Holes & mortises · review
The only press on this shelf with a class II laser — the weaker class — and it publishes the figure twice.
The end of it A published laser class and a published radiant power, on a page with neither quill travel nor chuck capacity.
Every figure below names its source. Each one is a manufacturer specification read off the listing itself. The judgments are ours.
Published, in a bullet and again in the description — the only class II laser on this shelf.
Class II is a visible beam at or below one milliwatt, where the blink reflex is taken as protection. Class IIIA may exceed one and reach five; the two WEN presses here publish 2.5 mW.
For marking a drill center on timber, 0.83 mW is ample. The brighter beam is easier to see across a lit shop and less forgiving of a glance.
Of the five laser-equipped machines on the American half of this shelf, two publish a class. This is one, and it publishes it twice.
A drill press is bought for holes square to the face. What decides how deep those holes can be is the quill travel — how far the spindle comes down in one pull of the lever.
Run out of travel and the work has to be lifted on packing and the hole restarted, which is where accuracy goes. Fifty millimeters is shallow-hole territory: shelf pins, dowels, hardware. Eighty to ninety reaches most Forstner work. Past a hundred, a drill press starts to be a boring machine.
It is also the figure that is left out most often. Three of the seven European listings on this shelf publish it; the published Scheppach DP60 page names its absence as the one number that defines a drill press.
Nor the chuck capacity.
So the two questions a buyer brings to a drill press — how deep, and will my bit fit — cannot be answered from the listing.
The published Scheppach DP60 page on this shelf has exactly the same gap, and puts it in one line: no published quill stroke, which is the specification that matters most.
Six hundred and ten to 2,800 rpm, in five steps, and the steps are not listed.
A stepped machine is returned to a setting by counting belt positions, which is repeatable in a way a lever is not. That is a real advantage over the variable WEN presses here — provided the numbers are known.
The VEVOR 8 inch on this shelf publishes all five of its steps: 750, 1140, 1740, 2340, 3200. That is the usable version of this specification.
The lowest top speed on this shelf, and the least important number on the page.
A high top speed is for small bits in soft material. Nothing in a woodworking shop needs more than about 3,000 rpm, and plenty needs 500.
Six hundred and ten at the bottom is the figure that earns its place here.
Read on the day this page was built: $199 at the American Amazon shop.
Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-07. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Motor | 6.2 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed |
|---|---|
| Swing | 10 in — 254 mm |
| Quill travel | Not published by the maker. |
| Speed range | Five speeds from 610 to 2,800 rpm · The five steps are not listed individually |
| Chuck capacity | Not published by the maker. |
| Table | Height-adjustable, stated for easy depth control · No size and no tilt angle are published |
| Laser | Class II, maximum average radiant power 0.83 mW, published twice — the only class II laser on this shelf |
| Overall size | Not published by the maker. |
| Weight | Not published by the maker. |
| Also fitted | An adjustable depth stop and an LED work light |
| Amazon reference | B0BFQYZPQK |
| EAN | 0195532200247 |
Yes, and this is the only shelf in this catalog where the comparison can be made. Class II is a visible beam at or below one milliwatt: the blink reflex is considered protection enough, and this listing publishes 0.83 mW. Class IIIA may exceed one milliwatt and reach five — the two WEN presses on this shelf publish 2.5 mW — which is brighter on timber and less forgiving of a glance. For marking a drill center, 0.83 mW is ample. Three of the five laser-equipped machines on the American half of this shelf publish neither figure.
The quill travel. It is the measurement that says how deep a hole the machine can drill in one pull, and it is absent. The published Scheppach DP60 page on this shelf names the same gap on the same shelf in one line: no published quill stroke, which is the specification that matters most. Chuck capacity is the second absence here, and between them they mean this page cannot say what bit will fit or how far it will go.
Five, by moving the belt between stepped pulleys, from 610 to 2,800 rpm — and the five steps are not listed. A stepped machine is returned to a setting by counting positions, which is repeatable; a mechanically variable one, like the two WEN presses here, is set by a lever and read off a display. The VEVOR 8 inch on this shelf publishes all five of its steps as numbers, which is the version of this specification that can actually be used.
Between woodworking machines of the same category and nearby price. Shown: what they all state. A half-filled column says nothing.
| Model | Price | Motor | Swing | Quill travel | Speed range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skil DP9505-00, 10 in benchtop | $185 | 6.2 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed | 10 in — 254 mm | Not published by the maker. | Five speeds from 610 to 2,800 rpm · The five steps are not listed individually |
| WEN DP1062V, 10 in benchtop | $240 | 6.2 A induction, published — the same figure as the maker's 12 in press · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed | 10 in — 254 mm | 2 in, published — 51 mm (2.01 in) | 530 to 3,100 rpm, mechanically variable by a lever, with a digital readout of the current speed |
| WEN DP1263V, 12 in benchtop | $265 | 6.2 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed | 12 in — 305 mm | 3-1/8 in, published — 79 mm (3.11 in) | 580 to 3,100 rpm, mechanically variable by a lever, with a digital readout of the current speed |
| VEVOR 8 in benchtop, 5 speed | $100 | 2.5 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed | 8 in — 203 mm, tied with the other 8 in press for the smallest swing on this shelf | 2 in, published — 51 mm (2.01 in) | Five speeds, published individually: 750, 1,140, 1,740, 2,340 and 3,200 rpm — the only listing on this shelf to give every step · Changed by moving the belt |
A small bench where the laser matters and the depth of hole does not
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 200.
The figure is a floor, rounded by Amazon, and read through Keepa — it says what buyers picked, not what a maker claims.
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for woodworking machines and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
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
8 in · 620–3,100 rpm in 5 steps · 150 mm (5.91 in) quill claimed · 2.5 A
An eight-inch press claiming five point nine inches of spindle travel — more than the floor-standing machine on this shelf.
Best for: The smallest sum that puts a press with a tilting table on a bench — with the travel figure confirmed first
≈ $97
450 W · 5 speeds to 2,650 min⁻¹ · 50 mm (1.97 in) depth · €115
A €115 pillar drill that publishes its depth, its speed range and its chuck capacity — and states all three plainly.
Best for: Shelf pins, dowels and hardware holes — accurate shallow drilling on a small bench
