Recommendations For A Dremel

[HereBeMonsters]

Looking to get a Dremel to help me restore a couple of my r/c cars (and some in the future hopefully), any recommendations?

Should I be looking for only a Dremel brand one, or are there others that offer better value?

I want it to be cordless (so I can work on my 1:1 car with it as well), and come with a few attachments. Anything available on ebay would be good as I have some money in my PayPal account.

[terry.sc]

If you just want something for occasional use then you could look at the cheap ones. In my case as I use rotary tools for work and I wouldn't choose anything but a Dremel, they aren't that much more expensive. My oldest is now 10 years old and still going strong with regular use. A cordless Dremel is kept in my toolbox and as it's Li-Ion it's always ready to go no matter how long I leave it, unlike the cheap nicad powered ones which go flat. If I had to choose another make it would have to be Proxxon.

If you are planning on doing things on your 1:1 car go for a wired one, cordless ones are convenient but can't give anywhere near the power of a corded tool.

[HereBeMonsters]

Thanks for the advice Terry. I need a cordless one to work on the car as there is no power down by the garage, and I live in a first floor flat.

I presume that if you plug in a rechargeable one it will work a bit better? I would only be using it for polishing and cleaning components really, perhaps cutting the occasional sticky bolt or something. I will definitely look for a decent battery in it, want something that will last. I've bought so many cheap tools over the years, I've found it's better to pay a little more at the start for a decent one. Gets the job done better, and obviously lasts longer. Currently upgrading all my car tools to Snap-On...

[Jonny Retro]

Dremels (the real thing) are very much better value than they used to be, but for a mains powered one I'd still recommend a 15 Maplin cheapy over them, especially for occasional use.

Cordless though, that's a different can of worms ... I'd go for the genuine article in that case, in terms of battery life & build quality. But do look at Maplins boxes of bits when it comes to replacing the attachments.

The other main tips I can offer are:

Use reinforced cutoff wheels (they look more like carbon fibre) rather than the regular type (which are brown & wear out/shatter alarmingly quickly)

- and -

Even though a needle file may fit in the chuck, don't use one - I did & it was fine for a bit, but when it bent, it needed both hands to (barely) control it & I had to pull the plug out with my toes

[kaiser]

i love my dremel xps.

you'd be suprised the uses you will find for it when you have one.

[ChrisB]

I've had a few dremel like tools over the years including the real thing and no-name DIY shed clones.

The one I have ended up with though that has been the best is the mains powered proxxon multitool. Nicely made with a huge range of attachments for precision work (drill stand, compound table, dividing head) allows you to get a lot out of the tool.

I think Proxxon do a whole range of 12volt tools as well which you could take with you and run off a car battery or car accessory outlet.

[wolfdogstinkus]

If you are after a cheapo!, get yourself down to ALDI's tomorrow to pick up one of these,...

Clicky

And maybe these will be handy as well?

Clicky

I have not used any of these products, so I am in no way endorsing them.

Please let us all know what you decide!.

[TA-Mark]

I have both a Dremel and a cheaper 'rotory engraver'. Both have their uses.

As the Engraver is only DC. I power it with an AC->DC model train speed controller so you can adjust the voltage and rpm. Great for doing very fine detail and polishing and buffing on low rpm. It's not so powerful for cutting and heavy grinding. (Heavy is relative to scale and is really pretty light). It's basicly a 3mm chuck on a 380 DC lathe motor (7 pole) in a plastic handle.

The Dremel is best for shear grunt. Slice a chassis in half nice and quick with the real one. It does all of my heavy and roughing out work.

[markbt73]

For fine detail work, the flexible shaft extension is a good idea. You can hold it like a pencil and really get in to tight spaces.

Mine's a genuine-article Dremel, and it's been through a lot and still going strong. It's the cheapo 2-speed model, but those 2 speeds cover a lot of ground. I wouldn't want a cordless one, because I'm afraid the battery would always be dead when I really need it, but there are electrical outlets literally everywhere in my shop so I'm never very far from power. If you don't have that luxury I can see where the cordless one might come in handy.

[Rabiedmushroom]

... but for a mains powered one I'd still recommend a 15 Maplin cheapy over them, especially for occasional use.

I've got a cheapy little Maplins mains powered one, but find that at 13,000 revs it hasn't got much 'guts' when you put pressure on it, either cutting or polishing. Although its a handy thing in my toolbox, I'd say its for light use only.

[Jonny Retro]

I've got a cheapy little Maplins mains powered one, but find that at 13,000 revs it hasn't got much 'guts' when you put pressure on it, either cutting or polishing. Although its a handy thing in my toolbox, I'd say its for light use only.

I didn't realise they did one that went that slow ... I guess a blanket endorsement wasn't appropriate

The one I have is code N14BG - 18,000rpm & I paid under 15 for it - not so good value at 25 currently though.

N03FY (30,000rpm) looks a better buy at 25 - although it doesn't half look like a clone of an early Dremel...

[difflockxc]

i have had the dremel lithium cordless for a while and it even puts up with me using it for agri engineeing jobs that should prob be done with an angle grinder . excelent bit of kit and it came with a good set of bits inc the reinfroced cutting discs