A cheap one isn’t much more than a drill stand and it’ll be so much better.
my experiance differs….
cheap pillar drills’ are **** awful.
even my cheap aldi drill press stand was more rigid than the cheap clarke pillar drill…..
i bought a used meddings off mcmoonter and now know that i have no fear of the bit wandering due to Shit keyway designs allowing rotation of the headstock and general flimsyness……
I bought mine for a specific drilling into a very expensive and unreplacable TI frame to renew a rivnut….. but since then its done such tasks as removing pistons from car brakes (depth control is a must) its removed bleed nipples from various things , its set up for helicoils that need to be perpendicular to work piece to ensure even clamping.
its one of them tools that once you have you wondered why you fannied around with a handheld for so long ….