AU-Aldi Special Buys_Digital Drill Press.

[Muttley Snickers]

I wouldn't normally promote many products from Aldi but if anyone is interested they have a small drill press with a digital display coming up on sale next Saturday (28/11/20) here in Australia. I already have much larger drill presses and a milling machine so have no need for one of these gadgets.

These types of mini drill presses can be rather expensive down here so the $169 price tag appears to be reasonable when you start comparing to similar sized units. I hate Aldi's dodgy practice of not listing more detail, better quality images and proper product manuals. Note to purchasers: Keep your receipt.

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-28-november/saturday-detail-wk48/ps/p/digital-drill-press-710w/

[jono80]

It's back on sale next weekend (29th May 2021), though only 1 year warranty this time: https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-29-may/special-buys-sat-29-may/saturday-detail-wk21/ps/p/digital-drill-press-710w-1/

Did anyone buy one?  Any good?  There are some reviews of similar models from Aldi UK, they have a different chuck and maybe different internals (different speed range).

[wilfred]

I was curious about these as well. I didn't find any reviews on YT but I thought this one, about a Scheppach BD60 was possibly relevant. I am assuming they are either related or copied from the same source brand name product. One obvious difference is the Aldi one has a keyed chuck. Another is the speed control is not front mounted that I can see and I can't tell if there is a two speed gearbox.

You don't get a rotating table to help with angled drilling. But changing speeds by moving a belt is a pain that I shouldn't not do so much.

I bought the older Aldi Drill press a few years ago for A$60. It needed a mounting bolt thread tapped out to enable assembly. Nothing I've bought from Aldi is so bad I didn't find it good value at the price I paid. They depend on customers buying it with confidence quickly. It's in and out so quickly. They do give a 60 day return option. It's hard to go far wrong.

I also wish they put more effort into the description and pictures and had a PDF link for the manual. But they're far from alone in that shortcoming.

Anyway this review is one I watched

[beanflying]

It is fairly comparable with the Bosch I have. Consider it more like a light duty 1/2" vertical drill on a stick rather than a robust Engineering Drill press. That is not to say it won't do heavy work just need to peddle a bit softly compared to hunks of Cast iron. I replaced my old Cast Lump and have no regrets doing that.

Bit more of a quick look at the photos it may only be a single speed drill? Only an issue for heavy or large hole saw type of work. Keyed chuck is a minor PITA too.

If you want a Lab/lighter duty Drill that can go under the bench or on a shelf when not in use then it's perfect 

I dropped a modded base on mine for doing larger panel work and avoiding the column getting in the way, it copes well with large hole saws in timber. details of the mod are here https://www.eevblog.com/forum/3d-printing/3d-printer-yet/msg2893800/#msg2893800 and a few posts below.

Bosch for rough comparison PDP30

[jono80]

Thanks beanflying / wilfred, I only need it for light duty work so this should fit the bill.

Can't go wrong with the price and returns policy (if it sucks)

[kaz911]

In the UK Aldi is selling the Einhell Bench drill

https://www.aldi.co.uk/einhell-digital-bench-drill/p/803864448614400

seem quite similar.

[johnh]

They dont' like Australians  in the UK 

Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.aldi.co.uk/einhell-digital-bench-drill/p/803864448614400" on this server.

Reference #18.dbed32b8.1621664600.1f0e5390

[beanflying]

They dont' like Australians  in the UK 

Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.aldi.co.uk/einhell-digital-bench-drill/p/803864448614400" on this server.

Reference #18.dbed32b8.1621664600.1f0e5390

Not quite the same but Cached version works. Why you would put a geoblock on a commercial website is just strange 

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xLs2lt9JcnkJ:https://www.aldi.co.uk/einhell-digital-bench-drill/p/803864448614400+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

[Muttley Snickers]

I've seen this happen many times with various posted links and it's quite annoying to have to search the web just to see what somebody has mentioned or made reference to. I think if people are going to post a link to a product or listing they might as well grab a screenshot and include it in their post so others don't have to spend half the day searching for stuff.   

The opening post included a snapshot of the original Aldi listing so others didn't have to click a link to see the product, this worked out well actually because it shows that Aldi had a three year warranty originally and now it's only one year as mentioned earlier, this might be an important or deciding factor for some people in regards to making a purchase.   

[PlainName]

The opening post included a snapshot of the original Aldi listing so others didn't have to click a link to see the product

Useful but, please, if this is going to happen, make it a SMALL thumbnail that can be expanded. A raw 4K monitor screenshot every few posts will be a drag.

[Ant]

Hi,

Purchased one of these drills (Ferrex Bench Drill) in June 2021 from Aldi.

Unpacked, and found bottom stand pitted in multiple places, rust showing through.
Took the base back and was given another one without issue.

Assembled drill and tested with small bits, worked fine, but noisy and speed seemed to surge every 1or 2 seconds.
OK, thought just a cheap product.

It's now about 3 weeks.
The led display no longer works.
The laser indicator no longer works.
The speed buttons still work, but no speed is displayed.

I have drilled about 20 small 3mm holes in timber.

Really not happy with this product but not sure whether I want to go through the pain
of getting another as I stupidly through the packaging away.

Others seem to have had much better epxeriences than me.

I have found with Aldi, returning product to the store gets you a much better response than dealing with the
original suppliers who always seem less inclined to acknowledge faults.

This is not a well engineered product.

[Muttley Snickers]

Thanks for the heads up in regards to the lack of quality on this product. I would still return it for a refund regardless as it sounds like this product is not fit for purpose. Their website states "Ideally with packaging" so you might be okay to return it as is.   

Special Buys
We will refund or replace any non-grocery specials within 60 days. Please provide your original receipt (or other proof of purchase), ideally with packaging, when you return the item to us.


https://www.aldi.com.au/en/about-aldi/returns-policy/

[beanflying]

The one item out of maybe 30-40 I had to return the receipt was fine. Joining to leave a bad review is a bit ordinary and I doubt they will be back so 

Also in this crowd it would be more an invitation to take it apart and find out which wire/switch has come loose

[james_s]

If I were in that situation, it wouldn't even be worth driving back to the store to return it. I'd just open it up and fix it, it's probably something trivial like a bad solder joint or a loose plug and while you're in there you might find something you can improve upon. With this cheap Chinese stuff I just expect to have to do a bit of rework out of the box to make it as good as it can be.

[Ant]

Dear BeanFlying.

I noticed your comment about joining.

I placed my comment as a warning to others to be careful when acquiring these products.

In my life I have worked as an Electronics Engineer for Rank and do have the skills to fix it, but I should not need to.

I have pulled quote a few Aldi products apart and the results are often interesting.

I will be back as the forum looks very interesting.

Yes I am Australian, and like many Australians I have English heritage.

Buzz B

[temperance]

There are many drilling machine reviews on YT where people measure run out in the wrong way.

1. measuring close to the drill chuck or on the shaft.
2. Many of those low cost machines have a lot of slack on the main shaft and it requires some force to push the shaft sideways.
3. Drill chucks come in various qualities and the run out might be caused be the drill chuck.

Those low cost machines are not stable either. They resonate like hell which makes it impossible to drill proper holes.

Don't expect any precision or stability from a low cost pillar drill. A very old and rusty second hand pillar drill might be much better then a new one. A little bit of cleaning, some paint and a little oil and it looks like new again.

[johnboxall]

Really not happy with this product but not sure whether I want to go through the pain
of getting another as I stupidly through the packaging away.

You don't need the original packaging to return a faulty product. Just take it all back with the tax invoice for a refund.
https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund

[wilfred]

I suspect they only want the packaging to either:

a: Try to dissuade some from returning things for minor issues. or
b: To make handling of possibly many accessories and bits easier when returning it to their supplier.

Aldi will surely get credits from their suppliers and hence why they have a generous refund policy. It costs them only the staff time wasted dealing with problems.

I bought an old analogue style drill press from Aldi as the last one in store for $60. I had to tap out a threaded hole a bit to get the bolt in. Anyone who couldn't do that would've returned it but it works well and for the price I ain't complaining. Plus I didn't want the cash refund and they couldn't replace it. And I didn't want to disassemble it and package it back up.

[PlainName]

Aldi will surely get credits from their suppliers

Other way around, perhaps. Some time ago I approached a UK supermarket contact to make them aware of a cool product I thought would be good for them to stock, and the thing they wanted to know was how much I was going to pay them to let me have shelf space.

[beanflying]

These products are self imported by Aldi along with most of their Tech/Tool range and the same thing goes for the UK for them and Lidl and I would assume elsewhere around the world. So NOTHING is going back to a supplier and I suspect it goes into a blackhole for disposal without even a glance toward making it go or on sell it as broken for someone else to have a go at.

[aargee]

Yes, this is the Amazon model that a lot of businesses are following.