They are handy, though I need to watch the rpm... my old one started at 5000, so had to be careful not to melt the plastic... it died and the new one starts at 10,000... it was a present, so I'm not going to b!tch and moan - just have to be even more careful.
Useful for a field-expedient lathe, though.
A battery screwdriver is better for drilling. Finally scored a cheap one and it's all kinds of useful for certain applications.