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Which Dremel?


MtB

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I have a few awkward to get into corners on the boat that need de-rusting and painting and a Dremel seemed a Good Idea for grinding back to clean metal in the corners, so I bought a cheapo clone Dremel on ebay. Total waste of money, it has no power at all and the bit simply stops rotating as soon as any pressure is applied. 

So do I need a genuine Dremel? Are they actually any better than my cheapo clone? Or can anyone recommend a specific Dremel type of tool from personal experience please?

If a Dremel really is the best, which of their many models? Their website is frustratingly data-intensive and slow to load on this mobile connection and looks like it was designed by marketing tools who just claim everything is great, anyway :) 

P.S. I'm looking for a battery one, not 240v corded. 

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I have a battery Dremel, perfect for a bit of woodwork, cutting of small screw ends etc but not IMVHO any use for removing rust or other heavy or even medium type usage, simply don't have the torgue for the job and would just stop dead when meeting any resistance.

I also have a cheapo 240v item which is  a lot more useful.

 

Edited by reg
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Like reg my battery Dremel stays in its drawer except for very light jobs away from a power source whereas my cheap and cheerful Lidl 240V jobbie is used constantly and has its own workbench (well it shares with a soldering iron but I try to avoid soldering at all costs).

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1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Dremels are only intended for modelling and light model engineering work. For this they are very good. I have a 12v one.

 

The dremel website claims they can cut stuff. Steel included I think... what sort light model engineering tasks would you use yours for Bizz?

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Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The dremel website claims they can cut stuff. Steel included I think... what sort light model engineering tasks would you use yours for Bizz?

My Lidl one can cut through steel with the correct attachment (I have lopped small nails with it) but if I was scrapping a narrowboat I'd opt for a gas axe.

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16 minutes ago, carlt said:

My Lidl one can cut through steel with the correct attachment (I have lopped small nails with it) but if I was scrapping a narrowboat I'd opt for a gas axe.

 

I'd never scrap a narrowboat. No matter how bad it is, there is always someone will buy it.

 

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Many dremel attachments will fit in the chuck of a battery drill. Good for grinding away crusty rust in tight corners that orbital devices cannot squeeze into or where you want to do minimum possible damage to the paintwork. It is slow progress though. 

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38 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

Many dremel attachments will fit in the chuck of a battery drill. Good for grinding away crusty rust in tight corners that orbital devices cannot squeeze into or where you want to do minimum possible damage to the paintwork. It is slow progress though. 

 

Yes that's exactly what I want it for. But my battery drill only rotates at about 500rpm, not the 5,000 to 25,000 rpm of a Dremel.

Looks as though the mains ones (of any brand) work well and the battery ones are shyte then.

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Ive got 2 mains Dremels, one with a flex shaft.

It will cut small amounts of all sorts of metals and would be useful for small amounts of rust.

I use the flex shaft for silversmithing, mostly grinding and polishing.

the other one is set up on a stand for accurate drilling jobs, again silversmithing related..

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3 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Looks as though the mains ones (of any brand) work well and the battery ones are shyte then.

I would say the battery ones are good at what they are designed to do e.g light modeling detail work, removing burs of acrylic, cutting end of small protruding screws etc. I also knew a chiropodist who found one very useful.

As I don't do any modeling mine basically sits in the drawer.  The odd occasion I need to use one I find it's usually far less bother to connect up the 240v one as invariably the 12v needs recharging before use

As I said battery one us good at what it's designed for but push it outside it's limited parameters and it's not much use, which is fair enough in book.

Edited by reg
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I have a Dremel 4000 in the workshop. It will easily cut metal with the cutting wheel. One of the jobs I use it for is cutting up to 12mm square HSS tool blanks . I even made an atatchment to fit it on to the lathe to use it as a grinder (to grind true the jaws on a three jaw chuck).

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MTB- Get a B&D Power file, not any sort of Dremel.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/232659001749?chn=ps&dispItem=1&adgroupid=47476323250&rlsatarget=pla-414281536541&abcId=1133916&adtype=pla&merchantid=9495714&poi=&googleloc=1006843&device=c&campaignid=1058842219&crdt=0

Makita do a dearer and better version with 3 widths of belt.  Great for corners, rust removal etc. 

They are corded  though, and I've not found a battery one.

Dremels go round quick, but have no power.

 

N

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