wolfcraft Drill Stand I 5027000 I for Controlled Drilling

It's obvious as soon as you get your hands on this that it is a quality item, and justifies its price. It's not perfect, I had a couple of problems assembling it, and the diagram-only instructions don't help much - first, in order to fit the bolt securing the main clamp, I had to use a small g-clamp to squeeze the main clamp enough to get the bolt to engage with the captive nut in its handle. Second, when working out how to attach the vice that goes with this item (bought separately) I found that the opening at the end of one of the channels in the base plate, through which a securing nut or bolt-head needs to go, was partially blocked by a little "flash" - excess metal from the casting. This needed to be cleaned up with a little file work, but then all was fine. Figuring out how to bolt the vice down so that it is easily adjustable, and the bolts don't interfere with the work piece was a bit tricky. There are solutions viewable on the internet, but mine was to use threaded rod cut to size. The rod can extend down to the bench-top, which stops it falling under the base. Once you have slotted the rod with one nut at the end through the opening at the end of the channel in the base, you can wind the rod to position one nut under the channel (big enough to fit in the channel so it can't turn) and then on the top of the thread fit a large washer, a spring washer, and the securing nut. I found this setup works really well, securing the vice well enough 'finger-tight', so easy to undo and reposition as necessary. Of course you can tighten with a spanner or socket if you need to. Despite these little challenges, I am pleased with the product which is good quality and works more than well enough for a DIY user.

I’ve just bought and assembled. It is well made. However I am left wondering why wouldn’t I have bought a proper bench drill stand. It’s cheaper ?

I have not regretted going for the most expensive option. A heavy, well designed, well made tool, it is a joy to use. I should mention that although packed in a sturdy (Wolfcraft) box, the box was damaged at one end with the big part of the tool on its way out. Fortunately the contents were all present and undamaged. It was delivered by Evri - Hermes.

Having bought a low price model which lasted two uses, I’m extremely pleased with my Wolfcraft drill stand. It’s well made, robust and accurate and is really easy to set up and use. An excellent piece of equipment.

SUMMARIZED REVIEWNot perfect, but pretty good.DETAILED REVIEWMost of the parts of this machine seem to be of good quality; two exceptions fail to inspire confidence and these are (1) the depth stop which is merely plastic and feels insubstantial and (2) the depth gauge which, again, is plastic and seems tacky and ill-suited to much use.Assembly instructions were provided but I didn't find them clear. Fortunately there isn't much to assemble.Diagrams in the instructions show two screws passing through the main body, to act as clamping screws. I was perplexed by this at first as on the machine I received the screw holes were blind -- i.e. the holes went into the body but not through the body. Close examination revealed that what I had taken to be solid metal was actually just paint in the holes; a sharp tap with a mallet pushed the screws through the paint and all was well.In operation there is some play; the body can rotate very slightly around the post. This slight movement is unlikely to be bothersome if drilling holes of, say, 4mm or wider into blocks of pine wood but is certainly a problem when drilling 1mm holes into 5mm diameter steel rods because the drill bit will slide across the surface and move off-centre. The play can be removed by tightening clamping screws on the side of the body but tightening these screws also stiffens the lifting/lowering rack and pinion mechanism. If you fully tighten the clamping screws the rack and pinion won't move at all so there is a trade-off to be made.The main body can be moved up and down the post and then locked in position. Once the body is locked in place, the maximum drilling depth from that point is about 80 mm.The post is perfectly round and so does not have to be inserted into the base at any particular rotational angle. This means it is possible to have the drill overhang the bench in order to drill into something that is beside the bench rather than upon the bench. It also means that there is some scope for the post to rotate in its hole if the grub screw that is supposed to secure it works loose.The depth stop can be moved rapidly by pressing a button which releases the screw thread. When the button is released the depth-stop must be screwed up or down to finely set the maximum drilling depth.From the five possible stars we can award on Amazon I have deducted two on account of the poor instructions, the plastic parts and the slight play. I haven't found it to be a bad product and it is very usable, but there is room for improvement. If your work requires you to drill many small, precisely located holes then your money might be better spent on a proper (and much more expensive) pillar drill. However for general hobby or domestic woodworking, this tool offers adequate precision and repeatability.

Drill stands seem to be rare these days, and well build ones are hard to find. This is very solid and great to use. It has made all sorts of jobs much quicker and easier.The manual does contain all the information you need for assembly - but you have to stare at it very hard. If you have used drill stands before it is not a problem.Was concerned about ordering issue mentioned by earlier reviewer. I ordered it, got a message saying 5-22 working days for delivery, and it was delivered within 5 working days, so no problem there.

Good quality product. Poor owners manual so you need to be mechanically minded to work out the finer features of this product.The quoted four day delivery turned out to be four weeks. Very frustrating.

Excellent quality, worth every penny.