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Posted 01/25/16

1318 AccuDrillMate Review

Not having any place to store a drill press, I searched the internet for a portable drill guide. I read the description and reviews of 3 of them and chose the Milescraft #1318 AccuDrillMate. The wood project I was starting on required about 15 various sized holes to be drilled in rows. When I started to drill out the holes I could not repeat the spacing or alignment of each hole. The steel rods had about an 1/8th of an inch forward and rearward play. The chuck arbor started out to be rock solid, no play whatsoever, then before I finished drilling all the holes, there was 3/16th of an inch play forward and rearward and from side to side. Upon close inspection of the components of the product, I noticed the small screws holding the nylon bushings in the rods were loose. I then found the screws holding the 2 halves of the chuck arbor bushings (top and bottom halves) also loose. I removed the drill chuck and then proceeded to apply nonhardening Locktite to the threads of all the screws. (Note: The screw holding the chuck onto the arbor is a left-hand thread, turn it to the right to remove the chuck.) After reassembling the parts and tightening all the screws, the side rods are play free but, the arbor bushings (top and bottom halves) need to be replaced. They are worn from using the AccuDrillMate with the screws being loose.

Pros: The Milescraft #1318 AccuDrillMate is a well designed product, that will get the job done time and time again. This tool gets 5 stars and I would recommend it over all the others out there.

Cons: The chuck key is not a good match to the chuck teeth. Applying pressure on the key forces it down and out of the teeth. A proper fitting chuck key should also have a longer handle to hold onto the key with.

Summary: After contacting MilesCraft, they informed me the problem with the screws coming loose was resolved, and they sent me a new head assembly with all new bushings. I am very pleased with this product, and can't say enough for the thought behind the design and the quality of the component parts of the AccuDrillMate. I highly recommend that if you need a drill guide, give the AccuDrillMate a good look as you won't be disappointed.