Am I missing something??

[Lucie]

OK, so I phoned Sutton Tools for their opinion about which pendant motor to buy.
The Foredom SR apparently has the quick release hand piece and runs at 18,000rpm. It comes in at £226.14

The quick release Milbro runs with a 12,000rpm is £290 and you have to buy the hand piece separately for about £150 - so £440 in total!!

The guy at Suttons said that there was really no discernible difference.
Can this really be true considering the massive difference in price?

Any advice before I spend any money would be really welcome x

[Patstone]

I have the Foredom, but found that drill bits tend to slip in the quick release hand piece, you are supposed to be able to adjust them but it wouldn't work for me. Saying that, I wrote to Foredom in USA and they sent me a chuck hand piece free of charge so I use that for drills.

[ShinyLauren]

I got the Foredom SR with the No.30 handpiece, as it fits in the drill press that I also wanted, thus turning the pendant motor into a pillar drill - genius!

It takes seconds to change drillbits etc with the chuck handpiece, but I've never had a quick release handpiece so I guess I don't really know what I'm missing.

[Lucie]

I have the problem with accessories working their way loose in my old Dremel - It's the main reason I'm replacing it. It doesn't matter how much I tighten it, so the thought of the Foredom doing the same things is very off putting.
The guy at Suttons seemed to be saying the two motors were pretty much identical, just that the Milbro cost more?

I don't have quick release at the moment and it doesn't really bother me cause I'm used to it, but I know a lot of folk seem to prefer them.

Am wondering whether I might be better off with the Milbro Pendant Motor with Fixed Handpiece 18,000rpm, but it's still quite a bit more money?

[Nick martin]

I'm a huge fan of the Foredom SR after purchasing one at Xmas. I find the quick release handpiece sufficient for most things. However if you're going to be doing serious drilling then the still bit can slip a little, so the No.30 handpiece is a wise buy too as has been said.

The Milbro is British made and meant to be of a very high quality, however I think the Foredoms a better choice because of its price, great customer service, and large range of accessories.

Lauren: contemplating getting the drill press.. Decent piece of kit then?

Nick

[Lucie]

[QUOTE=ShinyLauren;63041]I got the Foredom SR with the No.30 handpiece, as it fits in the drill press that I also wanted, thus turning the pendant motor into a pillar drill - genius!

I wouldn't have thought of that Lauren - absolute genius!!

[ShinyLauren]

I'm a huge fan of the Foredom SR after purchasing one at Xmas. I find the quick release handpiece sufficient for most things. However if you're going to be doing serious drilling then the still bit can slip a little, so the No.30 handpiece is a wise buy too as has been said.

The Milbro is British made and meant to be of a very high quality, however I think the Foredoms a better choice because of its price, great customer service, and large range of accessories.

Lauren: contemplating getting the drill press.. Decent piece of kit then?

Nick

I love it! I have a complete inability to drill straight through thick sheet/wire/tube without a pendant drill, but didn't have the space for a pendant drill - hence Foredom/drill press combination. I upgraded to the Foredom from a cheap Axminster pendant drill (which was actually pretty decent) and before that I had a dremel with flexshaft which drove me mental on a daily basis. When it finally died I did not mourn its passing very much!

[Dennis]

I personally dislike multipurpose tools, because they need to be set up when you want them. My recommendation would be a Proxxon drill press, which is quite small, but takes drills upto 6.5mm. You do need to buy the three jaw chuck, which is an optional extra, but then it is always ready to go. Dennis.

[Lucie]

Hmmm - Leaning towards the Foredom. Can definitely see the drill press being very handy.
Does the Milbro not take a good range of accessories then?

[ShinyLauren]

[QUOTE=Lucie;63049]

I got the Foredom SR with the No.30 handpiece, as it fits in the drill press that I also wanted, thus turning the pendant motor into a pillar drill - genius!

I wouldn't have thought of that Lauren - absolute genius!!

It is rather good! I've never used a Milbro, so can't comment on how much better they'd be than a Foredom, though. With the caveat that I am not a professional jeweller, I would say that I'm completely happy with my Foredom and the guy I did a stonesetting course with last year uses them himself and on all his teaching benches. I would see no reason to pay extra for the Milbro and I'd personally not bother with the quick release handpiece (although this may make a difference timewise if you're working all day and every day at the bench).