Dremel Tool opinions please???
Dremel Tool opinions please??? All,
I am looking to get a dremel tool for doing the wheels on my 81 Trans Am and want to have it around for various future projects. What do you guys recomend or have likes and dislikes please.
I am looking to get a dremel tool for doing the wheels on my 81 Trans Am and want to have it around for various future projects. What do you guys recomend or have likes and dislikes please.
I wouldn't use the dremel for big projects, but it's awesome for interior work (like stereo installs and shaping abs plastic), small around the house stuff, light duty cutting and shaping in tight areas, etc. I use mine all of the time, and recently got lucky and picked up a second one at a garage sale for 5 bucks!!
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I use one that I got for a gift a while back. I think it is from Hobby Lobby or something. Whatever. It seems to work pretty well. Although, I haven't really used it too much, it does do the jobs I have tried with it.
Dremel will eat you alive for consumables, and it's just a tiny
tool. If you want low speed get a cheap corded variable
speed drill, the lighter the better, with trigger lock-on and a
**** of some sort that will let you dial up a set speed. This
is way better for polishing, you can use 2-3" buffs and any
1/4" shank tool. If you want high speed you can find electric
die grinders on eBay for like $10 that will out-chow a Dremel
big time. Odds are you can get both for the price of a retail
Dremel "hobby kit". And the 1/4" shaft tools are so much more
rugged, effective and usually cheaper.
I have a few Dremels but very rarely use them. Though I did
have a square inch sized bit of wood that needed sanding the
other day, and the oldest Dremel was just a champ.
tool. If you want low speed get a cheap corded variable
speed drill, the lighter the better, with trigger lock-on and a
**** of some sort that will let you dial up a set speed. This
is way better for polishing, you can use 2-3" buffs and any
1/4" shank tool. If you want high speed you can find electric
die grinders on eBay for like $10 that will out-chow a Dremel
big time. Odds are you can get both for the price of a retail
Dremel "hobby kit". And the 1/4" shaft tools are so much more
rugged, effective and usually cheaper.
I have a few Dremels but very rarely use them. Though I did
have a square inch sized bit of wood that needed sanding the
other day, and the oldest Dremel was just a champ.
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yeah not for polishing.... it would be cheaper to buy a couple power *****... I spent a fortune gettin different attachments... which is pretty cool. But I still went and bought a high speed air (dremel) for bigger projects.
I think everyone should have a Dremel but as stated previously, for larger grinding/sanding it's not the greatest. It came in very handy when I had to trim my Fuel Rail covers, cut out my lower air box, grind small rust spots, etc.
To answer the original question, I researched Dremels prior to my purchase. They come in various power ranges, accessories and such. I chose the 395 Multipro model. It has a switch for different speeds, comes with a few bits, and has a carrying case. It also had the most power of all the Dremels that I looked at, and will actually torque (rotate) in your hand when you turn it on. Being able to switch it to a specific speed was also a bonus, versus having to hold down a variable speed lever.
Cost was around 50, and is good for what it was designed to do. Although I like my air grinders also, they cannot fit in tight spaces like the Dremel, and there are times when I do not want to be running my compressor.
So, like every tool ever made, it has its place.
As an aside, I bought a dremel bit set from Harbor Freight. Cost was only 10, and it looks to have some decent grinding and polishing bits. Yet to be determined, however.
Cost was around 50, and is good for what it was designed to do. Although I like my air grinders also, they cannot fit in tight spaces like the Dremel, and there are times when I do not want to be running my compressor.
So, like every tool ever made, it has its place.
As an aside, I bought a dremel bit set from Harbor Freight. Cost was only 10, and it looks to have some decent grinding and polishing bits. Yet to be determined, however.
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From: Chesapeake,va and Charlotte,NC
Yeah dremels are good for small spaces and usually light work. I try to use somtheing else when i can cause i go though those bits and attachments like crazy.
9 Second Club
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for big projects a dremel is not the best choice, it will overheat after a short while, i fried one of mine doing a carb main body. the best choice would be an air powered polishing tool like this
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/AP-3059.html
i polished the rear rims for the race car with a drill and a power ball like product, and i thought they came out good, the front wheels were in worse condition, and the power ball wasnt cutting the oxidation well, so me being a tool *****, ordered one from the tool truck, and it made the rear wheels look like they were out in the weather for a few years, i was able to do a better job on a worse condition piece in half the time, i am a beliver now. this tool spins slower than a 1/4 inch die grider but has alot more torque, so you can lean on it alot. it comes with everything you should need except elbow grease. you could get a electric 1/4 die grinder also and polishing bits, but most of the time they are smaller than the ones in the polishing kit. now for r/c car engines, the dremel tool rocks, and thousands of other uses, but for big stuff , use a bigger tool, oh and post before and after pics if possible
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/AP-3059.html
i polished the rear rims for the race car with a drill and a power ball like product, and i thought they came out good, the front wheels were in worse condition, and the power ball wasnt cutting the oxidation well, so me being a tool *****, ordered one from the tool truck, and it made the rear wheels look like they were out in the weather for a few years, i was able to do a better job on a worse condition piece in half the time, i am a beliver now. this tool spins slower than a 1/4 inch die grider but has alot more torque, so you can lean on it alot. it comes with everything you should need except elbow grease. you could get a electric 1/4 die grinder also and polishing bits, but most of the time they are smaller than the ones in the polishing kit. now for r/c car engines, the dremel tool rocks, and thousands of other uses, but for big stuff , use a bigger tool, oh and post before and after pics if possible
I was thinking of this thread yesterday as I was using my dremel to form some notches in the red plastic box on the L/S of the truck engines that serves as a junction for the battery cable/B+ wire to the alternator. It was perfect for what I needed to do and the job came out perfectly 
I use my dremel so much I stopped putting it in its case. I just hang it on the bench. I use it a TON when I do re-gearing. I use it with a little drum sander to make set up bearings if the carrier shims are under the bearings. I also cut off old bearings, I dont press them off. I use one little disc, and cut off 3 bearings (2 carrier, 1 pinion). I used it for trimming my FRCs as someone else mentioned.
Its just one of those tools that I think everone should have. Just like a 4.5" angle grinder.
Oh...and I should mention Ive had mine for around 12 years now. My dad got it for me when I was into building models and what not. Never even had to replace the brushes...
J.
Its just one of those tools that I think everone should have. Just like a 4.5" angle grinder.
Oh...and I should mention Ive had mine for around 12 years now. My dad got it for me when I was into building models and what not. Never even had to replace the brushes...
J.