Any recommendation for good quality mini hand drill (0.5 to 3mm)?

[ship69]

Hello

Can you recommend a good quality, hand held miniature drill?

I need to buy a small high speed drill for engraving/grinding/cutting and drilling minute holes - i.e. between say 0.5 to 3 mm.

I have and old 12v Richmond that does 13,000 RPM. But there bearing are shot. Unfortunately Richmond appear to have gone out of business/don't make them any more (??)

Any suggestions for something of good/better quality. Needs to be variable speed and have a chuck that can be removed so as to handle exceedingly small drills. Having good torque rather than just a very high top speed would be helpful. Good robust bearings would definitely be an advantage. Must do at least say 20,000 RMP. Also at some point I may want to put it on a stand rather than just use by hand.

Minicraft MB150 Hobby Drill (c.£25+VAT)

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Minicraft-MB150-Hobby-Drill-no-Accessories-85-8000

Proxxon Precision Drill FBS 240/E (£59.79 - somewhat expensive)

http://www.ema-models.co.uk/index.php/power-tools/proxxon-hand-held-tools/precision-drill-fbs-240-e.html

Wait,here is a list of bands:

http://www.rapidonline.com/Miniature-Power-Tools

- Draper

- Dremel

- Maxicraft

- Minicraft

- Proxxon

- Rotacraft

- Sealy

- Weller

Any strong views?

Thanks

[Mitch K]

I had a MiniCraft and it was a great tool.It could have used a soft start, but to be honest, every mini drill I've ever used could have. It was reliable, extremely accurate and I regret selling it to this day!

[Jinxman]

I have justed started using the Proxxon 230/E - purchased from here;

http://www.arstecnica.de/shop/tools-material/power-tools/proxxon-28440.html?XTCsid=5lsqo60tul9m9qk26psrdirhd4

Used Proxxon for quite some time now and it has never let me down, with a decent range of associated accessories to relieve you of your hard earned..

The chucks don't go really small though, and you will need to purchase a power source separately for some of their drills..

cheers

[viscount806x]

Dremels can be a bit unwieldy and probably could do with a slower speed capability but they have a few advantages too:

Plenty of spares accessories available including spare motor brushes, a proper mini chuck, long flexible drive attachment and they are very robust. If you find yourself in Canada or the U.S., they are sold very cheaply under Sears' 'Mastercraft' brand along with a blisteringly massive in store spares and accessories counter.

I could certainly recommend them. I also have an old low voltage Minicraft drill but tend to use that with a big split pin in the chuck, for mixing paint tins and jars. It doesn't have a lot of torque but runs nicely off an old model railway transformer.