Square holes in steel · review
A ten-inch bench press with a 620 rpm bottom gear and a laser alignment system — the slowest speed of the two stepped machines on this shelf.
Where we come out The slowest bottom gear of the stepped bench presses here, on the thinnest specification page of any machine on this shelf.
Of the two stepped bench presses in the American half of this shelf, this is the one geared closest to what steel wants. Five speeds from 620 to 3,100 rpm, driven by a quarter-horsepower induction motor — and 620 rpm at the bottom is about twenty per cent fast for a 13 mm (0.51 in) bit in mild steel, where the 750 rpm press alongside it is about fifty per cent fast. This hub’s buying tip is that the lowest speed is the number to read, and this is the lower.
The rest of the machine is conventional and sensibly equipped: a depth stop for repeat holes, a table that swivels through 360 degrees and tilts to 45, an LED work light, and a laser alignment system that shows where the spindle axis meets the table. On wood the laser is genuinely useful; in steel the hole starts from a center punch and the drill point follows the punch, so the laser earns its place at setup rather than at the cut.
What is missing is the specification. This listing has no bullet points at all — a single paragraph of description — so the quill travel, the chuck capacity, the table size and the weight are nowhere on the page. Quill travel in particular is the figure that decides how thick a part can be drilled in one pass, and every other bench press in this hub publishes it.
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.
| Amazon reference | B0C5G9D49P |
|---|---|
| EAN | 0715450476335 |
Because it is closer to the speed steel actually wants. This hub’s buying tip puts a 13 mm (0.51 in) bit in mild steel at roughly 500 rpm, and the penalty for running fast is a blunt bit rather than a slow hole. At 620 rpm a 13 mm (0.51 in) drill is about twenty per cent fast; at 750 it is about fifty. Neither is ideal and the difference is real — and of the two stepped bench presses on this shelf, this is the slower.
A little, and less than on wood. A crossed-line laser shows where the spindle axis meets the table, which helps place a part roughly before clamping. In steel the hole is started from a center punch mark and the drill point finds it — if the punch mark and the laser disagree, the punch mark wins. What the laser genuinely saves is the first setup on a part you cannot see past.
Most of it. There are no bullet specifications at all — only a paragraph of description — so the quill travel, the chuck capacity, the table size and the machine weight are all absent. Quill travel is the figure that decides what thickness can be drilled in one pass, and it is published by every other bench press in this hub, European and American.
Same shelf, nearest price — what else that money puts on the bench.
Details checked on October 7, 2026.
A bench where the hole has to land where the line says, in steel up to about 10 mm (0.39 in)
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for welding and metalworking machines and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
710 W · 13 mm (0.51 in) in steel · 90 mm (3.54 in) quill travel · €250
Ninety millimeters of quill travel — nearly twice the entry machines, and the figure that decides deep holes.
Best for: Deep holes in solid stock, and anyone tired of repositioning halfway down
1,400 W · 800 rpm fixed · 40 mm (1.57 in) boring · 2,810 lbf magnet · 11 cutters
A magnetic drill with a 40 mm (1.57 in) cutter capacity and one fixed speed of 800 rpm — which is the opposite of what this hub’s buying tip asks for.
Best for: Holes in structural steel plate of 10 mm (0.39 in) or more, where the machine has to go to the work
≈ $175
795 DC motor · 7,000 rpm max · 40 mm (1.57 in) stroke · B10 chuck 0.6–6 mm (0.02 to 0.24 in)
A mini drill press for 0.6 to 6 mm (0.02 to 0.24 in) bits, with a 24 V variable supply and a 40 mm (1.57 in) stroke — the only machine in this hub built for work smaller than a drill chuck normally reaches.
Best for: Circuit boards, model work and small holes in soft material, where a full-size press cannot grip the bit
≈ $80
