Dremel and similar tools advice required.

[EltonFrog]

I’m considering the matter of buying a Dremel and associated accessories to aid the restoration of a bike project.

I know nothing about these gadgets and I noticed that there are similar machines cheaper.

I’d be very grateful if someone who uses one of these could offer some opinions.

I imagine that some of the wheels and polishing tools would be useful to speed up the process of cleaning up the bikes bits n pieces.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

What sort of things do you want to do with it? I have an early Clarke version. I fear these aren't as well made as they used to be. Dremel seem to have made their stuff a lot more beefy lately? I see the occasional YouTube advert of it being used as a mini router and similar. I'm not sure the Clarke would manage that.
I use mine to polish small brass pins. It also gets used with the tiny cutting discs to slice up to 4mm carbon steel. Only short distances and the steel is in an annealed state but, it will do it. Munches through discs mind.

I probably use my 4.5" angle grinder more. I also have a great bit of kit called a Rotozipp. This falls somewhere between the two.

Remember, also that you can achieve great things with a set of good quality files. I have made a very simple flap wheel attachment for my drill. That gets way more use than the Clarke.

 

[Cycleops]

Never had a Dremel because I opted to buy one of the cheapie models available. The Dremel is the probably the best but unless you're using it intensively the budget models should suit you well.
I used mine for hobby work and had no problems. I'm sure it will be useful for polishing and cutting.

 

[MontyVeda]

I bought an Aldi 'dremel' (AKA Workzone 12v cordless rotary tool) for the same reason... i had some rust patches that needed polishing off my frame and elbow grease was taking far too long. I did already have a Woolworth's 'dremel' but in the years since that was purchased for the bargain price of £7.50, the polishing tools had decided that they''d rather fall apart in a cloud of fluff than do any polishing.

The £17 Aldi 'dremel' certainly did the job for as lot less than a proper Dremel would have cost me. Seems like a decent bit of kit too... plenty of accessories, nice case... doubt it'll get much more use though.

 

[fossyant]

I have a 'cheapie' and an extra set of accessories. Works well and has been used for small jobs,, mainly polishing, or grinding/cutting.

 

[Venod]

Some of the cheaper alternatives have slightly different collet diameters than Dremels, I would buy a Dremel, but if you are buying an alternative make sure it takes dremel accessories as they offer more choices.

 

[Vantage]

I paid over a hundred for my Dremel professional (forget the exact model) well over 10 years ago. It had a new set of bushes within a few months done under warranty but it's been used countless times for countless projects ever since and not once has it failed.
Brilliant tool.
As others have said, if using only for the short term, a cheaper copy will suit most purposes but mine gets used quite a bit and I'd be lost without it.
Be careful in its use though. They can't half do some damage in the wrong hands.

 

[MontyVeda]

Some of the cheaper alternatives have slightly different collet diameters than Dremels, I would buy a Dremel, but if you are buying an alternative make sure it takes dremel accessories as they offer more choices.

out of interest, what collet sizes come with the dremmel?

my woolies one has two; 2.5mm and 3.5mm, and the Aldi one has five ranging from 1mm to 3mm.

 

[Venod]

Dremel being an American company uses imperial sizing for collets, a quick Google came up with this.

It is essential to use the correct sized collet for each accessory. The collets are marked with corresponding shank size: no rings – 1/8 inch (480), 1 ring – 1/32 inch (483), 2 rings – 1/16 inch (482), 3 rings – 3/32 inch (481). The Dremel Trio tool uses a 3/16” collet for all Trio accessories.

 

[Vantage]

I have one of these on mine.

 

[cosmicbike]

I have the cordless Dremel multitool which has survived 10 years or so. Excellent bit of kit for my previous model aircraft building days. Also have a Black n Decker mains one with the long flexible drive. This gets used and abused far more than the Dremel and was cheaper to boot..

 

[Bazzer]

I have a Dremel; it is.my second, having burnt out the motor (my fault) on the first, doing some work on a car restoration..
If you decide on a Dremel, look carefully at what is available. You can buy them individually, with what you need as attachments separately, or you can buy the Dremel as part of a kit. But there are a number of kits on the market.So pick the one which best suits you.
Also if you go online, don't overlook places like B&Q. When I got my replacement, they were the cheapest and with a Tradepoint card, a further 20% off.

 

[EltonFrog]

Thanks all for the replies.

I mainly want it (I think) for polishing rusty bits of springs and books and crannies of BSA cycle parts and a cutter for cutting off the pressed in washers on the pedal spindles.

Possibly a flexible attachment for my normal drill might be better as per @cosmicbike ’s suggestion.

 

[Cuchilo]

I've had two dremel copies ( one clarke , one american ) Both of the push buttons to operate the collet have worn making the tools useless . I've had this with smaller routers and you can normally remove some plastic to get to a nut but not on these .
this year i have bought a dremel , it has the same crappy locking design but hopefully the collet nut wont be made of cheese .

 

[screenman]

I import and sell the Dremel 4.8v over here, the only time I have a problem with them is always due to handler abuse.