Which Dremel?

[nolephan]

Hi all,

I've got Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket! I was thinking about getting a Dremel. I looked at Home Depot today and just got myself confused. Such a wide range of prices and so many little tool things. So which model can you recommend, and which of the little attachments do you use the most?

[Mid-life madness]

I have a love hate relationship with my Dremel.

I use the drum sander the most, then the drill bits. The sander being round is hard to use if you need to sand the inside of a window hole because it can't reach in corners, but it is powerful. ( It will sand the callouses of your heels in record time!! LOL!) Honestly, I just don't know what to do with it for what I need. I am in the same boat as you. I wish I would have bought the "el cheapo" model rotary tool from Harbor Freight tools first because I just don't use it as much as I would like too.

[Goldenrodfarm]

I assume you are talking about the rotary tool, they have a ton of other types of tools now.  Right now I have the 4000 high performance tool.  It is a helpful tool around the farm so some of the things I use it for are not related to dollhouses, so I will only comment on what I use it for woodworking type things.  I use the high speed cutters often, they come in a variety of shapes to get into corners, to cut out burrs, or I have even used them even out holes like for windows or doors. you can engrave with them like on doors or tables.  You often get tons of cut off wheels, I use them on the farm most frequently, but they have their place in building furniture.  The sanding barrels can be very handy, are kind of a pain to put on but do the job.  There are several cutting bits that look kind of like drills, but are very handy to use like a jig saw, just push them forward through what ever you are doing, they are available for tile, wood, drywall and even grout removal.  I found them handy to cut holes and used it to cut the opening to my stump house. I use the rip saw blade bit with the attachment, it can be kind of dangerous without it.  I also have the router bits and the router table, they are great for making tiny moldings.  You have to be careful which router bits you get they all don't fit all the models of Dremels.  One of the most used attachments I have is the flexible rotary extension, it allows you to use a small fat pencil shape in your hand to do finer work, it is rarely off my dremel except when I am using the right angle attachment that doesn't fit on the extension.  The right angle is really nice to use with flat sanding disks so you can get inside small areas and sand.

If you are starting out the EZ lock may be the way to go, I have 100's of other bits that are not EZ lock and don't wish to replace them all at once but I occasionally get a new EZ lock bit.   I got the drill like chuck to make it easier to put the bits on and off, it is ok but hard to tighten sometimes, it is suppose to be to use without a wrench but I often use one anyway.  

Dremel makes a lot of accessories like the router table, a plunge router attachment,  the saw blade attachment, a router table, blade sharpeners that I use on my bush hog and lawn mower, there is even a drill press to put your Dremel in which is very handy.  

The variable speed ones like the 4000 are a big improvement, the first Dremel I had didn't have variable speed, but you need to pay attention to the fact that some bits are not to be used at the highest speed.

One last comment about the cordless ones, I have gone through two of them and it seems like the batteries don't last long, at least how I use them.  

Guess I wanted to comment on the accessory packs too, they often contain many things you will never use, but are so much cheaper particularly on sale that they are worth it.  I got the buffing pack and have like it, previously I didn't have many buffing bits, but they are handy for making wood smooth.

 

[Sable]

I love my EZ diamond blade for cutting stone.

[havanaholly]

I have two corded Dremels with the flex shaft; I keep one set up in the drill press.  For most close work I have the little cordless Dremel Stylus and I use it for sanding and drilling.  I use my Dremel Trio for cutting doors and windows

[Mineejv]

I have a few Dremels corded and cordless and the flex shaft.  I found a new way to give myself a manacure....... I use my Dremel  it's fast an dose a good job!!

[wormwoodz]

I think the rotary tool is probably the most versatile. the Dremel 3000 with the extension/flex shaft can be very useful in modeling works, easy to handle and allows you to reach most areas even after assembled for drills and such. The Dremel Moto Saw is also very nice for small works, easy to transport and store. The Versatip is another nice tool for works that require heat cutting or carving, but this one operates with fuel so be careful using it.

[Khadi]

I prefer the battery powered because my corded is too loud (I live in a townhouse and don't want my neighbors to hate me.)  I have a Dremel 8220.  It's a little expensive but worth it as it has multiple speeds and can be very gentle or very powerful.  Besides the sanders, I love my Dremel EZ Lock Wood Cutting Wheel because it makes it very easy to cut through the Greenleaf wood.  I started buying generic sanders off of Amazon because as other people mentioned, they wear out quickly.  I've also found the carving tools handy but a little hard to control the depth of the cut.

[nolephan]

Thanks for all the information, that certainly gives me something to work with! Will probably go with the Dremel 3000. They have one listed on the Wally world website for $49 with 18 tools. Then I can add additional tools as I find out what works for me.

[Elsbeth]

I have a cordless dremel but I actually love using the Harbor Freight $9.99 "rotary tool" with the micro tool set ($7.99). It has been so easy and it is not cordless, and has plenty of power for my hobby needs.

[nolephan]

Ok, will look into that. I was thinking about the cordless, but DH says it might be underpowered.

[KathieB]

4 minutes ago, nolephan said:

Ok, will look into that. I was thinking about the cordless, but DH says it might be underpowered.

I think the cordless has plenty of power for general dollhouse applications unless you're working with MDF.  But if you're going to use it in a drill press or router table, the corded is probably a better choice.

[Goldenrodfarm]

Two reasons I gave up on the cordless, are lack of power and battery life.  There are a lot of the bits that won't run well with the cordless, however if you are using primarily to touch and sand that is not a problem.  My batteries were dead within a couple of years and replacements were expensive and hard to find.   

[nolephan]

good thought, this is the kind of thing I need to know. My sister has a corded and she said it doesn't really get in the way, or cause problems.

[Sable]

For what I need it for corded is the only way to go. Fed up with battery powered tools where the replacement batteries cost just as much as the tool.

[Goldenrodfarm]

15 minutes ago, Sable said:

For what I need it for corded is the only way to go. Fed up with battery powered tools where the replacement batteries cost just as much as the tool.

I did figure out how to do the battery replacement myself, there are instructions online, but I hardly ever use it because it is under powered and I also refuse to buy expensive replacement batteries.   I cringe on my battery Dewalt tools, but you can't run an extension cord all the way down back to do the pastures.  I got a 20 volt drill with the new tiny battery, there were two in the box, and one was dead from the begining and the second one a year later was displaying an error, so now that drill is useless, I am not buying a replacement battery that is over $100 and lasted less then a year.

[havanaholly]

The only cordless power tool I own is my Dremel Stylus, and it lives in its charger station when not in use