anything better then a dremel?

[.RC.]

Are there any small rotary tools out there better then a Dremel...

My third Dremel has just decided to let the magic smoke out and now it just runs slow and sparks, no the brushes are good...... These things are pathetic.. I do not use them that hard but they die so quickly.... My first one lasted a fair while... My second one about two months (but I lost the receipt of purchase :( ) and now it's replacement has died after a couple of years...

They are crap.... Need something better...

[Nanigai]

I bought a Foredom from the US for about $250 when I had the same situation.
Much better machine and has variable sized colletts available. See it here (http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/foredom5240modelsrreversiblewoodcarvingkit.aspx), looks like the price is up a bit and postage is expensive. It wasn't available in Australia when I bought mine, but you might find it here now.
If you buy from states you need the 220V model and you can just get the plug changed.

Cheers, Ian

[Hornetb]

Yep,

Get the Foredom. These are just night and day over the dinky over priced dremels. But they do come at a price. (i supposed the pertinent question is to ask what you want to use it for?)

They are available in Australia, I notice Carbatec is one source but there are several other online mobs that sell them cheaper too. We use one at work and it really is a solid unit, but we really don't ask much of it either, nothing that a dremel wouldn't do in out situation. But they are much better quality.

The foot speed control is handy too.

[nearnexus]

Are there any small rotary tools out there better then a Dremel...

.

Yes.

This is what I use. Pencil air die grinder - there is no contest.

Air micro die grinder (http://users.tpg.com.au/agnet/microgrinder.html)

Rob

[morrisman]

Yes.

This is what I use. Pencil air die grinder - there is no contest.

Air micro die grinder (http://users.tpg.com.au/agnet/microgrinder.html)

Rob

Yes I agree. I have X 2 of these little tools and they are better than sliced bread . No overheating motor issues . I use one to sharpen the chainsaw teeth and also, those awkward jobs e.g., removing broken taps from small locations . The set of grinder bits that comes with the tool is not of much use . Buy a set of diamond tipped bits , cheap on ebay and the tool is so much more effective Mike BTW it sounds like a jet engine

[nearnexus]

Yes I agree. I have X 2 of these little tools and they are better than sliced bread . No overheating motor issues .

Yes, you can stall them without any problem. Also way more powerful.

Get some carbide burrs as well and quickly chew through steel, weld, alloy, easy as.

Can also mount them on the toolpost real easy.

They actually get colder the more air you put through them.

Rob

[.RC.]

thanks everyone.... Have bought an air one... The dremel is under warranty so will send it away as well..

[jhovel]

I agree with the previous posts wholeheartedly. I use and really like the micro air grinder. But I also got a small (Makita type) edge trimmer and have used the flexible shaft that came with my Dermel kit. That provides about the se speed as the Dremel but with power to spare.

Cheers,
Joe

[rogerbaker]

I have had a Scintilla (Bosch) die grinder for about 45 years. Really good piece of kit. Plenty of power, unstallable, and takes 1/4 shank tools. I got it originally to do porting and polishing on Cylinder heads. It has a suitable neck that I am going to make a TPG attachment for the lathe.

Roger

[Hunch]

Suhner is generally considered the rolls royce of these sorts of tools, have both a big 20 odd lb version and something dremel size, other than brushes, they seem to go forever despite virtual daily use...seen a few on grays from time to time.

[Clubman7]

Used to buy Dremel but the quality seemed to be gone.
Tool wouldn't last very long.
now just buy Bunnings Warrior brand for $40 odd.
If they blow up, bin it and get another.
I seem to get at least three years out of each one.

[.RC.]

My air one arrived today... It was the expensive one from CTC tools.... Turns out it is made in Taiwan... Quality seems to be superb...

MICRO AIR GRINDER - STRAIGHT HEAD #G69 (http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-402/MICRO-AIR-GRINDER-HIGH/Detail)

[nearnexus]

Fancy 4 bearing model eh :) You lucky devil.

I only have the two bearing model and I couldn't tell you where it's made - probably China. Oil these each hour and they go forever.

The main thing to get the best results is to reduce the tool bit overhand/shaft length by making sure it goes well into the collet.

I actually ran a 1/8" drill through the spare collet (in the open position) and I find that will grip the 3 mm and 1/8 shafted cutters equally well.

Anyway, we expect a full report on how well it thrashes the pants off of your old Dremel.

Rob

[Jan Nieuwenhuis]

I have tried Dremels sometimes, but they are toys compared to my Minicraft MB1012.
It is the same size as a Dremel, but its 12V 100W motor is virtually indestructable.
I am using it for more than 25 years, and it is still going strong.
The high quality Rohm keyed chuck has a capacity of 0-6 mm, wich makes it a lot more versatile than the Dremel with its toy-chuck.

It is a shame, that Minicraft has disappeared from the market, but I have managed to buy two more of these drills second hand.
I bought them just in case my MB1012 would wear out.
Until now however, it is still going strong.
Would you believe I even drilled 6 mm holes in brick with it?

British made quality tools....

Cheers, Jan

[variant22]

Shinano (Japan) make a good air powered 3mm die grinder. At $271 the price is a few dremels or 5 CTC's.. :)

[.RC.]

I tried it out this evening...

Bloody amazing... I had a cut off wheel in it grinding some relief grooves in an endmill so I can sharpen it..

once the cut off wheel was dressed and balanced, there was very very little vibration.... Compared to the dremel that would vibrate like crazy due to the crap spindle bearing setup...

[forp]

Proxxon - your welcome.

[BaronJ]

Are there any small rotary tools out there better then a Dremel...

My third Dremel has just decided to let the magic smoke out and now it just runs slow and sparks, no the brushes are good...... These things are pathetic.. I do not use them that hard but they die so quickly.... My first one lasted a fair while... My second one about two months (but I lost the receipt of purchase :( ) and now it's replacement has died after a couple of years...

They are crap.... Need something better...

I've only had one Dremel tool... It lasted 14 months and the motor shed the commutator. So I took the motor out of my old no name Chinese one that the speed control had blown up in. Much to my suprise the motors were virtually identical. I had to use a modified spring to couple the input and output shafts together !
That still works after three years.

Whilst on holiday in Italy recently I picked up a 12 volt version for 10 Euro from Lidl. It runs from either the supplied transformer or a 12 volt DC power source. Great for working on my van.

BaronJ

[franco]

I agree with the previous posts wholeheartedly. I use and really like the micro air grinder. But I also got a small (Makita type) edge trimmer and have used the flexible shaft that came with my Dermel kit. That provides about the se speed as the Dremel but with power to spare.

Cheers,
Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the tip about using the Makita trimmer to drive a Dremel flexible shaft. I use one of these with a 1/4" collet as the cutter drive on the Blanchard lathe, where it receives very little use at the moment. I also have a dead Chinese Dremel copy with all the accessories, so will give your suggestion a try if I can find a 3 mm/ 1/8" collet for it - sounds like an excellent idea.

Regards,

Frank.

[jhovel]

Frank,
I couldn't easily find a 1/8" collet and so made a parallel sleeve to suit and cut one side of it through. Worked well for the past several years...

Cheers,
Joe

[Oldneweng]

I bought one on EvilBay this morning. Not the flash 4 bearing unit but I will see how this goes. I have been meaning to make up a tool post holder for the dremel for ages but it always seemed too hard to do and never enough time. It will be easy with this one. The dremel actually belongs to SWMBO although she has never used it. I would prefer not to break it tho cos I will still cop it:(! I have used an item with a 1/4 inch collet which was called a spiral saw, made by GMC. It is actually a small router but could not be called that because the router base which can be exchanged for other bits such as circle cutting guide, hand guide etc is pretty basic and lacks accuracy. It has a 500w motor tho and beats the pants off the dremel for power. Only 1 speed.

Dean

[franco]

Frank,
I couldn't easily find a 1/8" collet and so made a parallel sleeve to suit and cut one side of it through. Worked well for the past several years...

Cheers,
Joe

Joe,

Thanks for that - I'll do the same.

Frank.