Are there any cheap pillar drills on offer at the moment? Just looking for something *very* simple and not too bulky!

I bought a bench mount one from Argos of all placing a couple of years ago .. still going strong.

I also have a Clarke one which as a little more but is a bit tougher. Use them both for doing different things and would recomend either for light use.

B&Q are doing a reasonably good bench pillar drill at the moment. and it's dead cheap

If you have the right sort of hand drill, you can get quite compact pillars that the drill clamps into. Machinemart sells them.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=060722610&r=2109&g=115

A quick check of its quality is to fully extend tthe chuck (Downwards).
Grab hold of it, and see how much play there is.

Some import these £40 pilar drills and change the bearings in the column, and sell them for more. ie its a bit more accurate. (make sure it isnt plugged in first!!)

However, all said... Mine was a cheapo, I have had it 5 years +, and rebuilt two Land rovers using it. Its not 110% accurate, but more than good enough, and a lot more accurate than holding a cheapo Black and Decker type pistol drill in your hands to do the same job!.

A badly sharpened drill bit could be more inaccurate than a good bit in a cheapo drill!!

Its horses for courses!

i bought one of those devices that supports a regular drill, what a dreadful device. Wobbly like you wouldnt believe. So i replaced it will a £40 import, which is a lot better.

I have one of the drill clamping devices, good for holes in plate.

For drilling bigger stuff you want one that says made in england on it (probably has the town as well), when it really ment some thing. Then again space might be an issue.
Rescued attachment Pillar drill.JPG

Whatever you get, whether it's antique or new, make sure that it has a good range of low speeds - lower than 200rpm, or even below 100rpm if you can.
A lot of the cheapo drills are intended for woodworking and may only have a low speed of over 500rpm, which will ruin your big drill bits and probably wreck your pillar drill!
My Machine Mart jobbie has a lowest speed of 180rpm, which is low enough for the sort of stuff I do. My friend has a massive ex-school pillar drill that weighs around 1/3 ton, and has a slowest speed of 50 rpm! Superb for drilling big holes, 'cos the torque is massive with a 1HP motor behind all that gearing.

David

Ditto what Dave Jenkins says.....
To drill big 'oles in steel, you need to think slow. Slower for stainless, non-ferrous etc....

Thanks for all your help

In the end, I bought this £40 effort from B&Q. Lowest speed is 540 RPM, but this is fine for my needs: