Holes & mortises · review
The only press on this shelf to publish every one of its speeds as a number — and the only one to mention runout at all.
The end of it Five speeds with five numbers, a published travel and a published capacity — on one of the two 8 in machines here.
Every figure below names its source. Each one is a manufacturer specification read off the listing itself. The judgments are ours.
Five speeds, published one by one.
Nothing else on either half of this shelf does that. The SKIL here publishes “five speeds from 610 to 2,800” and leaves the three middle steps unknown; the JET publishes sixteen speeds and no numbers at all.
A belt-stepped machine is repeatable in a way a lever is not — moving a belt is a countable action — but only if the steps have names. Here they do, so a 20 mm (0.79 in) bit runs at 750 every time.
It costs nothing to publish and one listing in fourteen does it.
Seven hundred and fifty is the highest bottom speed on this shelf.
The WEN presses go to 530 and 580, the SKIL to 610, the EcoSummer to 620. At 750 a 35 mm (1.38 in) Forstner in oak marks its rim and smells of it.
What makes that defensible is the other published figure: a 1/2 inch maximum drilling diameter. A 13 mm (0.51 in) bit is perfectly happy at 750 rpm.
The two numbers agree with each other, which on this shelf is worth saying.
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.
Two inches, which is shallow-hole territory and honestly stated.
With 8 inches of swing and a 1/2 inch capacity, that is a coherent little machine: small parts, hardware holes, dowels. It is not pretending to bore.
Three words, and the only mention of runout on either half of this shelf.
Runout is how far the spindle wobbles off true as it turns, measured in thousandths of a millimeter at the chuck. It decides whether a 6 mm (0.24 in) hole comes out 6 mm (0.24 in) or 6.4, and whether a brad-point bit tracks its own center.
The shelf’s intro names it as one of four things this site compares.
Fourteen listings. One mentions it. None measures it.
Read on the day this page was built: $102 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 | 2.5 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed |
|---|---|
| Swing | 8 in — 203 mm, tied with the other 8 in press for the smallest swing on this shelf |
| Quill travel | 2 in, published — 51 mm (2.01 in) |
| Speed range | 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 |
| Chuck capacity | 1/2 in maximum drilling diameter, published — 13 mm (0.51 in) |
| Table | Thick metal, height adjustable, tilting 0 to 45 degrees · No size published |
| Laser | None. An LED work light only |
| Overall size | Not published by the maker. |
| Weight | Not published by the maker. |
| Spindle | Stated low radial runout — the only mention of runout on either half of this shelf · No figure is given |
| Amazon reference | B0DGG2MD57 |
| EAN | 0197988412601 |
Because a belt-stepped machine is only repeatable if the steps have names. Moving a belt is a positive, countable action — unlike a lever on a variable drive — but a listing that says “five speeds from 610 to 2,800”, as the SKIL on this shelf does, leaves the three middle steps unknown. Here they are 750, 1,140, 1,740, 2,340 and 3,200, so a 20 mm (0.79 in) bit can be run at 750 every time. It is the only listing on either half of this shelf to do it, and it costs nothing.
For large bits, yes. Forstner and hole-saw work in hardwood wants to be nearer 500 rpm, and 750 is the highest bottom speed on this shelf — the two WEN presses go to 530 and 580, the SKIL to 610, the EcoSummer to 620. At 750 rpm a 35 mm (1.38 in) Forstner in oak will mark the rim and smell of it. On the 1/2 inch maximum capacity this machine publishes, 750 is defensible: a 13 mm (0.51 in) bit is happy there. The two figures are consistent with each other, which is the point.
How far the spindle wobbles off true as it turns, measured in thousandths of a millimeter at the chuck. It decides whether a 6 mm (0.24 in) hole comes out 6 mm (0.24 in) or 6.4, and whether a brad-point bit tracks its own center. The shelf's own intro names it as one of four comparison criteria. Across fourteen listings on this shelf, this one page mentions it — as “low radial runout”, with no figure. So the criterion exists in the shelf's promise and nowhere in its evidence.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| EcoSummer 8 in benchtop, 5 speed | $97 | 2.5 A induction, published · No wattage and no horsepower are claimed | 8 in — 203 mm | 5.9 in, published — 150 mm (5.91 in). That is more than the 5 in of the floor-standing JET on this shelf and more than the 90 mm (3.54 in) of the longest-stroke European machine here, on one of the two smallest presses of the fourteen | Five speeds from 620 to 3,100 rpm, changed by repositioning the belt · The five steps are not listed individually |
| 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 |
Small parts on a small bench, where the speed has to be set to a known number
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 100.
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
