Anyone have experience with rotary tools?

[Cdubneeddeal]

Looking to buy a Dremel but came up with conflicting reviews online. So I ask you of ATOT your experience with Dremels or similar rotary tools. What's your opinions? What I'll be using it for mostly: cutting and sanding balsa wood and corks or the like. Maybe polishing automotive wheels. Nothing heavy duty. Saw reviews about the loudness of the Dremels and since I live in an apartment, I would like to keep sound down to a minimal if possible.

HD had the XPR400 kit (Which was reputed to be loud) for $100, Stylus for $70, Black and Decker for $40.

Should I just stick to manual hand tools?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Whatever you get, get a corded rotary tool. Wireless ones are worthless. I have a Dremel something or other, but I would get a Black & Decker if I had to purchase another one.

 

[IronWing]

How often do you envision using it? How long per session? The reason I ask is that if you intend to use it a lot as a regular part of a long term hobby you might want to jump straight to a Fordom flexshaft. They are quieter, more versatile, and last longer than a Dremel.

 

[AlienCraft]

I bought the Craftsman version of the Roto Zip. I bought the combo pack with the multi-tools and accessories. I've only used the shaft drive and the router base so far. All well built with no complaints.

 

[warlord]

I do a little wood working, the Dremel is not great for it. The sanding discs take way to much off with just a touch. I end up wishing I just would have used a piece of sand paper.

As for the cutting blades that you can use with it, plan on changing the disc. I've cut metal and plastic with it, and the wheel breaks every time (usually multiple times).

One other thing, a Dremel is not quiet. Realistically for apartment living, nothing but hand work will be.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: ironwing
How often do you envision using it? How long per session? The reason I ask is that if you intend to use it a lot as a regular part of a long term hobby you might want to jump straight to a Fordom flexshaft. They are quieter, more versatile, and last longer than a Dremel.

I don't think I'll be using it that often but more during the winter due to the weather keeping me indoors. I would roughly say maybe an hour or two total per night. I've never heard of the Foredom lineup. From what I can tell by a quick Google search is that they're stationary type tools?

 

[iamwiz82]

I have a Dremel and rarely have a need for it, but when I do need it, it's indespenible. It is VERY loud.

I got mine on Ebay with 8 million attachments for $100.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

I don't think I'll be using it that often but more during the winter due to the weather keeping me indoors. I would roughly say maybe an hour or two total per night. I've never heard of the Foredom lineup. From what I can tell by a quick Google search is that they're stationary type tools?

The motor stays put, either hanging from a hook or with a table mount. The flexible shaft holds the various tools. Any tip you can stick on the Dremel you can stick on a Foredom. The speed is variable and controlled with a foot peddle. The motors are much larger than a Dremel and you can get various sized handpieces so you can get one to fit your hand. If you have any type of jewelers or lapidary supply store near you it might be worth checking one out in person. I think you'd burn a Dremel out in no time using it 1-2 hours per night.


Edit: Flexshafts also induce less vibration into your hand since you're not holding the motor.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
Whatever you get, get a corded rotary tool. Wireless ones are worthless. I have a Dremel something or other, but I would get a Black & Decker if I had to purchase another one.

Agreed. Make sure it is corded. I love my dremel, got variable speed and being corded it has tons of torque. Make sure you can control the speed.

But I use it to cut metal so for your light duty stuff maybe a cordless would be OK. Cleaning wheels is NOT light duty. Cutting/sanding balsa is easy and won't require much power. This is where the variable speed comes in handy. If you want one for model work then you don't need the power I do.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I have a dremel clone and it isn't the quietest thing around. Not awful, but when you have something spinning at 20,000RPM it is bound to make noise.

I've used mine when I modded my case to house my radiator. A friend used a die grinder to cut the big holes and I used the dremel to clean up the edges and do the smaller stuff the die grinder was too big for.

 

[d33pt]

my dremel is not loud at all. i have the pencil attachment, makes it alot easier to wield than holding the whole dremel. i also have the pedal attachment so i can control the power easily.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Thanks for the great opinions and advice thus far. I do like the idea of having a pedal or something of that sort to control the speed.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

As others have said, stay away from the cordless models, not enough run time.

Don't over estimate the convience of a dremel, theres a lot of things you can do with it that are better done with something with more 'oomph'. Its not a replacement for cordless drill or an angle grinder.

 

[NoShangriLa]

I had a dremel kit for about 2 years & it never came out of the box, and now my brother have it (he hasn't use it at all).

I have use my zip tool a couple of times for cutting out holes in tiles, it work great for cutting out electrical receptacle box on drywall. I also have use it to cut out windows frame in drywall, but I much prefer using a drywall knife & utility knife for this task.

The best thing for balsa is a collection of open mesh sand paper in various gauge, utility knife, and a small coping saw.

 

[Throckmorton]

You MUST get one with a speed control

 

[Throckmorton]

http://hackedgadgets.com/2007/...dremel-foot-pedal-mod/

 

[BoomerD]

I have the Craftsman version of the Dremel. Had it for ~15 years or so. Don't use it a lot, but it works great for the few things I do use it for.

I have the flexible-shaft attachment for mine. It's pretty handy for some things, plus, it's a little larger in diamater than a pen, (maybe 1/2-5/8") so it's easy to hold. The only bad thing (to me) is that it basically runs on a piece of speedometer cable, and any bend more than just a little one will cause the shaft not to work right.
My wife used it on Halloween to carve pumpkins...I used to use it with a cutting disk to frag corals with...
I need to invest in some more bits, tools, and attachments for mine. Many of my cutters are worn out/dull as hell.

As for the noise level...they're not really all that noisy. More noise may be created when you cut material than the actual motor itself...kind of just a high-pitched whine.

 

[Squisher]

Think of the dremel as for things that you could accomplish with one hand and the larger Porter Cable, Black and Decker, Do-All, etc. as ones geared more for two handed tasks. I use my Bosch rotozip all the time, but then I'm a die maker and using a die grinder is second nature. I got it used along with a bunch of attachments for $45 off of ebay.

I'd say the average person will have more use for the larger units.

 

[BoomerD]

I've had a Roto-Zip for several years, My wife gave it to me for X-mas. I think I've had it out of the fanch plastic storage box 3-4 times...came with some nice accessories and cutters, just don't have a lot of use for it.

 

[Dirigible]

I use my Dremel a couple times a month on average. Each time I only use it for a few minutes and often it takes less than a minute but it really makes my life easier. It is loud - I wear earplugs when I use it.

I don't think I'd want to use it for an hour at a time. And if I wanted to do something like polish a car wheel, I think I'd want a bigger tool.

 

[0roo0roo]

cord
cordless is not worth it for most. and its a hassle.
at lower speed settings its not that loud
sometimes you do have to go to a higher speed though
rotozips are heavy duty versions for cutting tile and stuff, so only get that if you don't need fine detail/control or whatever.
polishing wheels with a dremel would be too much work.

 

[bmacd]

I have a cordless and a few corded models. Whatever you decide to get, make sure it has the ability to control the rpms.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Thanks all. Maybe when I go to HD I'll see if I can power up their various models to see how loud they are. I do like the 400 XPR with the flex attachment though. This is what I'll be making with the rotary tool.

 

[Throckmorton]

Cutting the material is always louder than the tool itself just like somebody said

 

[alkemyst]

eye protection is key

I wouldn't worry to much about how loud a tool is though. I like the dremel kits...get a variable speed one with enough bits to make it handy. The complete kits are a tremendous value.

I don't have any experience with cordless, but a lot with my corded one.

The latest 'ez lock' cutoff wheels are 1000000x better then the old break into a billion pieces ones.