A hand drill is fine for a 3 mm hole in a shelf. It is the wrong tool for a 0.5 mm hole in a watch plate or a row of vias in a circuit board. At that size the bit flexes, the hand wobbles, and the hole either wanders off the mark or the bit snaps. A mini drill press fixes both problems: the bit goes straight down, every time, and your hands are free to hold the work. This guide explains what actually matters when you choose one for watchmaking, micro PCB drilling or model work, and which of the three Mikrabench presses fits which job.
What a watchmaker or PCB builder actually needs from a drill press
Big shop drill presses are built for force. Small work needs the opposite: control. Four things decide whether a press is useful on a precision bench.
1. How small a bit it can hold properly
The most important number is the smallest bit the press can grip straight. A chuck that closes down to 0.3 mm will take ordinary twist bits for watch plates, dial feet and model brass. For circuit boards, though, most people use tungsten carbide PCB bits, and those come on a standard 3.175 mm (1/8 in) shank whatever the cutting size. A collet made for exactly that shank holds them more squarely than any chuck can, which is what you want for a 0.3 mm carbide bit that will not forgive any wobble.
2. Speed you can turn down
Tiny bits like high speed in soft material, but brass and aluminum want it slower, and plastics melt if you go too fast. A speed dial is not a luxury here. The Mikrabench Mini Drill Press takes its speed from a dial on the power adapter, from about 400 up to 4500 rpm, so you set it for the material instead of living with one fixed speed.
3. Depth control
One hole is easy. Forty holes that all stop at the same depth are not, and a blind hole in a watch plate has no second chance. A micrometer depth stop lets you set the bottom of the stroke in 0.01 mm steps, so the press stops exactly where you told it to, every time.
4. Something to hold the work
Holding a part in your fingers under a spinning bit is how bits break and parts fly. Every precision drilling setup needs a way to clamp the work, and for repeated holes in a line, a way to move it by a measured amount. That is what a drill press vise and an XY stage are for.
The three Mikrabench presses, and who each one is for
Mini Drill Press: the all-rounder
The Mikrabench Mini Drill Press has a chuck that takes bits from 0.3 to 4 mm, so it uses ordinary twist bits you may already own. It is belt driven with an aluminum body, the head swings a full 360° and slides along a 13 mm column, and the whole machine is about 100 × 80 × 180 mm, small enough for the corner of a watchmaker's bench. It drills wood, plastic and circuit board up to 4 mm thick and brass or aluminum up to about 1 mm.
Choose it if you work across materials: a bit of watch work, some model brass, the occasional board. It comes as a Bench Kit, a Watchmaker Kit (adds a drill press vise, a clamp-on bench vise and a dial indicator) or a PCB Kit (adds a cobalt bit set and an automatic center punch). If you later want repeatable depth, the Micrometer Depth Stop Kit bolts onto it.
Collet Drill Press: for carbide PCB bits
The Collet Drill Press swaps the chuck for a 3.175 mm collet. That is the right choice if most of your work is micro PCB drilling with carbide bits. The collet grips the shank along its length, which keeps a 0.3 or 0.5 mm carbide bit running true. Carbide is hard but brittle, and runout is what snaps it.
Micrometer Drill Press: the watchmaker drill
The Micrometer Drill Press is the collet press with a micrometer depth stop already fitted, adjustable to 0.01 mm. If you drill blind holes in plates, fit jewels or need dozens of holes at exactly the same depth, this is the watchmaker drill in the range. You set the depth once and stop thinking about it.
Quick way to decide
- Mixed work, ordinary twist bits: Mini Drill Press.
- Mostly circuit boards with carbide bits: Collet Drill Press.
- Watch plates and blind holes where depth matters: Micrometer Drill Press.
Pick yours: the three Mikrabench presses
The accessories that make a small press precise
A press on its own gets the bit straight. These precision bench tools make the rest of the job repeatable:
- A base plate. The 120 × 150 mm base plate fits all three presses and gives you holes to bolt a vise under the bit.
- A vise or XY stage. The drill press vise clamps the part. The brass micro vise on an XY stage lets you drill the first hole, wind a lead screw a known amount and drill the next one exactly in line.
- The right bits. PCB micro drill bits come ten of one size, from 0.1 to 1 mm, because you break the size you use, not the whole assortment. For boards, 0.5 to 0.8 mm covers most through-holes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Feeding too hard. Let the bit cut. With sub-millimeter bits, light steady pressure and frequent lifts to clear chips save more bits than anything else.
- Skipping the center mark. On metal, a tiny punch mark stops the bit from skating before it bites.
- Expecting it to mill. These are drilling machines. Side loads need a collet spindle and a different machine.
- Holding the part by hand. Clamp it. Always.
Where to buy
All three Mikrabench presses ship free and tracked. In the United States the Mini Drill Press ships from a US warehouse and usually arrives in 3 to 7 business days, and you can also find it in our Etsy shop. Australia and New Zealand orders ship from arvonelle.com and take two to three weeks. Every order has 30-day returns, and if a part breaks in the first 12 months we post a new one free.
Compare the three Mikrabench presses side by side on the product page, or write to support@arvonelle.com and tell us what you are drilling. A real person will help you pick.
