Summary
The Dremel 220-01 Rotary Tool Workstation is a drill press without the built-in drill (otherwise known as a tool holder or stand). The drill should be bought separately. However, if you already have a Dremel brand drill like I do (among the approved list of drills), this is the far more affordable option to buying a similarly priced but unstable drill press or an just as stable but many times more expensive drill press. It even includes extras like cord management clips and four clamping points for good measure.
We Like
- The cost-effectiveness of the stand.
- The Dremel 220-01 accepts a wide range of Dremel hand drills, allowing it to transform them into more stable and repeatable drill presses.
- This workstation of sorts allows you to drill angled and perpendicular holes in increments of 15° until it reaches 90°.
- The 11-pound workstation drill press includes a tool holder that holds hand tools such as drills, sanders, grinders, polishers, and the like, giving them a more stable base.
- You can telescopically adjust the flex shaft tool stand to any height from 16 inches to 29 inches.
- There’s a storage compartment for accessories like wrenches, drill bits, and the like.
We Don’t Like
- It mostly only works on Dremel drill and power tool products while the other competing stands are more universal with the tools they can use.
Introduction
Drill presses generate power by how much leverage they have, which is a combination of the horsepower of the motor and the strength of the drill press stand and base themselves that keeps the drill from moving all over the place and ruining your accuracy when making repeatable and evenly spaced holes on a given work piece.
Even in the case of the drill press workstation or drill holder (that can double as a power tool holder since any similarly sized saw or buffer that can fit on this contraption can benefit from its stand stability), it works the same way. The main benefit of these stands is that more often than not, the drill and drill press workstation cost a lot less than traditional drill presses with built-in drills.
Who Is It For?
A drill press workstation, like its drill press with built-in drill counterpart, is something used by mechanics, machinists, metal workers, and (mostly) woodworkers. It’s particularly handy when it comes to drilling holes into wooden panels and the like to help create furniture like drawers, cabinets, armoires, chairs, tables, and crown molding. The drill press is far more assembly-line accurate than hand tools plus measuring tape and a pencil.
A drill press stand or holder, on the other hand, is much cheaper for a budget-conscious homeowner or woodworker to use if they already have a collection of hand drills available. These drill presses with the drill sold separately work pretty much the same way as a drill press with a built-in drill, except this time around you can replace the drill easily in case it breaks down versus the latter that necessitates you to buy a brand new drill press to replace it.
This workstation (plus requisite drill) allows you to create furniture or drill parts of a machine (like making a new rear quarter or fender panel by yourself so that you only have to pay for its paint job when all is said and done) for the sake of vehicular repair. It can also come in handy when it comes to drilling factory equipment for factory workers or holes in wooden floorboards.
Buyer’s Guide
What Benefits Should This Drill Press Stand Have?
Every drill press workstation you buy should have the following benefits.
- Prevent Fatigue
A drill press stand or workstation is the poor man’s version of a full-blown drill press. Like a drill press with a built-in drill, a drill press stand is capable of preventing your arms from suffering from fatigue after drilling through multiple holes in a given metal or wooden work piece since you’re only pulling a lever rather than holding down a vibrating hand tool with all your arm strength.
- Save Money
Aside from working more efficiently and preventing fatigue, the drill press workstation is also something that’s supposed to save you money when all is said and done. By buying the hand drill then the drill press holder separately, you’ll avoid having to spend hundreds or a thousand dollars on a drill press with a built-in motor and drill. What’s more, if the drill fails or the stand breaks down, you can buy a new one rather than buy a new drill press.
- Enhance Drill Functionality
A drill press enables you to drill into wood, metal, and plastic with amazing accuracy or precision. You can also drill at different clean angles that are also precisely measured, aligned, and calculated. A drill press stand in particular enables you to transform most any compatible hand drill into a drill press so that you can have both the functions of a portable drill or the stability of a drill press with a table or stand.
Things to Consider When Buying a Drill Press Stand
Take into consideration the following shopping tips before making a drill press purchase.
- Is Your Drill Press Workstation Versatile?
Versatility is important when choosing between drill press stands. Versatility in this context refers to what sort of drills your drill press stand can take. Maybe it can even hold onto other power tools, like a buffer or a saw. It’s ultimately up to the type of drill you buy to get the right amount of variable speeds or if it can be used with a spindle sander or rotary sanding disc. However, the workstation itself should allow for angled holes and repeatable, evenly spaced drilling.
- Is Your Drill Press Workstation Safe and Secure?
Your drill holder or drill press stand should be built in a way that prevents you from injuring yourself. It should be stable, secure, and strong enough to keep the work piece or drill still as it goes about its business. Your stand should be able to take variable speed settings without losing control of the drill. It should also be designed in a way that your fingers or hands can easily avoid contact with the drill as it is drilling.
- Is Your Drill Press Workstation Durable?
Shoddily made workstations tend to buckle under pressure or be made completely of plastic parts that easily break and are not replaceable. It should be made with quality metals, a strong column, tight screw holes that keep the workstation together after assembly, and clamps or vises that keep the wood from slipping as you operate on it, drilling it full of evenly spaced holes and whatnot.
Product Details
Description
The Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation is a stand and base that turns Dremel drills into drill presses by attaching them to this product. It’s specifically compatible to Dremel-brand models of drills and rotary tools like Dremel 8220, 8200, 8100, 4200, 4000, 3000, 800, 400, 398, 395, 300, 285, 275, 200, and 100 models. It’s capable of drilling straight and angled holes with the right tool. It’s also cheaper and easier to replace than your typical drill press with built-in drills or rotary tools.
Product Information
- Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 12 inches
- Item Weight: 11.9 pounds
- Drill Depth: 2 inches
- Material: Steel and plastic
- Tilting Angle: Up to °90
Features & Benefits
- Replaceable Drills
It can become as powerful as you want it to be. If a given drill attached to this drill press holder isn’t holding up in terms of speed or power, just get another compatible drill.
- Angular or Straight Drilling
You can adjust the drill press stand or holder in accordance to which angle you want your drill to enter the work piece every time.
- Base and Clamps
The solid base ensures vibration-free drilling to maintain accuracy. The four clamping points ensures a secure grip on the work piece. The stand itself is held together by tight rigs and screws.
- Easy Storage
It’s easy to store as long as you can telescopically shrink it to a compact height or disassemble it altogether.
- Storage Room
There’s an on-board storage room for wrenches, drill bits, and other Dremel extras.
- Cord Management Clips
If you’re using corded drills, there’s no need to fret about spaghetti wires or octopus connections with the clips included in the package.
- Metric and Depth Stop Markings
You can accurately drill without busting out your metric or inch measuring tape with the measurement markings on the base.
Pros
- The tool doubles as a flex-shaft tool stand and rotary tool holder at the same time on top of being a drill press for any hand drill.
- It can drill at a perpendicular angle or through slanted angular holes in increments of 15° and can go up to 90° horizontally.
- It holds products like drills, buffers, sanders, and other rotary equipment.
- You can use it to grind metal pieces, sand wood into different shapes, or polish metal or wooden objects to smoothness.
- You can raise or shrink the tool between the heights of 16 inches to 29 inches.
Cons
- According to some customers on Amazon.com, it’s crooked and it breaks easily.
Reviews / Testimonials
The Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation is one of the better reviewed drill presses out there that don’t have built-in immovable drills included with the contraption. The key points of praise here is the durability of the stand, its cost-effectiveness, and its myriad of features and benefits.
This stand or workstation is spec-heavy and even includes on-board storage of wrenches and accessories for good measure.
If you’re worried about getting a shoddy stand that breaks easily according to 20% of the customers, rest assured that 80% of people or a majority of reviewers view it in a better, more favorable light.
Alternative Choices
Here are some alternatives to the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation.
1) Milescraft 1097 Tool Stand Drill Press for Rotary Tools
The Milescraft 1097 has a lower rating than the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation because it’s viewed as a marginal piece of equipment that in fairness is priced correctly (and it’s about a few dollars cheaper than the Dremel 220-01. In fairness to the Dremel drill press stand, it actually strives to provide the customer with more value out of their investment or more bang for their buck (as the turn of the phrase goes).
It’s ironically a little more expensive than the Dremel not because of its price but because it includes extra fees for shipping that doubles its price. The Milescraft 1097 is nevertheless a little bigger than the 220-01, it’s not limited to Dremel drills (although it does accept Dremel drills and rotary tools too), and it has a slightly deeper drill depth on top of it being significantly lighter (about more than twice as light) than its Dremel counterpart.
2) AMYAMY Floor Drill Press Rotary Tool Workstation
The AMYAMY Floor Drill Press Workstation is even bigger than the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation dimensions-wise, weighs about twice (more or less) as the Milescraft 1097 and Proxxon 28606, and it has a deeper drill depth than the 220-01 (but it’s a hair shallower than what the 1097 offers). With that said, don’t take the high rating too seriously. Only one customer rated this drill press.
This bright green, yellow, and red rotary tool drill press is a mostly generic and relatively cheap (falls on the same price range as the Dremel offering) stand or tool holder that works similarly to the 220-01 but features less specs (it’s simpler in design and it lacks the trimmings of the Dremel drill press such as the on-board storage and cord management clips) and is designed much simpler to boot.
3) Proxxon 28606 MICROMOT Drill Stand MB 140
The Proxxon 28606 MICROMOT Drill Stand has a more realistic high rating. In regards to how it compares to the Dremel 220-01, it’s much lighter at 4.4 pounds (comparable to the Milescraft 1097), it offers the same 2-inch default drill depth, and it’s a bit taller and larger in terms of dimensions, allowing you to drill through bigger or taller work pieces.
However, it’s as simply designed as the AMYAMY Floor Drill and contains generic features so that it can cater to a wider range of rotary tools and drills for pressing purposes. However, it still got a decent rating mostly because it doesn’t look or feel cheap. It has a robust chromed feed lever that works with a ball-bearing and drive disc system that allows for mechanical accuracy when making those holes via drilling. Alas, it lacks the angled drilling prowess of Dremel 220-01.
4) Wolfcraft 3408 Drill Press Stand
In regards to the Wolfcraft 3408, here’s the nitty-gritty. It’s even bigger than the Proxxon 28606 MICROMOT but has similar dimensions as the AMYAMY Floor Drill Press. However, with the way it’s built and the materials used to build it, it looks more like a microscope than a simple mechanical holder for a drill, thus ensuring you of less shaking, vibration, and crooked holes when all is said and done.
It’s also even cheaper than the AMYAMY without coming off as lower grade. It’s the second heaviest drill press stand featured on this article next to the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation at 9.1 pounds while both share the same drill depth. However, it has a higher rating than the 220-01. It even comes with a chuck key holder, making it a cost-effective option with loads of features indeed (the Dremel has more features though).
5) Heavy Duty 20 Inch Drill Stand With Cast Iron Base
Last but not least is the generically named Heavy Duty 20 Inch Drill Stand. It offers more than just a cast iron base. It compares to the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press by being the largest or tallest drill press stand/workstation on this list dimension-wise without necessarily being the heaviest (it weighs just 6.8 pounds or a little above what the 4.3-pound Milescraft 1097 and 4.4-pound Proxxon 28606 MICROMOT weigh).
The low-rated (or perhaps underrated) universal drill stand has a drill depth similar to the AMYAMY Floor Drill Press Workstation at 2⅖ inches or just a hair less than the 2½ inches offered by the Milescraft 1097 (but way below the 2 inches offered by the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation). As a drill stand that’s compatible to many drills and rotary tools (Dremel and otherwise), it’s one of the better ones out there with a price that’s slightly cheaper than the 220-01’s.
Alternative Choices Comparison Table
| Alternative Choices | Our Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Milescraft 1097 Tool Stand Drill Press for Rotary Tools | CHECK PRICE | |
| AMYAMY Floor Drill Press Rotary Tool Workstation | CHECK PRICE | |
| Proxxon 28606 MICROMOT Drill Stand MB 140 | CHECK PRICE | |
| Wolfcraft 3408 Drill Press Stand | CHECK PRICE | |
| Heavy Duty 20 Inch Drill Stand With Cast Iron Base | CHECK PRICE |
The Final Cut
While there are cheaper and bigger or taller options in terms of drill press stands out there, the Dremel 220-01 Drill Press Workstation is still better because in accordance to its jam-packed features and benefits it’s well-worth the extra few dollars you put out for it. It also has more reviews and is probably more well-known than all of its alternatives. Its closest competitors fall short against in terms of specs while the extra few fractions of an inch in drill depth isn’t that significant to make the other stands compete against it.
