I am desperately looking for something for SWMBO to buy me for Christmas - and am wondering about the Dremel Pro 3950 kit (including 40 accessories) which Argos are now selling for about £55 (down from £70).
I've looked at Dremel's website which has a long list of "projects" which you can undertake with the kit - many of which I probably woudn't want to do, and some of which require additional accessories not included in the kit.
I would be very interested to hear from those of you who own Dremels. What sort of jobs do you use them for - particularly if you also have a good range of full size power tools? Where do they sit on the brilliant vs waste of money scale? [£55 still seems a lot of money to me - and £70 seems a hell of a lot!]
I have one of these and a year on am wondering just that...
Saying that although I've only used it a few times it has saved my ass. I have used it very sucessfully to slot screws / bolts etc that I have rounded when trying to tighten / remove them. Simply slot it and unscrew. works everytime...!
I had actually forgotton I owned one until I read your post! Still, a must needed gift, like my angle grinder, only used that a couple of times, but damn handy when I have!
I got one as a present a couple of yours ago, and I use it sporadically. I will say that the things I've used it for would have been difficult or time consuming with only the other tools I have.
The cutting discs are useful for opening plastic casings, and all manner of slotting/grooving jobs. The burrs have been great for little jobs that would have been a pain with a file. Haven't used the polishing stuff yet, but will soon!
I have had one of the electronic speed controlled versions for some time (predecessor to the 3981) and use it a fair bit - not every day but perhaps a couple of times a month.
The main attachments that I use with it are small drills for fine work, sanding smallish areas in confined spaces and the cut off discs which work well for metal cutting up to a few millimetres - e.g. nails and screws, and even copper plumbing tube in tight places. I occasionally use the steel brushes and similar tools for cleaning up areas of metal or stripping paint in detailed mouldings.
Really this is a tool which is intended for small work and in difficult places. The cutting off is not going to compete with an angle grinder. I think it's reasonable value for money for what it does.
If you are looking for something that will do a range of jobs but with a bit more beef, I can recommend the Fein Multimaster. This comes in a basic fixed speed version for about £100, a variacle speed one for £130, both with a few accessories and a variable speed one in a steel case with a lot of accessories for £158.
The principle of this tool is a rapidly oscillating head. There are sanding and cutting accessories that will also get into tight spots. The accessories for grout removal are particularly good.
I probably use the Multimaster more than the Dremel, at the moment most weekends so consider this one really good value.
You could sit typing of an evening about what attachments you have, discuss off-topic issues, have competitions e.g who can cut through a piece of paper the quickest, explain how you converted it to a food mixer, when the wife's kenwood packed in
You could even take it out of the case from time to time and brush the dust off
I think it's excellent value. Spouse uses his almost daily - but he's making small items, bone needles, horn spectacle frames, brass pins and the like. It's invaluable to him, so much so that when his first was stolen he went out the same night and bought another.
It's the right tool for the right job - as is any tool.
It's not a tool for 'normal' DIY, but more for hobbies. I've not got an actual Dremel, but a cordless Ryobi, and a mains powered B&Q Dremel lookalike. The Ryobi gets used a lot for my electronics stuff - drilling PCBs etc, the mains one not much. I don't think I've ever tried to use either for what I'd call normal DIY around the house. But then I'm a bit of a tool junkie, so have most of the common stuff.
I have the Axminster white "Dremel-alike" with the flexi-shaft. It's rubbish. When I have the money, I'll buy a Foredom.
I've rarely "started a job with the Dremel". Even more rarely have I used it succesfully. Very frequently though, I've used it for some impossible task that was simply impossible by any other means. I wouldn't rush out and buy one the same day if I lost it, but I do find that it earns its keep. I only ever use it with the flexi-shaft. As a general rule, it's good as a crude tool and a failure for anything accurate.
Recent jobs:
Polishing out a scratched mirror.
Sawing (abrasive disk) the needle shaft in a pressure gauge, without bending the shaft.
Sawing (abrasive disk) the throttle butterfly spindle out of my car, working from inside the inlet manifold.
Grinding edges on stained glass.
Dismantling a lock barrel by grinding through an internal circlip.
General carving with an oval carbide burr.
Failures:
Polishing trigger sears (a disaster - had to do it by hand again afterwards, using a flat stone)
Carving a wax seal from soapstone (too much vibration, owing to poor bearings)
Engraving serial numbers (a tenner's worth of cheap engraver works much better)
Anything with carbide burrs (the Axminster's crappy chuck won't grip carbide)
Sawing a narrow slot in oak - not enough torque.
Drilling. Drills this size are too fragile.
The carving head for the Axminster. Head works, chisels are made of cheese. Maybe I'll try the Flexcut ones for it.
LOL! Seriously, that's what worries me - that it would spend all its time in its case - and would never get used! Guess I'll have to look for other ideas.
I recently purchased a Rotozip Rebel from ebay. It's a bit more powerful than the dremel. I've been using it for various odd jobs and it is good at what it does.
PoP
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I use mine only rarely. Really I think its only advantageous when working on tiny items. I wouldnt buy a Dremel, you can get other makes for a fraction of the cost. The basic rule is if its advertised a lot youre paying for the ads.
If youve got 55 to spend though, a mini drill has to be pretty low on the list. What do you wantt o do that you dont have the tool for?
I have a mains powered B&Q "rotary tool". I use it for jobs in difficult to get at places and for drilling pilot holes. It has speed regulation and a stand and a flexible shaft drive (all in the box with a large collection of tools for 330).
I also use the same tool and (until it broke) a Buffalo from minicraft on a boat for GRP work.
I've recently fitted a Grohe shower onto a marble tiled wall and a hand basin onto a wall with ceramic tiles. In both instances SWMBO wanted all pipework concealed behind the wall. I used the B&Q tool with a Dremel ceramic tile shaping bit (£12) to make the holes though the tiles. It does a good job of this, and is also good for shaping the edges of tiles to fit awkward places. I can rough out curves on a diamond tile cutter then shape the edges with the "Dremel".
Also useful for fiddly jobs like cutting off the bolts on cast iron guttering and the slitting saws came in handy when fitting pine cladding to a difficult profile.
I originally bought one for working on PCBs, then when the minicraft died I thought I wouldn't bother getting a replacement because I don't do much electronics on a day to day basis. However I found that I missed having a suitable tool for small cutting and shaping jobs so I bought the B&Q model.
One PITA with the B&Q tool is that although it will fit Dremel tools, the B&Q collets are hard to find and different from the Dremel ones.
I haven't used a dremel, but I do have a Rotozip which looks like a dremel on steroids.
I have found that my Rotozip is 'kin brilliant for cutting holes in plasterboard, such as to fitting a new sunken socket (or as a couple of weeks ago, cutting a neat recess for a bath that was too long for a bathroom).
PoP
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