"Tools" Topic

And no … I'm not being offensive.

I am thinking of investing in an electronic tool like a Dremel and want to know what people's experiences have been within this area.

I've come across many Dremels for sale and PG and I have heard Ozito have something in the craft tool range also.

Does anyone have any advice for me. They aren't particularly cheap so any advice I can get before I plunge in would be appreciated.

For tasks like drilling and pinning, sanding, cutting etc I've found that a cordless drill with adjustable speed will do a lot of the jobs a Dremel can do. Although it's not as dainty, the drill has a better chuck, more torque and a bigger motor and can also be used for other jobs.
Dremels are pants for putting up shelves.

I would not be without my Dremel! For scratch building work it is brilliant. I use one of those visors with magnifying lenses and am able to do fine work that I simply could not do otherwise. In this case bigger is not better.

It will come down to personal preference. I use to have a cordless deal years ago…problem w/cordless is the life of the battery. I went to a corded Dremel and also have a home use cordless screwdriver(Lithum Battery) that can do all the things for my hobby as the Dremel can do. I personally only use a full size drill for a major job requiring the power/torque.

I agree with the corded version recommendation. My lithium battery screwdriver will not drill and cut doors and windows in plastic card the way my Dremel does. I have the multi drill stand and I can quickly convert the Dremel to a saw as well. The cordless screwdriver will not do fine routing either.

An important thing to remember about the Dremel is that it has low torque. If you try to force it through whatever you are cutting or drilling, it will bind up or burn out. You have to apply light pressure, and make repeated shallow passes when cutting.

I don't actually use my Dremel that often. For pinning, I prefer to use a pin vise because it is safer and more precise. I guess the thing I've used my dremel for the most is bevelling wooden bases for figures, using a custom-built jig to hold it, and basically convert it into a mini table router.

I have a battery Dremel with two speeds. It is underpowered compared to a full-size Dremel, but for drilling holes in figures, or even grinding, that is not a real issue.

The most important accessory for it is a hobby clamp to hold your figures in place, so you aren't trying to hold something in your hands while attacking it with a power tool. I use the X-acto hobby clamp, but there are several on the market. I pad the jaws with foam (like from blister packs) to protect the part.

Generally I start all my holes with a pin vise. It is more precise. Then I use the Dremel to finish them.

I've had this Dremel for a number of years and used it infrequently, and the batteries still retain sufficient charge to do the job. I do have two battery packs so when one dies it can go right in the charger and I can keep going; I think my kit only came with one so I must have picked up a second battery.

I did use my Dremel for a few household tasks before I owned reliable full-size drills. The full-size drill is always better for that, unless it's a case of getting into a tight corner.

I've used mine twice in 10 years

I have a Dremel (well actually a Black and Decker), and I find I use it quite a lot. Prior to this, I had a Minicraft, which was a far better tool. I've used real Dremels a number of times and still rate the Minicraft. Does anyone have any experience of Proxxon's equivalent?

However, these are my observations:
As a drill, it sucks – the speed is far too high (think that large metal drills run at 100-200 rpm, not 10-20000 rpm!). It's functionally uncontrollable, unless the starting point is extremely well defined (and I don't like centrepunching miniatures!). I have an extra in-line speed reducer, which helps quite a lot. Also, I'm lucky to have a set of collet-shanked drill bits, otherwise, it's difficult to alter the bit size much, unless you buy a chuck!

As a small-scale die grinder it works well, but the issue is getting grinding and milling bits that are not so coarse they ear miniatures. Again, speed can be a problem. The frictional heat generated at super-speed means that burrs etc soon become coated / clogged with metal.

The flexible extension drive is very useful. I fix the "motor" to the table and use the driver as a handpiece.This is lighter, narrower and generally much more handy.

Black and Decker provide a router base, allowing you to do ultra-small scale routing (why?), but it can be used as a kind of ersatz drill press, which is moderately handy, especially if you have a lot of holes to drill.

For drilling, I often use a very small battery drill – the low-power sort often sold as screwdrivers. With a soft start and low maximum speed, it's much easier.

"…the speed is far too high…"

I second that. If the materials worked are soft (like plastic and white metal) the risk of ending up with a ball of melted goo is pretty high.

Option: If you've got a compressor (for an airbrush, perhaps?) a pencil-grinder is handy/easy to use. There's the noise factor of the compressor, of course (depending on what you have), but if the thing's already in your shop…?

Well I don't own a dremel but I do own a B&Q own brand dremel look alike.
I have hardly used it in the years I have had it. To be honest I rearly need to grind or polish with my models. I did use it to clean up some second condition hovels buildings, but that was an exeption.

I found even with variable speed, the control and accuracy needed was too tricky with it. I simple hand held file was just as quick and infact easier to use.

As for cutting, I had originally thought, great, get one with cutting discs and I can trim bits here and there. But you will soon find the shank on the bit is too short. The accuracy without a jig is not great and also if you don't use a jig the cutting discs bind in the cut on deeper materials.

Also you get a lot of dust when working with stuff like resin. You get dust with hand files too, but the rotary motion of the dremel types throws it into the air more. So make sure you wear a mask.

As far as my selection of hobbie tools go, my dremel clone is the least used.

The most used are;
Scalpel.
Hand held razor saw.
Stanley Knife.
Set of small files.
Straight edged metal ruler.

Oh forgot to say, on driling. Unless you have a vertical pillar action adaptor for it, you will find it very tricky. I don't so just use hand held pin vices.

So for me, save your pennies, get a good selection of hand tool that will last you instead.

I use my Dremel daily. It is a corded 5 speed and has a flexi-shaft with a 3-jaw chuck to make life easier. But the best piece of kit I got was a foot switch.

link

I was considering going the cordless drill route for drilling/pinning because even at the lowest setting the Dremel was way too fast for such work. After hooking up the foot switch and setting the Dremel to the highest setting I can now control the speed by "squeezing" the pedal like a sewing machine and getting the exact speed I need to drill holes. That kind of control is terrific for grinding duties as well.