KATSU Mini Bench Drill Pillar Press Stand 100W with Fully
KATSU Mini Bench Drill Pillar Press Stand 100W with Fully Adjustable Speed + 6mm Chuck + Handle Lock + Electronic Variable Speed Switch
From the brand
Guaranteed KATSU Quality
| Weight: | 5.25 kg |
| Dimensions: | 12.76 x 10.91 x 8.78 cm; 5.25 Kilograms |
| Model: | 100080 |
| Part: | 100080 |
| Colour: | Blue, Black |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | KATSU Tools |
| Dimensions: | 12.76 x 10.91 x 8.78 cm; 5.25 Kilograms |
| Quantity: | 1 |
Easy to use out of the box which it packs back into if necessary. I use it for drilling 1mm holes in brass. The speed range of up to 8500rpm and the sensitivity of the feed are ideal. The belt change to adjust the three speed ranges is easily accessible and the speed has a variable range throughout.
Overall I’m pretty impressed.
It will do most jobs you need. If fits a drill up to about 8mm, I think. Pretty small chuck. But if you use drills with a hex end you’ll fit in whatever you need. You’ll need to start from a smaller bit and work your way up.
Now the but…
Could just be my drill. But it’s not fully steady when it drills. Like it’s not fully straight. Completely fine for most drilling I’m sure. But I bought for some precise guitar work drilling.
Besides this issue I can’t complain to much for what it costs.
Notice straight away that the earth bonding screw was not clamping the earth wires, not a good start!
Added extra washer to fix the problem.
Please do check this as it is a safety issue.
Good bench drill for hobby/diy activities. Bought it to drill holes in epoxy details. Did the job for 1.5mm drilling 25mm deep. I haven’t test it yet with harder stuff like metals and wood.
It was a piece of cake to install it and get it running. I can’t really get it how someone could struggle with the assembly.
Pros:
Not too loud and small enough to store it anywhere.
Great value for money.
Cons
There’s no vice included in the kit. So it does worth buying a vice for it. I went for the one from the same brand.
Motor not powerful. Though for the small, precise jobs it’s doing fine.
Very good value for money easy to assemble and works very well
Very good and hefty small bench drill for the money. Needs a bit of careful setting up to get the best out of it but after that it’s all good and surprisingly accurate, even with 0.5mm drill bits
Overall i am very happy with this item.
Well constructed and sturdy drill press but 100w motor leaves it a little underpowered for all but light work or possibly model making. Stalls easily when using the larger drill bits, would possibly benefit from a motor upgrade (sewing machine type motors). But otherwise a nice, compact machine.
I wanted a small bench drill for model making and this fits the bill. The largest drill I will use is about 1/8 inch or 4m.m. on wood , aluminium or plastic. It would probably struggle with any thing larger but for small presition work it is ideal. Well made and surprisingly sturdy. If you are into model making or similar this is for you, if you want a drill for D.I.Y. I would recommend getting something bigger.
I took delivery of this pillar drill about an hour ago, and already know I’ve made the right choice. I needed something that I could use for hobby purposes, and as space (& finances!) we’re limited, I decided to buy this (my first ever pillar drill.).
Assembly was quick and easy, and even the handle that has caused a few people some frustration, screwed in without problem (you just need to get the angle right!). I’ve seen it suggested that wearing a pair of latex gloves for unpacking/assembly is a good idea, as the items (understandably) have a protective oily coating, and I agree with this. No problem wiping any excess off with kitchen roll/cloth, although mine wasn’t too bad at all.
I already had an intended first use for the drill, which was boring 2.5mm holes through a 10mm thick aluminium mount for a nitro engine (to be fitted in a radio controlled helicopter). After ordering the drill, and before it was received, I was looking at YouTube videos and reading all the reviews on it, and started to get the impression that it may not be up to the job as it only has a 100 watt motor – so much so that I nearly cancelled the order. But, I needn’t have worried, and I’m so glad that I didn’t
So, with an old engine mount for testing purposes, I inserted the drill bit & clamped the mount in a drill vice bought yesterday to go with the drill. With a little trepidation (as already mentioned, my first pillar drill), I set the drill to an appropriate speed, and gently drilled down a couple of mm. I then lifted it up, added a little 3 in 1 oil (thanks YouTube!), and drilled down a little more. After repeating this a few times, I was through! It took way less time than I imagined, and the hole was as clean as a whistle – the drilling was very accurate with no wobble whatsoever. I then tapped the hole with an M3 tap (first time ever doing this as well!), and the test was complete. To say I was happy is an understatement!
Enough waffle – to summarise, I’m delighted with the drill. Obviously I have no idea of it’s longevity, but it won’t get heavy use, so imagine it will last a very long time. Highly recommended!!
A model maker’s delight. Accurate and easy to use. Very good value for money.
This pillar drill is solidly built, it runs lovely and smooth. The only problem with it is that it is too fast. The lowest speed is 2500 rpm when at minimum setting. No good for steel, ok for wood and plastics etc.
I intend to replace the pulleys to lower the gearing and reduce the speed.
Fits my application needs. Safe electrical wiring.well packaged.my only minus. Is the chuck is a interference fit.so it’s not held in place by a thread. Make sure it’s fully home. Variable speed control. Is fantasic and one of the reason I purchased.Quite in operation.about the same noise level as a good rotary tool.I would recommend the purchase.to you. For use on small projects.OOoooo last thing the depth stop. Requires a decent screw to lock the column in a lower set position. Other that that is very good. I hope this helps.
Very simple to use. good speed . good construction . great design.
only downfall it was not suitable for my needs. Chuck too small (6.5mm) max , could do with a minimum of 10mm.
good for small needs and smaller drilling. Other than that great bargain price too.
The only moan I’ve got is the instructions do not show a on/off button it was ages before I found how to switch it on and on not stupid
The drill is very precise with almost zero run out .. Excellent for light engineering or hobby work . It is not possible to run at very slow speeds but you can’t have everything at this price point.
Overall Well pleased.
I enjoy making small model engineering steam engines. This fits into my limited space perfectly. I have drilled allsorts of metal and it has coped really well. An advantage to the small belt/rubber band drive is rather than breaking a drill bit the machine stops . It hasn’t got a lot of torque but again this is its strength as it will stop rather than break something.
Really nice small drill press. Very well made. Motor alignment needed tuning as it struggled to start as it wasn’t aligned properly. Took about 2 minuets to fix. Shame it doesn’t come with a vice on the bottom plate as that would be a grate addition! 10/10
This was bought for my husband who has a project in the garden that required pre drilling lots of holes in solid plastic and hard wood. It was perfect for the job and saved a lot of wrist pain. He said it worked perfectly and really good value for money and wished he had bought one years ago.
Well, firstly definitely value for money. Not really noisy, but does “whirr” a little bit. Needs to be cleaned of oil before use. Handle is a bit tricky to put in but can be done easily with care. Little minus – actual drop is quite small, big plus – variable speed. All in all would recommend.
This little drill is great value for the money.Seems well made.Its only small so would suit a hobbyist like me.It ticks all the boxes for such a cheap price.Had great fun reading the poorly translated instructions in the manual-very funny!!
Absolute bargain,I’d give this 6 stars if I could,you only have to look what’s available else where and at what price to see the value. Sturdy construction. Variable speed , the chuck is good too,running true and clamping less than a 1mm diameter drill bit.
Great compact drill but struggles with harder woods. Had to return and get a slightly heavier Duty press drill. Getting money back was a pain but that was down to in house f*** up. Sorted now
I have only had it a couple of days, but so far my findings are generally positive. Out of the box, I found the instructions very poor and whilst it isn’t particularly complicated to assemble it would be good to have quality instructions. On initial start up the motor would not turn, but after a bit of freeing up it did reliably start each time. I found the drive belt to be very stiff which I think was responsible for the initial poor starting. I would agree with a previous reviewer that it defiantly benefits form taking apart and reassembly lubricating the main moving parts at that time especially the drill feed mechanism. I found the chuck centring and minimal drift very good. The speed control is very handy although a start stop switch would make a good addition for safety.
For small drill sizes, 3mm of less its performance is ok, but once past this the motor power struggles even on the lowest pully ratio selected. Getting the pully cover off is a bit of a fiddle, but the plastic locating lugs will probably free up with repeated use. The drill feed travel is very limited which means frequent motor head height adjustment is required, but this is a limitation of a small and low cost bench drill.
Despite being drenched on oil, (not a bad thing) I found that the cast iron base plate had significant rust in the grooves of plate.
One disadvantage with the simple design of this unit is that when changing drill size/length the short travel of the head is likely to require you to alter the clearance height of the motor/chuck unit over the table. This is achieved by loosening the clamp to the rear of the motor unit. You have to be careful when doing this not to drop the motor unit plunging the drill bit into the work piece or the table. In bigger and higher quality pillar drills the table normally moves rather than the motor unit and the table falls away from the drill bit when loosened.
Overall I would agree with many of the other reviewers that this drill is very good for light duty work, it is small and not too heavy to move. I found its limited power meant that it was all too easy to stall, you just have to take your time. It would be nice to have lugs cast into the base table to allow the unit to be bolted down to a work bench.
I’ve given 5 stars because this drill really deserves it. I bought it for drilling holes in the glass pieces I make, which it does perfectly (using a diamond burr and a container of water as a coolant), but I’ve also used it for many other small scale drilling jobs. It’s a little powerhouse which works beautifully, is an excellent price and is completely portable. Totally recommended.
Once I realised that, it went in perfectly. A great little tool at the best price I’ve found anywhere. Just watch the lever angle!
I paid just under 50 here on Amazon for this little bench drill and I’m happy with the purchase. Typically of these Eastern budget machines the metal work leaves a bit to be desired, it ain’t no Bosch or Makita if you’re used to the quality of those manufacturers. On my machine the bed is straight and heavy-ish and the chuck is decent enough. The pull down mechanism isn’t perfectly smooth and you can feel a few slight notches as you lever it down but it’s not really bad enough to notice when you’re working. It was covered in a film of oil on the bed and slide rail so do’t set it down on your best carpet. It came with the chuck key and a few alan keys.
As I’m drilling 2mm aluminium most of the time I moved the belt to it’s slowest position which is simple enough to do. It’s coped with the aluminium easily using 5mm and under bits. I’ve used a home made right angle jig bolted to it’s bed and the lines of drill holes have mostly been straight and true.
I’d recommend this if you’re after one. There isn’t much choice for a smaller bench drill from the major manufacturers but if this keeps free from problems for my use this’ll do nicely and there isn’t a need to pay any more.
Hi all, well ordered this for my jewelry making hobby craft, its a great little drill, but remember it is a little drill. It runs on a small 100-wat sewing machine motor (so easy to replace).
I was thinking of replacing the chuck to take a keyless and possibly bigger chuck, this is possible at some cost though, it is a B10 tapered chuck, I have had this information direct from the manufacture. Even though it says 0.5 to 6mm it can take up to 8mm bits making it much more usable, i wouldn’t like to drill any 3mm plus steel with this as it would at some point burn out the motor.
Over all this is an excellent hobby drill and is ideal for small workshops as mine is, it isn’t overly heavy either, you won’t regret buying this for all hobby work craft work, I use alot of my Dremel stuff with it. Hope this helps you to decide about this little drill
After reading some reviews I was a little sceptical about this drill but I have to say I’m very impressed. I’ve tried out a number of different drills eg proxon, dremel, and non seemed very good in terms of accuracy and power. This little drill is well made, didn’t come covered in goo, worked straight out of the box. The quill travel is smooth and has no play, the chuck is nice quality, it’s not particularly noisy but above all it’s plenty powerful enough for what i need even without being wound up to full speed. So I’m drilling 1-3mm holes right through 4mm brass plate very effectively and with plenty of power in reserve. Can’t fault it other than of course the instructions are in gibberish! But then you don’t really need them for this. For the price I’m very impressed.
This is a good value for money addition to the hobbyist’s workshop. Ideal for drilling printed circuit boards and small model making parts. The chuck goes down to 0.75mm but I think 4mm drills are about its comfortable maximum. after that it tends to struggle a bit drilling metal. The speed control is very basic but the 3 step pulley wheel/belt drive helps a bit with this. In my opinion It is ideal for the for the ‘improver and experimenter who without too much effort can turn it into something worth more than double the purchase price.
It’s not going to cope with anything particularly heavy-duty, controls are basic, and the mechanism for raising / lowering the working height is just a very basic clamp that gets in the way slightly, but given that this is only about twice the price of a basic pillar clamp stand (for using a normal drill as a pillar drill), it’s brilliant value for money. Sturdily constructed and feels like it wil last a while, and the compact size means it can be put just about anywhere. Recommended.
I have read in one review that there is no depth stop I presume he meant spindle lock, there is a screw under the head that allows you to lock the lever and this allows basic milling functions with plastic and non ferrous metals, have yet to try it on steel. Also the base is slightly concave so you need to make allowances for this
After reading the reviews, I decided to place an order, but mine was the last of that particular stock. however, to a point,I could not fault it. I could not see any suppression as previously mentioned by another person. Running the drill, with the radio close, again with my radio control gear on: no interference was detected.
The stop was iffy, I replaced the Allen screw with a normal screw, held in a knurled knob to make life a bit easier, but the stop function still needs to be desired?
The actual speed control was perfect, the drill running very slow, but I got a drill stuck while drilling acrylic; I quickly turned the drill off and released the drill, but then found the drill would not run at slow speed any more, hence the reason I gave 4 stars and not 5. When I get the time, I will remove the speed control and see if any component can be up-rated, or simply order a better unit from Amazon.
Bringing the drill down to the work, the movement was smooth. the only thing I had to do was to remove some over-sprayed paint.
A magnet was clued to the case, once cured: this secured the chuck key, so it would not get lost, much safer than securing with cord, which could end up: wrapping its self around the chuck.
The drill is great value. It is very manual, but worked straight from the box and adequate for a basic modeller’s needs.
It was covered in oil when opened, so needs some looking after as obviously they are worried about rust, time will tell how it copes with being in a shed.
The head itself is quite heavy and you have to hold it’s whole weight while you raise or lower the body up/down the shaft, but again for the price this is manageable.
It loses one star though for the user manual – it is truly atrocious! An early Google automatic translation with no proof reading. By now I would have expected the seller to offer a replacement in real English. The wording simply doesn’t make sense in most places.
This little marvel was made for me!!
I had a few teething troubles because some of the set screws needed a little tightening and it took me a little while to clean all the factory greasy gunk off and get some lighter lubrication in… but these are all things you’d expect.
I mostly work in plastics but I’ve drilled holes in aluminium using nearly the biggest bits it can take and it’s managed it with quite some effort.
Excellent so far! I make wooden jewellery, and needed something that drilled perfectly perpendicular holes with a depth of upto 25mm. This does the job with no problems. The drill runs super smooth and solid, and for such a small thing, it thankfully weighs a good amount, so no need for mounting onto a table, I just sit it on a rubber mat.
It feels like a solid build except for the speed dial which is a rough flimsy plastic, not a big deal though. There are things I would not do on this. The speed seems excessively fast on the medium setting spindle, and I can see this getting hot if used for long-ish drilling (say for harder materials such as stone). I have mine set on the slowest spindle which is fine for my semi-hard woods, and I also drill by ‘wood peckering’, going in and out to avoid heating/burning.
All said, this is a god send compared to the crappy Dremel workstation drill press I was using before. I was considering the Proxxon mini drill, but that’s over 200, so you can imagine my delight when I saw the Katsu for sale at under 50. This really is a great tool when used with consideration and caution.
BTW If anyone needs spare parts, there’s a UK seller on that well known auction site, selling spare motors, drive belts and even extra chucks for the Katsu drill.
Very good build quality. CE marked. Decent power cord and proper 13A plug..
Highly Recommended. I will write a further review in a few months after some use.
The cast base supplied with my drill was not flat, with the centre about 1.5mm lower than the edges. The drill is capable of much better alignment than this, and I put in some work with a file and scraper to improve this. Over-tightening of the height clamp is prevented by a plastic washer between the closing edges (nice touch); unfortunately on my machine it was too thick and prevented the clamp from working properly. A few file strokes fixed this. Overall, the drill benefitted from being stripped down, cleaned and re-lubricated which removed traces of swarf and greatly improved the smoothness of its operation.
The metalwork of the drill is properly electrically bonded to the centre pin of the (UK) flat pin plug, unlike some equipment of Chinese manufacture that I have received. The speed control is a simple triac circuit with partial compensation for motor loading. There is no mains suppressor fitted to the power lead, which radiates a lot of electrical noise when the motor is running. A simple filter installed inside the headstock casting fixed this, and is essential if you want to remain on good terms with your neighbours. As delivered, I do not believe that the drill can be compliant with UK/EU EMC regulations. There is no CE marking.
Spare drive belts are not available from AIM Tools, but belt material is readily available from model supplies companies if you are prepared to make your own, and at least one UK supplier of small lathe equipment will make up this type of belt to order.
Overall, this is a good little machine that that required a bit more work than expected during commissioning. It is excellent for fine work with small drill sizes and very good value for money if you are prepared to put in some initial effort. If you buy one, do fit a mains filter or find an electrician who will install one for you.