Advice on which Dremel to buy and why, please

[RJS]

My =A316 multitool from Maplin died recently and my eye was caught by a Dremel display of, ISTR, 300 and 4000 models in B+Q for about =A350 and =A3100 respectively

Are they worth the money and which would you buy?

The Maplin-thing didn't have a hard life and nor will a Dremel. The, contemplated, greater investment in a Dremel over another =A316 Maplin purchase is pure indulgence with a hope of more fittings or features (will I ever use them?) and a longer life.

I noticed that the 4000 seemed to have a much wider speed range than the 300.

TIA

Richard

[RJS]

Since posting this question, I've done a bit of Googling. An American 'hobby' site has a thread recommending a Proxxon Dremel-equivalent over the Dremel for many reasons including quietness, very low vibration, wide speed range and robust construction. One contributor uses his in a CNC milling machine to make PCBs!

Axminster has the Proxxon IB/E Professional Drill/Grinder for only =A3100.

Any further thoughts?

Please!

Richard

[Andy Dingley]

If you can live with mains power and a flexi-drive, then a Foredom- style machine (a ceiling or stand-hung motor) is much more power and reliable with it.

[RJS]

Thanks Andy

I should have said that portability is a 'must have'.

Cheers

Richard

[Dave Plowman (News)]

FWIW, I have three such things. A mains powered B&Q one which is rarely used. Being corded isn't nice for delicate stuff. A similar small cordless one by Ryobi, which gets a lot of use for PCB type stuff. Although I do have a decent PCB mains pillar drill if I have lots of holes to drill. And finally a much larger - about twice the size - cordless which came from Lidl. It's excellent for fine grinding and cutting.rotozip I've also got a large Rotizip type device with a flexible drive which seemed like a good idea at the time - but rarely gets used.

[NT]

'die grinder.' Stay away from low end ones, they have way less power than a proper die grinder.

NT

[Andy Dingley]

Bigger scale though, and faster. There are lots of things I'll spin in my overhead Foredom-type (which is usually the bigger Axminster White one) that I can't spin in my die grinder. These are mostly the grinding and polishing heads for jewellery, but also for plastics, where the die grinder is too fast and hot.