Drill presses · quill stroke
How deep a hole do you need in one plunge?
Quill stroke is the specification that decides what a drill press can do, and it is the one most often left off a listing. Both of these publish it, which makes the comparison unusually clean: 90 mm (3.54 in) against 50 mm (1.97 in), for €151 more.
| Compared on | PBD 40 | DP16VLS |
|---|---|---|
| Quill stroke | 90 mm (3.54 in) | 50 mm (1.97 in) |
| Motor | 710 W | Not stated |
| Capacity in wood | 40 mm (1.57 in) | Not stated |
| Chuck | 13 mm (0.51 in) | 1.5–13 mm (0.06 to 0.51 in) |
| Machine vice included | Not stated | Yes |
| Price in Germany | €250 | €99 |
| Listed on amazon.com | No | Yes |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these machines answer different questions.
No amazon.com listing was found for this one. We hold references for other markets but none for the United States, so it may not be buyable here — which is the first thing to weigh against anything below.
Buy the Bosch if you bore deep or use large Forstner bits. 90 mm (3.54 in) of travel goes through stock the Scheppach cannot reach in one plunge, and the stated 40 mm (1.57 in) capacity in wood tells you a 35 mm (1.38 in) hinge cup is within reach.
Buy the Scheppach for hardware holes, dowels and shelf pins. 50 mm (1.97 in) is ample for furniture work, it costs a third as much, and it arrives with the vice that makes a drill press safe to use.
Because it sets the depth you can drill without moving the workpiece — and every time you reset the work, you risk losing the alignment the machine exists to guarantee. Power is rarely the limit when drilling wood.
You need something. A bit breaking through the far side of a board bites suddenly, and a workpiece held by hand becomes a spinning lever. Clamp the work, always — the Scheppach simply arrives with the means to do it.
710 W · 90 mm (3.54 in) quill · 40 mm (1.57 in) in wood
The longest stroke of the European bench drills here — 90 mm (3.54 in) — and the only one that states its capacity in wood as well as steel.
Best for: Deep holes and large Forstner bits — the work the cheaper presses cannot reach
1,5–13 mm (0.06 to 0.51 in) chuck · 50 mm (1.97 in) quill · vice included
A bench drill press with a machine vice in the box for €99 — and a 50 mm (1.97 in) quill stroke that tells you what it is for.
Best for: Accurate shallow holes — hardware, dowels, shelf pins — on a small bench
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
