Tool review: Drillnado (5 stars)

SWMBO and I visited the Indianapolis Woodworking Show today. The first exhibit we stopped at was the "Drillnado" (drillnado.com), a new type of dust collection shroud for the drill press. This thing WORKS. About 30 seconds into the demonstration I told the guy to shut up and take my money.

I just finished installing and testing it. Installation took less than ten minutes, and it worked in my shop just as well as in the demo at the show. The website has a short video of the device in action, and I'll attest that the video is a completely accurate depiction of its actual performance.

$39.95 and IMHO worth every penny.

Reply to
Doug Miller
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Can I assume the thing can be pushed upwards out of the way for changing bits?

Reply to
-MIKE-

When you look at the simplicity of it you have to wonder why it took so long for it to be available. I'll be getting one.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

It looks great and I have been looking for something like this. I drill

100's of 1-3/8" holes to receive Euro style hinges.

Digging a little further on the website it does not recommend using with Forstner bits larger than 1-1/2" as the shavings will clog what appears to be the manifold. I'm wondering if a 1/8" smaller hole, 1-3/8" might be problematic. Drilling that sized hole creates even bigger chunks of debris when drilling MDF.

Have you tried that out yet Doug?

Reply to
Leon

Doug Miller wrote in news:XnsA591CBDF8226Bdougmilmaccom@213.239.209.88:

Warning: autoplaying video on that site.

Once set up, how long does it take to take the thing off and put it back on? I use my drill press for both wood and metal, so I'd need to take it off for drilling metal.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

It appears that the manifold remains attached and you simply remove the bellows. That probably only takes a few seconds. Further they recommend not using the DC to suck up metal shavings. You could leave everything in place and simply not turn on the collector.

Reply to
Leon

It appears to be only available online and at WW shows. I suspect there is a reason it's not sold at either Woodcraft or Rockler where it could be easily returned for a refund, but I could be wrong.

This doesn't look so good:

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I also suspect there is a reason that I couldn't find a single "Drillnado" video that shows someone drilling all the way through the middle of a piece of wood, instead of making 1/4" divots along the edge.

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

That $39.95 direct would probably be $69.95 or more from a retailer.

Typical pricing in that industry is a MSRP of 5X the actual cost to manufacture. When I worked for a company in the hobby industry the local shop bought from the distributor at 40% off list, the distributor bought at 50% off list less another 10%.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Not in this day and age. If that were the case, they wouldn't find a single retailer to carry their products. Most makers who also sell direct on the internet can't sell for less than MSLP due to their contracts with retailers. If the sell for less, it's certainly not a discount anywhere near your example. Why would any retailer carry a product knowing they will be undersold by its maker?

Fastcap is one example. They have a healthy e-sales presence on their website, but also sell to Woodcraft, Rockler, etc. They are generally not under their retailers prices on their website. When they are it's negligible and would be negated by having to pay shipping. When they are selling something at a huge discount, it's because it's discontinued or a scratch-n-dent deal.

Reply to
-MIKE-

-MIKE- wrote in news:n7f867$3gp$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

[...]

Actually, it's simplest to just remove the "accordion" from the part that attaches to the quill.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Leon wrote in news:FM-dnc9JlPAqJwbLnZ2dnUU7- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Not yet, but I will. The demo at the WW Show used what looked like a 1" or maybe 1-1/8" Forstner, and the unit collected almost 100% of the chips.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Puckdropper wrote in news:569bcb93$0$62781$c3e8da3 $ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:

You can take the suction housing (the "accordion" part) off of the manifold in about two seconds.

Reply to
Doug Miller

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

Doug Miller wrote in news:XnsA592A2364CD36dougmilmaccom@213.239.209.88:

It doesn't work all that well with a 1-3/8" Forstner: most of the chips remain in the bellows, instead of being sucked up through the manifold and into the dust collector -- the chips are just too big.

OTOH, it's easier to dump the bellows out into the wastebasket than to sweep up chips that have gone flying all over the shop.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Ohhhhhhh, so close...

On a few probably, I often do 10+ holes at a time, I'm afraid the bellows would fill up too often.... So my wife keeps her job of holding the 4" DC hose next to the bit. ;~)

BUT THANKS for the follow up!

Reply to
Leon

Yeah I agree with that. Typically the manufacturer sells at retail to fill the gap when there is not a retailer supplying the product. The plus side for the manufacturer is they they increase their GP. The minus side is that cost of distribution goes up.

Reply to
Leon

I can tell you from some experience that not all wives are so accommodating. : )

Reply to
Bill

Have you not filled your home with furniture that you have built? That might be the problem. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

Well duh, they are NOT carrying it. Possibly because the seller is not giving enough discount. I don't know the real cost so I cannot set a MSRP, but the discounts have not changed much. Maybe it can retail for $40, but that means the real cost is $10 or less.

Have you ever heard that jewelers make a 100% markup? My cousin the jeweler laughs because things are 300% to 400%.

sometimes small guys don't know how to price and sell in the marketplace. Mny years ago a guy was selling a battery powered starter for model aircraft for $40. It was a nice sideline business and he sold direct because there was not enough room for discount. My boss told him that he was going to sell a better product at half the price so he should be prepared for it. The guy laughed and said it could not be done. Six month later our product hit the market. Pretty much destroyed the other guy.

The difference? Matt thought in volume and projected larger sales at the right price. He bought in quantity and got better pricing. He invested in tooling to make a better product. If you want to be big, yoou have to think big. Remains to be seen on this item. If his cost is $20 or less, Rockler (and others) may carry it. If cost is $20 or more, not going to happen.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I wonder if it would be different with a slightly slower feed or a slightly stronger pull on the vacuum.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

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