Review on Ultimate Precision: Proxxon 28600 Micromot Drill Stand for Unparalleled Accuracy and Control by Elder Unogu

It pains me to give such a bad review as I spent extra money on it hoping that it would remove all the shortcomings of the predecessor that seemed unanimous in other reviews. To be honest I'm mostly impressed with this little stand. It's lightweight yet strong with very little tilt or unwanted movement between machined parts. And oddly enough, because of that, two things really struck me. They are terrible compared to the overall feel and functionality of the stand. The first and worst is the railing that runs along the slot visible to the right of the table. When tightened, it deviates completely from the base by 1/8 inch. Keep in mind that the base is only 4 5/8 inches wide. This is unforgivably sloppy (see the green arrows in the photo). Has anyone ever checked the quality? This is unbelievably bad and there is 1/16 inch wobble at full lock. The stopper is not a machined part. I think it's cast zinc, hence the play. at the bottom of the stop and a slot machined into the base that it should hook into when tightening. As far as I can tell this doesn't really affect drilling as anything that slides along the fence will still slide, having drilled holes parallel to the fence but this is very annoying to the person most likely to buy something like this , i.e. a person who makes small, precise things. and causes great torment for my anal resting side. The second is a yellow line (sticker) that serves as a guide to adjust the angle of the drill bit. Just stupid. Huge and without any cone or cue to give it a close connection with the adjacent graduations on the attachment drill. In other words, it's useless for zero or 90 degree calibration. This is actually very important and is due to one of the main reasons people buy this thing in the first place - to drill perfectly vertical holes, and anyone who uses a drill press will understand why the drill bit can have a non-zero angle of 90° is a big problem. So yes, you might want something more precise than a sloppy decal. I removed it quickly. It wasn't difficult. I'll replace it with a pointer, or better yet, some sort of adjustable point that allows for periodic calibration, like better saws. Proxxon should consider doing the same. The good news is that the parts fit together so well that the stand lends itself to proper calibration. The thing about things well made is that when something sucks, they really stand out. All in all this little roller coaster is amazing and I'm super happy with all the other things I didn't mention because I can't stop obsessing over that awful crooked fence. EDIT: I'm increasing my rating by one star as I realized the bump issue was due to a sloppy paint job on the aforementioned fence. I scraped off the excess chrome paint from the bottom of the fence which I think was causing the alignment issue. However, this is poor quality control on Proxxon's part and should not have happened. It's still in good standing and I'd happily give it 5 stars, but I'm put off that a company that advertises itself as a well-made alternative to other products doesn't go the extra mile to ensure this tool is well made. And as mentioned, the tensioning mechanism that the rotary tool is installed in is a silly oversight when it needs to be overtightened or not tightened enough so that the booster arm doesn't interfere with the drilling. All they would have to do is replace it with a toothed tensioner with an internal spring that allows the shaft to loosen by pulling out of the clamp and then re-engage at the desired angle. Smells like lazy design.