dremel, rtx, or die grinder

[matt]

i'm in the process of restoring an old cocktail arcade machine. i will be placing laminate around (and on top) of the cabinet to pretty it up. in the course of trying to figure out how to cut the laminate to form, i've decide to try my hand at routing. unfortunately i don't have a router. i checked at HD and they were showing off the dremel which looks about what i need however when i demo'd it, i was rather unimpressed with the feel of it and at $100 + router base (30), i wondered if there was a better (more bang for the buck) solution.

admittedly, i do like the versatility of the dremel and so i would like a more substantial tool along these lines.

the mini die grinder plus air compressor is an interesting idea. is it possible to pick up a pancake compressor for the (internal) home and power these types of tools? can you buy a router base for any of mini die grinders out there? i may also need to do some simple cutting, say straight cuts or jig type cuts on 3/4 inch plywood, drilling (for joysticks and buttons), and sanding but that would be about the extent of my needs right now.

thanks

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]

[Bridger]

go to a real (non borg) tool store and shop for laminate trimmers. the basic machine is a small router and will be useful for other small routing jobs. for about the same money it's much more robust than a dremel type machine and will likely come with all of the attachments needed to get the job at hand done.

electric die grinders are available, very useful for general trimming/adjusting type jobs but aren't laminate trimmers.

a pancake compressor will fail to run an air die grinder.

I doubt it.

try a jigsaw.

try a drill

try a.... oh, heck. research cabinet scrapers. much more fun, less messy and more accurate than sanding.

de nada... Bridger

[matt]

took your advice and stopped by

(they have a store near us). a search on rotary tool brought up one by proxxon. anyone have any experience with this brand?

[John Dobson]

I have most of the tools you've mentioned, for various purposes. I've used a Dremel, a RTX, and Makita die grinders for power carving. I've used the Dremel, RTX, and trim routers for routing work.

Relatively low power, somewhat unsteady, base is not very rugged. You'd be better off with a laminate trim router for this purpose.

The B&D RTX tools have more power than the older Dremels, I think they're well made for the price.

But even with the B&D add on base, there are the same stability questions.

It won't do a good job at what you want. If you want to do power carving, get a die grinder or RTX. If you want to clean up trim, get the trim router.

You'll just waste time and material trying to do well with the multifunction device. Buy a GOOD trim router, and a throw-away grade Dremel-type tool.

Never saw a router base for one. The Makita electric die grinder is solid and works well, but feels a little under- powered. Never tried the air die grinder.

I actually tried to use a laminate trimmer to replace a die grinder for carving. Very very very very very dangerous.

[Bridger]

if this is what you are looking at:

looks closer to a dremel than a laminate trimmer. it does seem to be decent machinery, but I would rather use a laminate trimmer to trim laminate. I guess I'm just a little kooky that way....

I have and use and like my porter cable laminate trimmer. I bought the full kit with 3 bases. I figured it was better to get the right stuff right away. here's the kit I have:

other manufacturers offer similar kits- the bosch also seems to be high quality. Woodcraft offers the dewalt kit: I can't make a recommendation either way not having used it.

I suspect that your long term needs will run more towards router use than laminate production, so you might consider making the jump up to a light router.