid stand or a heavy bench. Pedestal machines like the DP17 need to be secured as well, because a tall column is easy to knock over.

Can I plug a drill press into a normal power point?

Yes. All four picks here list motors from 420W to 710W, which is well inside the 2,400W limit of a standard 10A Australian power point. Plug it into the wall or a heavy-duty extension lead fully unrolled, and don't share a powerboard with a compressor or heater. Thin or coiled leads drop the voltage and make the motor run hotter, which wears switches and windings faster. A 15A plug isn't needed for any of these.

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