Sorry to hear of the death of your drill. I just got lucky and picked
up a manufacturer's reconditioned Milwaukee for $53.00 delivered. It
was from a web site (www.ubid.com) which had a lot of about 30 of them.
My old one still sands fine except that it is the older style with the
reversing switch on the back (instead of the top for the newer ones).
The switch has been testy for a while and now will not switch directions
at all. I'll take it apart and see what is going on but now there is no
hurry.

Bill

robo hippy wrote:
Tonight, with the screech of fried bearings, and a puff of smoke, my
$29.95 close quater drill died. The shaft coming out of the body had
gotten loose. I was sanding in both clock and counter clock wise. I
don't know how many bowls I got sanded with it, but a couple hundred
anyway, and 80 plus hours of time on it.
Did I get my money worth out of it? Yes!
Is it as good as the Milwaukee and Sioux? No!
Would I buy it again if it was half the price of the S/M drills?
Possibly.
Will I buy it again? Yes. I can't burn up just one and consider the
test conclusive.
At about 1/5th the price of the S/M drills, I think that it is a good
buy and a bargain, especially if you are more recreational with your
turning. Even with production work, I still think it is a good buy.
robo hippy