Is the Scheppach DP 60 710w Bench Drill Any Good?

This is a budget bench drill, but does it actually work well enough for most hobby woodworkers. In this video I take a look at the Scheppach DP 60 Bench Drill. It is limited to drilling vertical holes but has a range of other features including a laser, work light and digital depth gauge.

This machine was bought from the ALDI supermarket in the UK for £129.00 and was available online at:

A similar machines is currently available from ALDI from Einhell and described as the Einhell Digital Bench Drill. It's currently selling for £134.99 (use link above to ALDI DY special buys)

It is also available from Screwfix in the UK for the staggering price of £279 which is almost the same price as the Bosch DP 40 to which this machine has a strong familial resemblance:

Other suppliers may be available in your location and a google search will help locate them.

Alternatively the machine is occasionally listed on Amazon UK (link below)

AMZN: * As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through these links.

Wherever possible links are to actual products used, but this is not always possible, for example some products are not available outside the UK in which case I have selected something similar.

[StrawbyteWorkshop]

A couple of quick follow-up points from the video.
1. It seems the unit has gone off-sale online but they can be found in-store for £79.99 while stocks last (as of 1/1/21)
2. I do constantly refer to the drill as a 'bench drill' rather than a drill press. Bench drill is what both Scheppach and Bosch refer to this type of machine as and, as I said in the video, the drill mechanism is more similar to a hand-drill than a traditional drill press where the motor is stationary and the quill is moved up and down.
3. The review is a positive one. It's faults do not affect the results when drilling into wood and soft metals but and for £129 I would be put up with the quirky design and rough plasticky appearance. This isn't a precision engineering drill by any stretch of the imagination. The gearbox noise is unfortunate.

There is more to come on the subject of drills and drill presses so stay tuned. A couple of shorter videos to come in the meantime. Happy New Year.

[MrPyroNorman]

I got lucky and got one yesterday for £79.99, I'm more than happy with it even with its flaws.
Great review.

[grgr]

In my view keep your simple machines as simple as possible. It is a drill press no need for the digital screen and fancy gears that will break after a couple of years. People confuse real needs with useless features that are added just to increase the price.
A strong motor and solid steady base is all I need in a drill press.

[Ingrid_]

The gearbox, despite being noisy, has a strong point (for steel), that is, it does not allow rotation to be blocked, unlike the belt, which instead can slip, especially since the engine, with its 710 watts, is very powerful. However, predictably the gears of the gearbox work with gear grease, but in the future it may be that the gearbox will be made in an oil bath, so the gearbox will be less noisy and perhaps more durable. /// The electronic speed regulation seems to be carried out via a mosfet, since the motor is perhaps brushed and perhaps, if it had been an induction motor, with the regulation via inverter it would have been possible to have a greater speed range. /// One thing that I don't like and that few people notice is the base made of aluminium, rather than cast iron, since it doesn't give a sensation of robustness or flatness and in any case the aluminum causes the piece to stick, so it is difficult to position, while cast iron would allow better movement. /// The measurement of the drilling depth complete with zeroing is an uncommon strong point. /// The two-arm descent ring I think is an impractical marketing gimmick... it should be three-armed and in any case if it didn't have so many oddities in the design it would be better. In general it seems like a drill more suitable for wood than for steel, also because placing the steel on the aluminum base would quickly ruin the base.

[greywag]

Excellent commentary, very professional & unbiased

[darrenmillward]

At last a reviewer that actually uses the tools on a day to day basis.. very clear and precise and answered the questions I had. Which were build quality and will it do the job it's intended for.. brilliant..

[AndrewHelgeCox]

Great video (hence it shows up everywhere when searching for this drill). One improvement, perhaps you could add in the description: measure the run-out at the tip where the item would be contacted, rather than at the base of the shaft near the chuck. That could be done with a solid reference rod rather than with a used drill bit.

[robind]

Awesome review, clear, simple, all i needed to know about the machine. You're doing a far better job than al the so-called reviewers I have seen elsewhere. Thanks.

[philipjones]

I bought this drill back in April, I had for years been using a cheep’ish pillar drill which every time I used a hole saw or forstner bit it would stall the drill, really frustrating, I’m only a DIY’er so didn’t want lay out on a big expensive pillar drill so when Aldi started selling the scheppach I thought I would take a punt, I have to be honest I find it a very capable tool and it’s accuracy is more than good enough for me.
Brilliant channel and content by the way 👍

[patricksmith]

Great review. Straight to the point and shows what you want to see. I cannot understand why there are not more types of drill like this about. As someone mentioned, Makita where are you? Standard bench drills are identical to ones made over 100 years ago. When you think of the tech in a modern handrill these days, reverse and ultra low revs, then placing that vertically for a bench drill is a total no brainer. There is only this or the bosch on the market, neither are really top grade compared to what they could be.

[eyuptony]

Hi Karl. I think you nailed it being a hand drill with a built in stand. It's a great tool for the small workshop and a big upgrade
being variable speed. The ability to drill accurate vertical holes is a must for ease of assembly and accurate repetition work.
Just like the old Black and Decker hand drill in a drill stand but tweaked and with being light you can take the drill to the work. Tony

[lazlolazlolazlo]

Excellent and very professional presentation, thank you.

[bobbyblueace]

Excellent review. Very informative. Thanks.

[SujMenon]

Good review Karl. Interesting design from Scheppach. That rotating arms look's like straight out of Star Trek 😀. That thought process on changing the belt configuration for speed, on the older model drill press is spot on. I just stick with the medium speed for both wood and metal.

[normanboyes]

Good review.👍 I have the Bosch version and perfectly happy with it.😉 Happy New Year. 💥

[juppster]

I've had two of these - or at least almost identical, and Ferrex branded - in Australia. Both have failed. I kept the first one for 'handy spares' in case needed for the second. In each case the failure is electronic, and occurred running at low speed using a large-ish forstner bit (I was gentle, honest!) I noted that at low speeds the motor would 'hunt' - rev up and down a little, which is a sign of poor loop control.
Anyway, unable to find a circuit schematic to begin probing, I bought in a regular motor controller unit and wired that directly to the motor, bypassing all internal controls. And it works after a fashion. But the motor is low on torque and slows quite readily under load. Usually the control loop compensates for this by increasing input current, but in this case of course I've broken the loop by introducing an external controller.
Apart from this - rather catastrophic! - issue, both drills were great while they worked and much better suited to my needs than a regular drill press. I'm still playing with the current set up - maybe it will do if I don't work it TOO hard?

[franklettering]

Distance from post to drill bit would be handy to know.

[iamarawn]

Thanks for the test, I'll look for something else. Want to do more precise work and that runout when it's new will only get worse over time and .2 is already a bit much to begin with for me.

[escoxwz]

Большое спасибо! Купил тоже такой себе. Вы правы 90% отверстий нужно сверлить вертикально. И для этой работы станок подойдёт идеально. Тоже постараюсь сделать видео обзор как станок ко мне приедет.

[christianpetersen]

Hi Karl,
I really enjoyed your thoughtful and thorough presentation of this drill. I bought the Bosch version when I
saw & learned about it on Amazon a few years ago. I have only a 12 x 8’ workshop and this drill fitted my requirements perfectly. The belt changing on other drills was a definite no no. I bought a large cast iron drill vice for it too. I too don’t like the noise even from the Bosch so I hang an earbud type ear protector from it to make it easily accessible when I need to use the drill. That’s the only downside to it for me. I’ve got used to the chuck and printed helpful arrow labels so I can turn it the right way first time. It’s a drill I really like to use actually and the results are fine. I also prefer the softer Bosch green to the harsh blue! Keep up the good work. You must be enjoying it because you do it so well.