Fein KBB 40 – Neat and Compact magdrilling
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Magdrills are amazing bits of kit in some ways. They have a limited range of functions, but because of what they do, they need to do it well. When you are drilling holes in thick steels, sometimes high up in a steel fabrication, the last thing you need is any kind of hassle. Accordingly,
manufacturers are always looking for ways to make their magdrills just a bit more user-friendly, safer and more efficient. Although I didn’t have to climb up a scaffolding to use the Fein KBB40 when I tested it, I have enough grip on the subject to appreciate quite how much it would be a good friend when drilling out steel cores. In common with the
other Fein magdrills I have tried out, the KBB 40 comes in a massive and strong plastic case. The heavy (roughly 13Kgs) drill nestles in the custom moulded space so that it will not move in transit and there is enough space for the cord and all the other accessories to be accessed and packed easily. The first thing I noticed
was that the drill has a very sleek and compact design. There are no bits and pieces hanging off it, and this enables it to be easy to set up and move without having to worry about snagging dangling bits. The heavy-duty electric cord is the only “dangle” you will have to worry about. There are a number of design features that make
for the compactness of the tool. First of all the main body of the drill is constructed out of a single alloy casting. This is very neatly done and the fabrication and casting are clearly top quality as well as being very robust. This is painted in the familiar Fein Orange colour so is very high-vis too! Simple maintenance of the enclosed motor is
achieved via the brush holder apertures in the alloy casing. At the base, the powerful magnet is attached with
four machine screws along with the nylon safety lashing strap connections. Back at the top of the casing is one of the neatest and easy-to-use designs of carry handle I have seen on
the magnet. This switch engages the magnet and enables the motor switches to become live and is unlikely to be accidentally engaged or disengaged in use.
Finally, and to be fair many
core drills have this feature these days, there is the matter of the handwheel. It can be mounted on either side of the motor casing to suit the handedness of the user or the position on the workpiece. The handwheel is easy to attach without tools by simply screwing the centre socket to its holder and screwing on the three short handles. Included as part of the kit
is a nylon lashing strap, a swarf hook, two centering pins and a 5mm hex key to fix the cutters. Most of these are all kept safely in a snap lidded box that too has its place in the case. As the name implies the
maximum core bit the KBB 40 will handle is 40mm diameter, but this would not seem to be a problem with 1100w of power and an under-load speed of 280 rpm. There is 65mm of stroke adjustment and a 50mm drilling depth, and the magnet holding power is 9000 N. This makes for a very well specified machine considering it is genuinely compact at just a shade under 305mm high from magnetic
a core-drilling unit for quite a while. As well as being easy to use, it is strong and allows the tool to hang from your carrying hand in a way that aids carrying rather than hampering it. Just in front of the handle is the built-in coolant
reservoir that clearly feeds to the cutting teeth internally, so there is no little dangly pipe getting in the way. I guess operators may need to lubricate the cutting edges manually if the drill is used on its side, but in the absence of an instruction booklet I couldn’t be sure. Another bit of neat design is the safety cover for
the core bit. This is made of black slatted steel and can be slid up and down on a steel rail with positive stops at each end of the travel. I have seen a variety of these safety core bit covers on various machines I have used over the years, and many of them have been either flimsy and useless or so complicated that they get in the way. Either way, user safety is not improved. But this Fein design seems to me to tick all the boxes. It is easy to use, robust and therefore safe, and it also doesn’t get in the way when moving or packing away the drill. Whoopeee! The switching seems to have been thoroughly
thought out too. The main On and Off switches for the motor are prominent on the back of the alloy casing. The off switch in particular is very sensitive - a quick flick seemed enough to turn the motor off instantly. The main switch is an illuminated rocker switch partly hidden under the edge of the casing near
18 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE
foot to plastic coolant tank. Attaching a core bit is easy on the Weldon chuck
using the hex keys supplied. Any quick release system for the bits would be less compact so is not indicated on the KBB 40. As is common with most core bit
drills I have used, the brush motor is loud and full of torque but it had no difficulty with drilling holes in the 8mm thick steel plate I managed to find for testing. I was impressed by just how quick and simple it is to set up and use. The guards and lubrication systems are simple and intuitive, so you are free to concentrate on the job in hand. Clearly, the KBB 40 is yet another example from Fein of a tool that is carefully and thoughtfully designed to be an improvement on what went before.
Reply No. 216
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
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