What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

At the moment I just have a big old hand drill, I'm thinking that a good hobby drill will do wonders for my confidence in maintenance and customisation. I'm in the UK and have only really heard of Dremel, though I know there are others out there... are the cheaper ones ever as good? I would mostly be working on a Tiger I Heng Long with it to start with, no doubt I will find other uses for it around the home.

I have plenty of other tools including a hobby vice.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I have a Dick Smith (aussie brand) one, it's only a cheapie ($30AUD?) but its worked flawlessly for the 2-3 years I've had it - doing computer mods, general house stuff and of course tanks.

Extra tools/attachments are available cheap, you can even get the "big brand" ones if you want. As long as you don't push them too hard (as in "stall" the motor) they should last.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

Another quality tool is the Proxxon, I have both Dremel and Proxxon, and for me the Proxxon is far better than the other one, although a bit on the "heavy" side, take a look at the accesory range.... This is just a personal opinion, not an assertion nor a criticism. :D

Regards

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

After 6 years my Dremel packed up. I replaced it with a £15 copy from Wilko's, which seems to be doing the job OK.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

That sound like a good idea, will have to see what options come in the box versus the Dremel.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

After doing museum level modeling for 6 yrs, I'd be lost without the Dremmel.. I have two...an older 750 with small rechargeable batteries and a newer one with lithium rechargebles and variable speeds that the museum got me....with a whole mess of attachments. Whether doing drilling with a mini chuck, sawing pieces with a variety of saws (not available from Dremmel but from a couple other sources) or buffing, sanding or rounding off pieces, Dremmel is tops in my book. There are other cheaper things out there, but you get what you pay for.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I have 3 Dremel type tools 1st ia Dremel I bought some 30 years ago just a plain jane one no special features like speed control or 3 jaw chuck still going stong, second is a Dremel as well but a newer one maybe 10 yeara old with speed control and 3 jaw chuck, third is a a mototool from Canadian Tire Corp, an auto/other store. Also have an old Dremel scroll saw with a mototool attachment as well as a verticle sanding disc attachment
I agree I too would be at a loss without my moto-tools. Use them not only for models but also working on the car and makeing fittings ....you name it

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I have four "rotary tools".
A Dremel
A ~8 year old Black and Decker Wizard
A Jobmate cheap knockoff
A Dremel mini-mite battery powered unit.

The Dremel and B&D Wizard are both good units. Good variable speed control and power. The Jobmate is surprisingly good (considering it can be had for about $12 on sale here), but the motor does bog down more under heavy loads and is hotter and louder. The mini-mite is good, but the (rechargeable nicd) battery doesn't last too long and is always flat when you want to use it (3 hr recharge).

The Dremels are definitely the Cadillacs of the rotary tool world. Excellent quality but it does cost you. The middle of the road Black & Decker is good, and the price was good. The Jobmate knockoff works decently for the price, but probably won't last as long as a better unit.

Couple of things I've run into:
-Dremel makes the most accessories...a lot are interchangeable with the clones, but some aren't (especially the big items like drill press kits and router tables). Course, with their newer form-factors and models, that's true of their own stuff as well.
-The cheap knockoffs can come with *horribly* off-center collets which cause vibration, chatter, and broken cut-off wheels. Check the runout and throw away any bad ones.
-The newer Lithium powered Dremels look interesting, cause cords suck when you're trying to work on delicate stuff. More expensive, but the battery will have a lot more power than Nicads, and will still have a lot of charge even after sitting on the shelf. Might be worth looking at it as an investment, but remember that batteries don't last forever and will need replacement every few years.
-I've heard good things about the Proxxon unit. Supposed to have much better bearings than the Dremels, and they're highly recommended as a high-speed spindle for those of us building CNC mills.

Lots of options. If you're low-budget, a knockoff on sale might do the trick for you until it dies. Barring that, a slightly upscale brand can be a good buy. And then of course, if you're keen on investing for longevity, Dremel is well known for a reason...

D.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I fried my Dremel tools many moons ago. 5 min. from my house there is a Harbor Freight store and I bought 2 of those orange Chinese copies. One rechargeable with 2 batteries and one with cord and flexible extension shaft. Both came in blow molded cases with accesories. They rotate the sale stock so I just waited till they were on sale. Dirt cheap. So far so good. They have tons of accesories too. Check Ebay for dental burrs, dental drill bits, dental grinders etc. Much better than the rotary tool attachments. I found some German made round saw blades for rotary tools on Ebay that zip through plastic and wood like butter.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I started out with the Harbor Freight $6 rotary tool. Didn't even make it through cutting the fenders off my Pershing. Then ponied up and got the 400 series XPR Dremel with just about every attachment available. The Workstation and Flex Shaft are probably two of the most important add-ons. The dremel makes quick work of lots of hobby and household projects but as I gain experience, I learned that some things are better done by hand. I now consider a rotary tool indispensable for hobbies and household use.

Every couple of days I find something broken on my work bench that my children left for me to fix. Without the Dremel, more often then not, these items would have gone straight into the trash. Now Dad is known to be able to fix just about anything!

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I had a look at the available Dremel stuff, I imagine that I would want the drill platform thing for accurate stuff for sure, and the flexi thing too (can that be used for glass etching?)

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

The dremel Drill press is junk I had one. I was thinking it would be great for small light hobby stuff, but It is hard to alingn and don't drill very straight. I use my floor drill press for anything that requires me to make a hole in. Also have 5 Dremels and every attachment they make. and a shop full of other tools I do wood working as well as Models and tanks. I am one of those guys who goes to SEARS and buys a tool just because I MIGHT need it. :D

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

With the right bits, yes you can etch glass.

ah64: Yeah, a REAL drill press is better but for light hobby work it is ok. It's most useful for hangning the motor on and using the little caddy to keep my most used bits handy nowadays. Making a jig to hold things in place was the most frustrating part, now I have a couple of vises attached to the plate that hold most things. Next to my XPR Dremel with flexshaft my next most used item is my Dremel D-Vise and soldering irons. Gotta have soldering irons with HL Tanks!

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

Lol, I hear ya. Tool sales are the death of me...but it's so much better having the right tool for a job...and generally safer than trying to misuse a different tool.

I was looking at the dremel drill press once....end up costing $20 more to buy a small standalone drill press, so I went for that. I think it was like $50 for the Dremel drill press stand, or $70 for the standalone. The standalone does have a bit of runout in the chuck, but it's much nicer not having to swap the dremel in and out for drilling and it will handle a lot bigger jobs.. My dad bought me the Dremel router table...again, almost worth just buying a cheap standalone router table instead.

I do recommend a "hanger" stand and flex shaft....much easier to work on small stuff without the whole weight of the tool in you hand.

D.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: swathdiver

I started out with the Harbor Freight $6 rotary tool.


Yeah, the Harbor Freight $6.00 one is worthless. The orange ones they sell are much better.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

My cheapie came with flex extension shaft, I just have it hanging from the roof, makes it easier not having to pull the weight of the tool, and definitely beats holding the whole unit in your hand

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

i have a Woolworths Home Workshop s1j-135c Dremel clone. I think i paid £4.99 in the sale 5 years ago. it came in a proper Alloy case with neoprene liner, the case alone is worth more than i paid. I am now in need of a new set of ends for it :(

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I've got two units now:

I used to have a cheapie chinese corded unit I picked up heaven-knows-where. Blue thing, but it took all the Dremel attachments. Was ok, but as it was slowly failing i began looking...

Unit One is a genuine Dremel 395 that replaced the chinese thing. It came with a 140 piece set in the grey carry case over 20 years ago. The bonus was a coupon that let ya mail away for one of the attachments - I picked the flex cable, and its rather good, though I ended up buying the router table later and its seen more use. I think I've finally done her in with some cutting on the 2mm 6061-T6 Aluminum plates I was working on last year. I'm sure the bearings are gone, but I may try to replace 'em myself.

The other one I picked up in a pawn shop 10 years ago for $30, a Sears Craftsman unit thats a rebadged Dremel. Its also corded, and 5 to 30 thou rpm just like the 395.

If I had to buy again, I'd probably go Dremel. I haven't seen anything comparable locally.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I bought a German clone by FERM some months ago, came with support pole and flexible shaft, costs about 30 € and is doing fine so far.
Hardest part I cut was an old CPU heat sink, using the cutting disc.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I have been using the rotorcraft one and I'm not too impressed with it, it vibrates because it's slightly off centre and that seems to be a common problem as I had replaced it in the past due to this. I'll get myself a Dremel or proxxon next time.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

There's no comparision between the hand drill and the rotary-tool (Dremel).

They both make holes, sand and cut but a Dremel will be much easier for fine work and high speed cutting where a saw cannot access.

My Dremel is essentially my whole metal shop and can substitute for the press, lathe and grinder when required!

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I had a good shop around town looking at what's available, saw some exceedingly cheap looking ones (Woolworths' was 'half price' at £20 but the actual tool didn't look very well made, it had almost a PoundLand quality to it), Boyes department store had some Proxxon bits but no Proxxon tool (they told me it hadn't sold well, the one they had looked identical to the Woolworths one). In the end I plumped for quality and got the Dremel 300 with basic bit set and flex from B&Q, they also had a Black & Decker and own-brand version, and while they looked better than the ones from Woolworths and Boyes, they didn't have that solid quality feel of the Dremel.

Now I would like to ask for some advice on which bits are best for working on the Tiger plastic hull and other parts please! The Dremel didn't come with a recognisable drill bit so I may buy one of those cheap sets I've seen on eBay, any recommendations as to what I should be looking for? Can I used any old drill bit as long as it fits? What do you guys use for putting holes in your hulls?

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

I own the A/C and battery powered versions. While racing slot cars, I used to re-coat all my tires using the dremel to "spin off" the extra silicone.

The battery powered version is nice and portable in situations where a slight grinding or polish is needed without draging out the corded electric one.


Jeff

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

Small carbide drill bits are nice for drilling small holes and staying sharp, but they're very fragile. The smaller bits need to be used in a drill press to avoid breaking them (and I just broke one in my drill press the other day anyway). They usually have a 1/8" shaft, which is nice as you don't have to change collets all the time.
High speed bits are more durable, especially if they're TiN (Titanium Nitride) coated, but that's more expensive.

A good accessory is the adjustable drill chuck, it works like a regular drill chuck and expands/contracts to fit a drill bit. Well worth the money if you're drilling lots of holes, etc. I'd avoid using it for grinding or cut-off wheels though, as it tends to have a bit more run-out that a good collet.

D.

RE: What's your favoured Dremel-like tool?
 

As with any tool, the quality of tool makes for better quality work! Unless you are an artist!

Get a quality bit set, not the cheap stuff especially if you plan on high speed or metal work. The Dremel bits are generally shorter in length for ease of work.

Get a pack of meduim cutting wheels, makes fast work bashing models.;)

Edit: And always use eye protection, those shattered cutting wheels do not feel good!