Dremel Owners - corded vs cordless

[Zuljin]

High speed effer-upper. How did I get along without one? :cross:

Corded. Mine is two speed. I use and abuse it. No issues.

They sell the little carbon brushes for the motor at Lowes and Ace.

Must have bits: 125 high speed cutter, tungsten carbide cutter, loads of black cut off wheels (second the comment about them flying to pieces- but still a must have), grinding stones, wire brushes and I don't know what it's called but they have a cutter that looks like a circle saw blade.

Be careful with any soft buffing and polishing pads. You can buff and polish clean through some stuff in a flash. I know.

 

[glenn514]

I have the cordless variable speed unit, and it works just fine. Used it numerous times...and like it more each time I use it!

glenn514

 

[Eighty2Fifty1]

They make heavy duty cutoff wheels as well. They are quite a bit thicker, so not as precise. I've used them successfully on many projects that I should have used an actual die grinder for.

 

[IrregularPulse]

*edit*
Wrong thread

 

[iwantoknow]

Hello!
I'm hoping you answer this to me:
can the drill you just mentioned (http://www.harborfreight.com/80-piece-rotary-tool-kit-97626.html ) drill trough an antique coin?

Thank you so much!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

High speed effer-upper. How did I get along without one? :cross:

Corded. Mine is two speed. I use and abuse it. No issues.

They sell the little carbon brushes for the motor at Lowes and Ace.

Must have bits: 125 high speed cutter, tungsten carbide cutter, loads of black cut off wheels (second the comment about them flying to pieces- but still a must have), grinding stones, wire brushes and I don't know what it's called but they have a cutter that looks like a circle saw blade.

Be careful with any soft buffing and polishing pads. You can buff and polish clean through some stuff in a flash. I know.

The newer reinforced cut-off wheels are a must for anything metal. The old wheels shouldn't be used for anything other than plastic or wood, IMO.

 

[zeg]

A little off-topic here, but I picked up a Dremel clone (corded!) a couple months ago to modify a plastic case. For that task, it was small enough that I could probably have used virtually any of the bits and gotten it done, but I'm not really sure how to identify what the various bits are for. Does anyone have a favorite tutorial / reference for beginner Dremel use?

 

[Hang Glider]

Hello!
I'm hoping you answer this to me:
can the drill you just mentioned (http://www.harborfreight.com/80-piece-rotary-tool-kit-97626.html ) drill trough an antique coin?

Thank you so much!

most likely ANY drill could drill through an antique coin - it's just a matter of a sharp bit for any metal-cutting job.

 

[Kirch3333]

I have the corded variable speed and I love it. I like certain things to be cordless but others need to be corded. More than likely whatever you are using the Dremel on will be small, portable, and/or near a wall socket. The corded provides more power and unlimited use without re-charging and is far superior than the battery powered one IMHO

 

[bscott1011]

+1 for corded variable speed. +100 for safety glasses

 

[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.