Rotary Tool Drill Press Stand for Woodworking and Jewelry Making

When I got the unit fully assembled according to instructions and tried it out, the tool-holder was loose and would skew out of position, diverting from its 90 degree perpendicular angle when subject to even the slightest resistance. Tightening the nut that secures the tool-holder to the bottom of the geared shaft (which there is no mention of in the instructions) firmed-up that connection, but when I did that, the back “pointed-peak” of the tool-holder pressed hard against the main housing to the point where it was frozen in position and unable to be moved with the crank. And regardless of that issue, the entire main housing and tool-holder assembly would move/wiggle from side to side (with resistive force) when lowering with the crank. This product was either poorly designed or poorly manufactured, or both, and is virtually useless. I returned it. Thanks to Home Depot for a quick and easy return process.

After assembling the unit, could not get S knob to function at all, maybe this unit had a problem with thread of S knob insert, this made it difficult to use routing function by keeping routing bit stationary and prevented all routing functions and limited what I can do with it. Great idea overall with this product its well built and could be an excellent asset to any workshop but using it for routing could be a challenge. Returning for a replacement model with other manufacturer.

This is a good, very light-duty drill press. It is quite rigid, especially in comparison to the near-identical Dremel product. Dremel's work center does allow you to hold the rotary Dremel Tool at an angle, but it does not have the kind of rigidity that this Drill Press has. Where this unit has cast metal and very rigid plastic, the other has flexible pieces of thin plastic. On the Dremel Work Station, I tried drilling some 6061 aluminum, which is a pretty soft alloy, by the way, but my drill just walked all over the place. The drill was plenty sharp, but the work station just flexed too much. I am quite confident that this tool won't be like that. Somebody thought that the tripodal base is unstable, but there is no more stable an arrangement than a tripod. As far as it's instability when the rotary tool is turned sideways, well that is the same for all of these small drill presses. Unless they are clamped down, they are unstable. So, clamp it down. The ToolStand is a light-duty item, but still quite rigid. I am very satisfied with it and would recommend it to anyone else.

Recognizing that the M1097 Milescraft rotary drill press stand is not a precision machine tool, it still is worth considering for hobby use. Its low price is closer to what one might expect to pay for a toy, but overall the materials, quality and functionality is pretty good. Pros: Low price Easy assembly using a Phillips screwdriver and small adjustable wrench or pliers Assembly instructions are fairly good, but the photos are a little fuzzy Looks like it will accommodate a variety of models and sizes of rotary tools Allows mounting a rotary tool horizontal (90 degrees) for polishing, cutting, etc. Light weight but fairly sturdy. Easy to move from bench to storage. Cons: The pilot feed lever hits the depth stop set screw. This is not a serious problem, but its annoying. It simply needs needs a slightly shorter set screw. The pilot feed lever operation is a little jerky. The spring drags and pops. The spring cover is a thin metal plate secured by only one screw. This cover came warped and dented straight out of the box. There is no provision for clamping the work. One will probably need to improvise. I use blue painters tape for holding small circuit boards as shown in photos.This works OK for drilling a few holes. The base has four slots part way cut in at 45 degrees – like an “X” without the crossing point. I have not found any machine or milling vise that will mount on the base. The slots are large enough for a 5/16” - 3/8”carriage bolt, but, why? The rotary tool is mounted cantilever on its nose. This allows a slight wobble when contacting the drilling surface. The illustration on the shipping box shows a strap providing lateral support, but it was not included with my unit. To turn the tool 90 degrees you must completely remove the assembly from the column, turn the assembly 90 degrees and reinstall it on the column. The cantilever mounting causes more instability when the tool is 90 degrees. Furthermore, the whole thing is off balance and it tends to fall counter clockwise unless the base is anchored securely. Overall, the design needs improvement, but the unit works OK for the price.

A piece of JUNK

Very good and compact ,don’t take much spaces ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Handy for drill stained glass for hanging holes.

I thought I was ordering the Dremel Brand. Unfortunately, the Milescraft Drill Press version is not of the same quality.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

I saw many negative reviews, so I wanted to provide my perspective. First this costs $40, which is less than the Dremel brand press stand. It is made with cast metal parts instead of plastic. It is made is China so consider that as well. Upon unpacking and assembly, I noticed a few issues that were simply a matter of tightening everything up correctly. The bolt attaching the tool carrier to the notched shaft was loose, causing the tool to cant when the press gear was used. Torquing this down fixed that issue. I also noticed the notches on the shaft were not square to the gear in the gearbox. I rotated the shaft to align with the gear and the mechanism was much better. Additionally I lubricated the gear assembly and the crank shaft with some grease and the action seemed very smooth and stable at that point. So out of the box, it needs some mechanical tuning up, but what did you really expect for $40? I haven't used this for routing wood or serious drilling in wood / metal, I don't feel it would be sufficient compared to my full size router or drill press. I did buy this for drilling stitching lines in my leatherwork projects, where I need to get through stacked layers of leather too great for my stitching chisels to get through. This unit is straight , square , and drills a nice squared up line easily. Exactly what I was looking for for my leather craft work!