Dremel 26150220JB 220 Workstation Drill Stand

I bought this Dremel Workstation (drill stand) as part of a package with the Dremel 3000 multi tool. I wanted to use to drill small pilot holes accurately in jewellery boxes to fit hinges and catches precisely. So probably not the usual application as I am drilling small holes in relatively large items. The Workstation suffers from a familiar problem - namely plastic being used instead of metal. The quality of the individual parts are not bad but the assembly is flexible and just not that accurate. I did not expect precision engineering for this price but I did expect the basic alignment of the components to be a little better. Firstly the drill was not 90 degrees with the worktable. There is too much clearance in the parts. The large clamping screw for the rotation mechanism when tightened pulls the whole drill assembly sideways out of alignment. This is not a problem for shallow holes but would be for deeper ones over 10 mm. I had to use packing in the drill cradle to correct this. Secondly tool holder restricts the height that the drill assembly. Solution was to move it to the bottom of the column. Just a few millimeters smaller and the two parts would not have clashed! As I only use my Dremel drill in the Workstation I have removed the telescopic tube and hanger and so it is much lighter to move around. Thirdly, the return spring for the drill was struggling until I adjusted two VERY small brass screws which added/reduced movement in the mechanism and then it worked very well. Having mentioned its shortcomings it does do what I wanted and produced accurate hinge placement. Do not expect a machine for watch making or model engineering. Use it on plastic, wood and pcb`s and small shallow holes and all will be well. Overall it is good value for money. If you want more accuracy I would suggest the Proxxon Micromot MB 200 Drill Stand (twice the price) or the Micromot Drill stand (£15 more) which are all metal products and possibly more accurate.

For the price this is a great value piece of kit and I have found it easy to use for drilling PCB's quickly. This is not however a heavy duty drill press. The plastic fittings make it flexible and when using anything less than high speed and razor sharp (carbide) drill bits the drill stand flexes and can leave all sorts of odd shape holes. Drilling PCB's at low speed with HSS micro drills is out of the question and you would be better doing it with a dremel by hand in my opinion. For light drilling or grinding work I have found this drill press fantastic value and it is great for precision work. It's easy to adjust, has a versatile base for clamping various things and comes with a great little tool holder for your spanner and Dremel tools. Overall I give this piece of kit 4 stars as it could be a little more sturdy.