Comments on: Dremel’s Workstation: A Micro Drill Press For $40

By: JustDrillBaby

JustDrillBaby — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:19:04 +0000

I have been looking real seriously at the Dremel drill press product, but when I looked at reviews and message boards, it sounds very iffy. One particularly bright guy was saying he had one of these that worked real well, but there had been versions of this thing (with the same model number) that were known to be faulty in terms of attainable precision. Apparently he had talked directly to Dremel and had been assured that the problems had been fixed and that only good ones were in the pipeline. The trouble is that his comments were made in 2007, and now I am reading recent reviews in 2009 that indicate the problems with instability are back. The main problem seems to be the lack of anything to secure the upper part of the tool. When I look at the Milescraft rotary tool drill press, it looks like it would be a lot more stable and, it does in fact look identical to an OLDER model Dremel product because I found an old “Dremel Moto Tool 212 II DELUXE DRILL PRESS STAND” on eBay.

By: Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Dealmonger: Amazon 4-for-3

Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Dealmonger: Amazon 4-for-3 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:09:18 +0000

[...] A few products that may interest you are the Dremel Multi-Vise, Dremel Work Station, Kreg R3 Jig, and Irwin Unibits. This is just a sampling of what’s on sale: here’s the full listing of 4-for-3 eligible products. While it is not yet clear how Amazon determines which products are eligible for this promotion, it seems that qualifying products must be $45 or less. [...]

By: Stuey

Stuey — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:11:20 +0000

I think that these designs are inherently going to be inaccurate. I had a Craftsman portable drill press adapter, and I returned it after trying to use it to drill through plastic square channelling. I ruined quite a bit of material before realizing that the drill wandered at an angle after the initial hole. Only when putting bolts through the channel did I realize that the holes weren’t perfectly perpendicular. I had to file down the holes and made a mess of what was supposed to be a clean looking design.

And the Craftsman adapter was pretty heavy and allegedly sturdy. That’s why I’m so fixated against using any faux drill press adapters.

By: Myself

Myself — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:10:36 +0000

http://www.instructables.com/id/EH58XQM7I5EZTBBLKY/

I’ve also seen other hobbyists complain that the Dremel press wasn’t precise enough for PCB drilling.

I use Grandpa’s big drill press (1/2″ chuck, weighs about 80 lbs) and the beefier mechanism means there’s no deviation or wander. It’s fairly low RPM, but patience in the shop is a virtue and I’m happy to wait for good results.

By: ned.ludd

ned.ludd — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:58:40 +0000

As for drilling PCBs with a Dremel, if you plan on using carbide bits stay far away from the adjustable chucks. The one’s iI’ve used don’t center the bit accurately enough to keep them from breaking after every couple hole. Stick with the 1/8″ collets, and if you work slowly and carefully, it will work alright. The problem is that the older press (of which I have a couple) don’t mount the tool rigidly enough to prevent much vibration. This vibration will KILL carbide bits if you’re not careful, and if you’re drilling enough holes to make a decent sized PCB, you want carbide. HSS bits are toasted after about half a board for me.

I’ve been using my 14″ Grizzly drill press for PCB work lately, and it definitely doesn’t have any rigidity problems or try to break my carbide resharps like the Dremel. It tops out ~4K RPM though, and the higher speed of the Dremel tool makes drilling FR4 with smaller bits (wire size 60-74 for me) a lot easier, but the increased breakage rate just doesn’t work for me.

By: Perry Jones

Perry Jones — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:01:27 +0000

I’ve actually considered buying this for drilling PCBs as Stuey mentioned. Since I have some space restrictions and I already have a Dremel it seems a good match.

Does anyone have any insight on drilling PCBs with the Dremel drill press versus a small bench drill press?

By: Calvin

Calvin — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:52:30 +0000

There’s a serious issue that’s not immediately apparent with the drill press feature - the lack of any drill press vice that actually fits the model. As you can see in the promo picture, Dremel made their base to look like a standard drill press table, including the slots to use a press vice, but I haven’t been able to find any in production that actually fit. A FAQ at Dremel’s website mentioned that they are considering producing one, but do not curently. The Multi-Vice, sadly, is not a compatible piece.
That said, my Dremel workstation has enjoyed less utility as a press than as a grinding station, as mentioned in the previous comment, but it’s handy enough that I don’t have any regrets.

By: Bowen

Bowen — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:50:39 +0000

Well, I mostly read this blog from a modelers perspective (I’m a war gamer and always fiddling around with microtanks and the like).

While a drill press would be just dandy for a lot of what I do, the fact that the workstation is a drill press AND an adjustable stand makes this far more useful to me than the press alone. As mentioned above, I find this incredibly useful when I am polishing metal components or grinding down excess material from cast parts, so to get the same functionality I’d need to buy a little stationary grinder too.

When you look at the design of the tool, you can see that most of the parts go towards providing the plunging action that make this so useful for precision drilling (and I mean precision, I mounted an entire platoons worth of hair fine antenna’s using this thing without mangling one turret). I paid ~$40 for my Dremel, ~$30 for the Workstation and less than $10 for the Dremel chuck, so not only do I get all the function of the cheap drill press for the same sort of money, but I get the function of a stationary grinder and more, as I can unmount my Dremel and go do all the usual Dremel things. I’m looking at the EZLock rotary saw attachment next, as it would be ideal for the light ply used for the more solid buildings I have to craft….. I have the whole of Stalingrad to build!

By: Kurt Schwind

Kurt Schwind — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:49:33 +0000

I’m sort of with Stuey on this one. Another feature listed is that you can lock the dremel in place and move the object around it. Isn’t this exactly what the reviewed dremel ‘vise’ can do? http://toolmonger.com/2007/04/05/hands-on-dremels-multi-vise/ for $30 vs $40. I guess I’m just not (yet?) a Dremel enthusiast, but I can see more uses for the vise than for the press.

By: Stuey

Stuey — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:26:14 +0000

While I do agree that it’s a versatile work center, I think you guys are doing it wrong by focusing on its drill press features. If that was its primary feature, many fewer people would purchase it.

Why pick this up primarily for drilling when you can pick up an entry level Craftsman drill press for $90-$100. Plus, there are a few limitations as to a Dremel’s drilling capabilities.

The collets are not really optimized for drill bits. You really should get the adjustable chuck (link below). Even then, you’re limited to a maximum bit size of 1/8″. This might be suitable for PCB drilling, but how many other tasks require such precision? On the other hand, it also accepts a miniature drill press vise, but with a $40 pricetag, it should already come with one.

Now I’m not saying that this is a bad stand, but it’s drill press features are more a gimmick than anything else.

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-4486-Chuck/dp/B0000302ZV/