Dremel Owners - corded vs cordless

[NervousDad]

I have both and I prefer the cordless only because the cord is just too short, I never could figure out why Dremel makes all of their cords so short.

 

[iaefebs]

Burnt out my corded after 20 years. I could see the advantage to going cordless so I bought a cordless. Big mistake... It can do the job, kinda... But I wish I would have bought the corded one.

 

[Conan]

I have an 8100, cordless variable speed. It'll hog through anything with no trouble. While the battery does wear down, I can run the thing as-needed using various bits on various materials for more than an hour before it gives out. But, I let it set and charge for an hour and it's fully juiced.
I mainly use the Multipurpose cutter (spiral looking bit) for routing softwood like pine. Kyle

 

[Atl300zx]

corded, my cordless one lasted about 1 year before dieing.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

I have a corded black and decker variable speed. Of all my tools it's probably one of the ones I use most. Had a cordless Dremmel brand one... emphasis on 'had'.

 

[dfess1]

So I can see that corded wins out. I do not own a Dremel, and have never thought of owning one. But so many have posted "It's the tool I use most", etc, in this thread. I have a full woodshop, and adding to my metal tools as well. What does this thing do that other tools don't? Why is this your "favorite/most used" tool? Why should I be compelled to go pick one up?

 

[Epimetheus]

What does this thing do that other tools don't? Why is this your "favorite/most used" tool? Why should I be compelled to go pick one up?

Compelled? Nah. Just marketing. If your workshop has been fine without it, then do not get it. It is more cash out of your wallet and another thing to store.

I have a corded Dremel with all the bits. I build minatures and grind the dogs' nails. Sometimes it is not at hand and I do just fine with hand tools - a X-acto razor saw, small files, and a hand drill. A hand file does not work well on the dogs' nails, it is too slow and they don't have patience.

If you do get a rotary tool, get all the bits. Maybe a flex drive shaft and a drill press clamp, too. The tool is expensive, the bits are cheap and extend its usefulness.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

It's great for small, precision cuts. It's great for quick sanding or grinding the sharp edges off holes or cut edges. It'll cut holes for recessed lighting and junction boxes in drywall with ease. It doesn't do anything magical, so if you find yourself fully operational without it, carry on. I could probably get by without it but the easy change bits allow me to do multiple jobs with one tool.

 

[Dr. Francois]

Corded, all the way.

 

[mattmeiske12]

My pop handed down his dremel kit to me and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't use it at all for rotary, but I've been using it a lot for my DIY homebrew projects. I also bought a kit that came with all different blades, sand paper etc. I've used it to make manifolds, bottle tree, sparging arm and it cuts tubing with ease. I agree, if you're not using it for projects all the time, don't get one. I'm someone who would much rather DIY than spend more money purchasing something, it's more preference I suppose.

 

[aubiecat]

I have both and I prefer to use the battery operated one when I can get away with it. When I need more power I go with the corded one.

 

[dfess1]

thanks for the replies. I was wondering if I was missing out on something! More money in my pocket to go buy more cherry (or some grain) I suppose!

 

[fxdude]

Absolutely love my high speed cordless one

 

[DakotaPrerunner]

Check out Foredom flex shaft tools. They beat a Dremel any day of the week.

 

[mikescooling]

I have the cordless and it works well. I don't like it when the bits blow-up in my face.

 

[zman]

+1 to the chuck.

And those cutting wheels - when they wear out, they don't just stop. They shatter into a million pieces and they go everywhere, including in your face. (Personal experience) So safety glasses ...

I also prefer corded and +1,000,000 for the info on the cutting wheels and their tendency to shatter.

 

[blefferd]

I have a variable speed corded version with the digital screen. I have had it for about 7 years now and have used it for about everything from demilling AK kits to chopping the top off my keg for a new brew pot.

If you don't have a high end air compressor the dremil rules the day. It is a lot slower working than a full size grinder or cut off wheel or a die grinder/cut off but I have found the slower you go the less chance you have to mess something up.

I will say the only cut off wheels I use are the reinforced kind. I went through 10 building my keggle and would take them down pretty much to the shank before replacing them. I normally buy grinding wheels and cut off wheels in "bulk" because you can chew threw them so fast. I buy the elcheapo Chinese reenforced cut off wheels usually found at gun shows or harbor freight.

I also had to stop during my keggle build to let the motor cool off, it was getting to hot to hold. I suppose I will have to replace the brushes in te near future due to the abuse I give it but those are pretty cheap I am sure.

It is by far one of the most useful power tools I own.

 

[day_trippr]

Check out Foredom flex shaft tools. They beat a Dremel any day of the week.

For 3-4 times the price of the closest thing Dremel offers, one would hope they're worth it...

Cheers!

 

[Bacchus00]

Are dremels used a lot in homebrew projects. I am young but never been great with tools or a DIY kind of guy. But I will probably move away from home to live with friends soon so.... Is a dremel used a lot in homebrew projects because if i rent i wont be doing a lot of around the house improvements. If not used in homebrewing a lot i could always drive 3-4 hours to have my cousin teach me the ways of a DIY guy and help me build my STC temp controller

 

[mikescooling]

Dremels are not used much in brewing.

 

[patthebrewer]

More umph , and no worry about batterries

 

[blefferd]

Are dremels used a lot in homebrew projects. I am young but never been great with tools or a DIY kind of guy. But I will probably move away from home to live with friends soon so.... Is a dremel used a lot in homebrew projects because if i rent i wont be doing a lot of around the house improvements. If not used in homebrewing a lot i could always drive 3-4 hours to have my cousin teach me the ways of a DIY guy and help me build my STC temp controller

I guess it depends on how crafty you are and how much stuff you build on your own. For a basic AG set up the only thing I could see it used for would be to cut slots in your mash tun manifold, or the top off a keg if you dont have a brew pot already. Other than that I cant think of anything in a basic set up you would really use one for.

With that being said they do come in handy at times around the house for removing excess material, cutting or grinding on small projects. I wouldnt tackle a single tier stand build with one or polish a keggle with one lol.

Just remember if you buy one that you are working with a "high speed" cutting/grinding tool and to go slow cause you can remove to much material quick. A strong slow steady hand is best with all hand held high speed cutting/grinding tools. Drilling steel is a different post all together.

I would not rent something like a dremil, they are cheap enough and have enough uses that you could quickly pay for one 5x over if you rented one for several different projects. Dremil has some good advertising though cause they will make you think you will be using it on a daily basis when in reality you wont.

 

[emyers]

Dremel is for women and children arts and crafts. Get a 1/4 corded electric die grinder.

 

[patthebrewer]

Dremel is for women and children arts and crafts. Get a 1/4 corded electric die grinder.

I disagree, I have used a dremel for fine scroll work, Inlay, intracate detail work, and antique furniture resto work. Think of die grinders as broadswords, and dremel rotatary tools as a surgeons scalpel.

Also Not gonna make many friends here with the women and children comment. Quite a few women here on these boards and I'd say a few are MORE than capable of running a die grinder. Seems a bit sexist.

 

[emyers]

When it comes to cutting holes in stainless and alluminum or trimming holes i would never even waste my time with a dremel. Yes if your doing scroll work on wood i agree that's a good application for dremel. But once again that's arts and crafts. A 1/4 die grinder will do the job from cutting kegs open all the way to making a 1/4 steel burner cart. I haven't seen much scroll work on anyone keggles... Not saying it wouldn't be sweet.

 

[patthebrewer]

I haven't seen much scroll work on anyone keggles... Not saying it wouldn't be sweet.

Ya Know you just gave me an idea for a dremel project.....I wonder what a corny would look like with engraved flames and skulls. Hows that for arts and crafts buddy!

 

[blefferd]

When it comes to cutting holes in stainless and alluminum or trimming holes i would never even waste my time with a dremel. Yes if your doing scroll work on wood i agree that's a good application for dremel. But once again that's arts and crafts. A 1/4 die grinder will do the job from cutting kegs open all the way to making a 1/4 steel burner cart. I haven't seen much scroll work on anyone keggles... Not saying it wouldn't be sweet.

yeah but you would need a good air compressor to run that die grinder, and a good compressor that will keep up with a die grinder is not a cheap. I agree that the die grinder is a superior tool when it comes to cutting and grinding but not every one has the means to run one.

 

[Sebas83]

I like my cordless a lot. I live in an apartment and don't have a workshop space, so it's nice to be able to put it away. Plus, I can take it out to my car to do any polishing detail stuff, or take it to job sites to do other small work. Also great for dealing with tile. It makes good on a lot of the required work to make a nice small keg fridge (tiled, wood, etc).

Definitely struggles with heavy work. I chopped up a mini fridge to make a keg fridge and it blew through about 6-7 cut off wheels and took about 2 hours. Something an angle grinder could have done in about 10 minutes.

It's small, inexpensive, reasonably versatile, handles the work I need. I don't do any work that's too large and definitely fits into the arts & crafts field but can pull its weight when you need to do the rare heavy work.

But no, not used for much homebrew stuff.

 

[emyers]

yeah but you would need a good air compressor to run that die grinder, and a good compressor that will keep up with a die grinder is not a cheap. I agree that the die grinder is a superior tool when it comes to cutting and grinding but not every one has the means to run one.

An electric die grinder, dremels big brother. I find air die grinders are great but become freezing cold for long cuts or prolonged grinding such as in porting cast iron auto manifolds. electric is where its at. I've had a Makita for almost 10 years now and use it regularly. And even more so than with dremel, always wear PPE eyes AND ears. And a full face shield is 2ndary

 

[brewinginnc]

Variable speed corded

 

[Breworx]

Think of die grinders as broadswords, and dremel rotatary tools as a surgeons scalpel.

Seconded - great analogy. I have both a die grinder and a Dremel and they're different tools for completely different jobs. That said, I find myself using the Dremel far, far more frequently than the die grinder or just about any other tool in my shop. The bits that I use most:

Flex shaft attachment - using the above analogy, the flex shaft is the attachment that turns the Dremel into a scalpel. Before that it's more like a paring knife.

Tungsten carbide cutter - I tap threads rather than welding or using nuts when mounting things like pumps or casters. Often I need to enlarge the holes in the mounting plates to get all of the holes to line up. The tungsten carbide cutter is far and away the easiest way for me to do so.

Stainless steel brushes/cups - easiest way to clean tight areas like where my fittings are brazed on.

Cutoff wheels - this is the scalpel vs broadsword thing.