RotoZip Tool - Anyone Using It?

In a fit of unrestrained impulse buying I purchased a RotoZip about 18 months ago. There was a residual vision in my mind of their TV ad where the things effortlessly zips through every thing. A couple of months later I went to use it for the first time. I think I wanted to cut a circle or an arc in a piece of hardboard (Masonite) I was using to make a jig.

It didn't perform so I put it back in its case and used my trusted old Bosch jig saw instead.

Now, I was just wondering if I should have spent more time mastering its use or whether I should just leave it in the pile of other worthless gadgets I have accumulated over the years.

I am sure this group will have the answer.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Bleau
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It does best at it's originally intended job, cutting sheetrock. Other than that, a router does much better at just about everything.

Reply to
CW

I bought one a good while back (to trim some tile to level out the toilet) the toilet is still out of level. Can I put mine with yours?

Mark

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Reply to
Markem

It works really great for cutting holes in drywall. Hang the drywall, then cut out around the outlet boxes and light fixtures. Use the fixture as a guide. No measuring required. No need to buy those great big plates to hide your mistakes. The circle fixture works great on drywall too. I have had trouble using it with any other material.

Reply to
Steve

Anyone remember "Troy"?

Reply to
B A R R Y

Sadly I made the same mistake, only difference being I bought mine at Sears. The pin that you push in to tighten or loosen the collet broke the second time I used it (13 months after purchase). Sears would not take it back or exchange it. Called Rotozip and they did exchange it for a new one. The plastic housing that holds the pin broke again. Bad design of the plastic housing I think. I ended up drilling out the shaft to accept a C141-B rig pin.

Other than drywall the only other use I found was when I need to hog out a few studs that had finished drywall on the other side. Was especially helpful getting at that last stud in the corner. I don't think any other tool could have done that job.

Reply to
RayV

I don't have a rotozip tool but have a Dremel with the spiral cutter and the router base. It worked great when I installed the can lights in our family room. I used it to make the cut outs in the dry wall and in the wood paneling for the switches.

Reply to
Keith nuttle

A Rotozip fits in the gap between a Dremel and a router--it can take Dremel bits but has immensely more power and it can take 1/4 inch shank router bits but is less powerful and precise than a router. Look at it as a Dremel on steroids and you're pretty close to the mark.

It is _the_ tool for making cutouts in drywall and plaster--my house has plaster over drywall so in the middle of installing network cabling, having gotten fed up with all the other approaches, I broke down and got one for that. It has since proven occasionally useful for all sorts of things.

If you want to cut a circle in a piece of hardboard, the Rotozip cutter isn't really right--it will take forever to do the cut unless they've improved them considerably and the finish will be pretty poor. Get yourself a quarter inch router bit and use the quarter inch collet in the Rotozip and it should go just fine.

Reply to
J. Clarke

about 18

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mastering

Works great on hung drywall and wall paneling, period.

Len

Reply to
Len

Once I had to attach a round flexible duct to a sheet metal duct in a basement, and the only access was from the top, between joists. The only way I could manuver to cut the sheet metal was to use the rotozip with a circle cutter. There was just enough room to get the tool and my hand in there and I could hardly see what I was doing, but it worked.

Reply to
edswoods.1

Heck it doesn't cutout outlets in drywall very well if using plastic boxes. The hi speed bit melted through the boxes I wound up hand cutting with a drywall saw then finishing with the RoroZip and took it back.

Reply to
Seeker

What I've learned from my Dremel and Rotozip is this... The do everything tool means that you need to buy a new attachment or blade/drill bit for every different surfice/material you work with. At the end of the day the "do everything" tool isn't so cheap. I guess if you only had room for one tool box it might be the tool to keep.

Reply to
HotRod

I have the big Dremel with the large motor - a RotoZip knockoff. Great for drywalls, getting into tight places to flush cut nails and bolts where my recip saw can't. Polish and grind little things. Cut out a slot on a rusted out screw so I could back it out with a screw driver - only tool I had that could do that.

Reply to
Jack

Their bits are handy, sometimes, but I don't like the tool quality. After seeing a friend's troubles with his RotoZip I never did buy one. I bought a collet adapter for the bits and I use them in my laminate trimmer or router. Other than making holes in sheetrock the only other thing that I've done with them is to make stand-up cutouts of cartoon characters for church. Using a piece of foam insulation as a backer, the rotozip bits cut through the 1/4 luan to make these quite easily. The foam absorbed the sawdust, protected the bit tip, and minimized chip-out. Following the lines freehand went relatively well if you didn't rush it. Pushing the forward cutting speed resulted in sideways pulling, making it difficult to stay on the line. It turned out much better than trying to make the cuts with a sabre saw.

Reply to
Charley

Well, I was thinking that I just didn't know how to use it but after

13 negative reviews I don't feel so inept anymore. Thanks.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Bleau

The rotozip is excellent- but only for one thing (at least as far as I'm concerned). It's really handy for cutting out holes for outlet boxes, windows and doorways when hanging drywall. What you do is partially screw the full sheet to the wall, then plunge the rotozip into the center of (for example) the outlet box. Cut over until you reach the edge, where you enounter some resistance, and then lift it slowly until it slides over the side of the box. Then you use the box as a guide by zipping around it, and slide it into the new perfectly-formed hole in the drywall and finish screwing the sheet down.

That use justifies the tool, but cutting wood with one is kind of a chore.

Reply to
Prometheus

Google "Troy" and "Rotozip".

I think he even face jointed with his.

Reply to
B A R R Y

Most people here don't appreciate the RotoZip, I suspect it's because they don't do the type of work that is comes in handy for. I have the Craftsman rotary tool, and it has served me well for years.

Besides it's obvious use of cutting drywall/panelling, I have performed the following tasks:

Cutting off nails reslotting screws trimming laminate (owning a rotory tool with router base eliminates the need for a laminate trimmer) routing profiles (with 1/4" router bits) cutting holes in sofets, cement fiber siding, plywood cutting out sink holes in formica countertops. removing old grout drilling holes (with drill bits) cutting pipe

I'm sure there are things I have used it for as well, but that's all I can think of right now.

Reply to
Locutus

The Rotozip with the 1/4 in. collet and a carbide bit is perfect for cutting in an outlet box in a ceramic tile wall on a remodel. It is also great for enlarging an undersized hole through plywood using the proper bit. I carry one with me on my service truck. You will run into those situations when it's the only tool to do an oddball cut. When using it to cut in around electrical openings on a drywall job make sure your wires are tucked well back in the box. I have had sheet rockers over zealously grind up my wires as they carelessly zip around to find the mud ring. I usually have to carefully open their rock with a large hammer to pull in a new cable. This usually makes them more careful after they have to go back and repair the holes. Marty

Martin (NoxiousDog) Person,

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Connoisseur of budget meats, electrician, Collector of manure.

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Reply to
Martin L. Person

Bought one initially to cut off nails in a ceiling. Worked like a charm.

Have since used a sanding attachment to remove paint in small areas, and it worked as advertised.

Reply to
wecwec2

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