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Tool Review – Dremel

January 25, 2013

I thought it would be a good idea to share this short review with you, specially for those who are thinking about buying a dremel tool but aren’t sure yet if that is what you need. First of all, “Dremel” is a brand – there are other manufacturers of rotary tools suitable for model builders and craftsmen, such as Proxxon or other similar and less known brands. Good thing about Dremel and Proxxon is that you get lots of accessories. I had so far the impression, that Dremel accessories are just a little cheaper than Proxxon. If you want to buy a rotary tool, check out what is available at your nearest hardware store – have a look at the variety and prices of accessories and attachements before you buy the tool.

So, anyway, what’s this tool about? First of all, let me show you the basics: on the pic above, you can see that this tool has a “On/Off Switch”, a “Rotation Speed” wheel (you can regulate the speed almost steplessly) and a “Spindle Lock”. The spindle lock is needed so you can attach bits and secure them easily by closing the spindle without it rotating while at it. That wire around the speed wheel can be opened so you can hang the Dremel somewhere.

By the way, I got the Dremel as a present from by brother, Seb – thanks 😉 – he bought it as a special deal, including the Dremel itself and several attachements such as  a circle cutter, a grinding guide and flex shaft (my favorite!) plus a box with bits and other useful stuff.

You get from polishing pads, to brushes, wire brushes, milling bits, grinding and sanding bits, saws (see the little plastic box) and some polishing paste. You can use this tool for many different things. Of course, I was glad to use it in model building! For instance, cutting the roof of the 56 Ford Crown Victoria to convert it into Fireball Robert’s Sunliner (see the car here) was a piece of cake with a saw attached to the Dremel! Also, sanding and grinding car bodies to make rust holes is much easier and faster with this tool. But this tool may come in handy at home, or around the car! As I replaced the bumper on my 1984 BMW 628 (rust in peace… is gone now), this tool was great! There where a few bolts that just would’t come out, so I placed a special metal cutting saw and they where gone in a blink of an eye and I could just place new bolts. You can also cut tiles, wood, metal (as I said)… just about anything!

This is one above is my favorite attachment for the Dremel: the flex shaft. It makes the tool so much handier! You can just hang the Dremel or leave it on a corner of your workbench and handle the rest with the handy, light weight end of the flex shaft – instead of holding the heavy Dremel.

This attachement is to help you cut circles and perfectly straight lines – or mill for that matter. Slot cars are getting kind of trendy lately. Did you know that with this tool and this attachment, you could actually build your own custom track out of wood boards? You can use this attachment together with a milling bit to perfectly mill the grooves for the slot racers. The engraved scale (both inches and centimeters) will help you while keeping distance between the two lanes. There are several guides online on how to build your own slot car tracks. You can also regulate the depth of your cut where the Dremel is attached. This is also a handy attachement at home – let’s say for cutting tiles around a tube or something.

This small and simple attachement is just a sanding and grinding guide. Once you attach a grinding or sanding bit to the Dremel, you place this attachement at it will help you keep the right depth. You can also use it to drill a hole at a specific depth too.

Some safety hints: remember to use googles with these kind of rotary tools. Also, aways push against rotation to avoid the tool snapping out into some direction. Never let kids use it – and make sure that you supervise youngsters while they learn how to use such a tool.

I hope you found this review useful!

Bruce Osborne January 29, 2013 at 10:19 am

Nice article! May have some use for the attatchments.

terry white February 9, 2013 at 1:49 pm

wonderful and versatile tool !! I have one that is attached to a foot pedal that controls the motor.

Kevin February 10, 2013 at 2:10 am

i’ve had two dremel tools over the last ten years. the first one was too fast, even on it’s slowest setting, so my current one is much better (slower is better for grinding plastic). i’ve found the bits are very expensive for name brand bits, so i usually buy the cheapie motor-tool set with the large box of accessories from an electronic’s chain store. i keep the cut off disks and sanding drums and give away the motor tool and remaining bits.

christian February 10, 2013 at 5:31 am

I too have a Dremel. I have a problem with speed when it is time to use on my model reduced. At the slowest speed it do melt plastic and plastic wraps around the tip used. I do not use that socket manually. I thank you for sharing your passion and you made ​​the very good work. It’s always good to explain and beautiful shooting.
Thank you!

Iggy February 10, 2013 at 9:43 am

Hello Christian,

thanks for the comment! I’m happy you enjoy our site and our work.

It sounds like your dremel is maybe an older model, thus can’t regulate speed so good. Anyhow, at a lower speed I do get some melting, but it is minimal. You may also try by not applying too much pressure on the piece you are cutting. Maybe this will reduce the melting a bit.

Iggy

Kenneth February 10, 2013 at 2:34 pm

Nice review! Thorough and informative…have to look into one of these. Thanks.

Iggy February 10, 2013 at 5:11 pm

Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked it,

Iggy

dave mac February 11, 2013 at 6:48 am

g,day great review. your review came at the right time. i was considering a dremel.i will get one but it,s a toss up between getting the cordless sylus or the 4000 model.what do you think mate? i will use it to modify diecast as well as plastic models. keep up the great blog.
cheers.
dave

Iggy February 11, 2013 at 3:32 pm

Hey Dave,

thanks for the comment! I’m glad that the review was useful!

Iggy

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