Dremel tool

I do not do carving but I do have several Dremel motors and I can’t say enough good things about them. They are small and easy to use and get into places that other power tools can not. Lots of batteries are needed if you go with cordless.

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

I don’t do carving, but I did use it on my project, What I did this Summer.

I liked it a lot. I used it and used it. I also tried a battery dremmel and didn’t like it. It didn’t seem to have any power.

-- Berta in NC

I use my tool for intarsia and wooden replica building. Works great for detail work. If you get one make sure that you get the flex shaft it saves on the hands. One note the harder the wood the slower the speed has to be otherwise you will burn the wood and burn up the bit. coloradobob

-- coloradobob

One of the handieswt tools around. I found a good set in the original plastic toolbox with flex shaft and router attachment for $30 in a pawn shop. Don’t know how I lived without it. Great for gunstock work, fine grinding, sanding, and a host of detailing tasks. Has an excellent chain saw sharpening accessory kit which will sharpen a saw well in 10 minutes. Want the drill press and more accessory packs!

-- Have fun ! Be Safe !

and the handiest too…..

-- Have fun ! Be Safe !

drill press—love it
and router table .. my favourite accessory!!

I have a little battery powered one that fits so nicely in my hand. And I love it. I probably don’t use the tools as much as other people but for what I do it is fantastic.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I have used mine on several occasions over the past 5 years or so. A good tool for my arsenal but I do not use it very often, but when the need comes for a small tool it is very handy. I have a few of the accessories mentioned above. I actually found the router attachment to be pretty good.

John

Pro’s – I used to demo for Dremel, and most everything I own by Dremel, was free to me. Also, SO MANY attachments available to do so many different things.

Con’s That pesky little mini-mite cordless (I had one of the first versions out) were utter crud. They may have made them better, but I prefer my trusty corded one.

I’ve done anything from carving ducks, to grinding on my computer cases to modify them to my needs. Stick with Dremel, and DO NOT get a copycat version by anyone else, as the quality just isn’t the same.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

I use my cordless all the time. Love it.. so I guess you should “test drive” it before making a decision about whether it would work for you.

Something I use the tool for alot is cutting off the tips of screws if i have misjudged the length needed.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I love ours. I have used it to carve little wooden animals, cut holes in glass aquariums and recently used it to clean up a hole in the steering assembly of the car to put a new sensor in there but the hole had some much corrosion and rust in it the new sensor wouldn’t fit until I cleaned it up.

If you check out e-bay you will find a couple sellers for the bits from Hong Kong. I buy all my dremel bits from them. I can get a 30-bit assortment shipped to my door for under $15 to $20 depending on the bits.

-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com

Well I keep mine in my junk drawer. I find a sharp knife will carve just as fast. Sandpaper will grind just as quick. Maybe for things like sharpening or etching they might work so I havn’t tossed them..yet. I own the router attachment, drill press and two dremels. Never use them.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

I’ve got one, I like it as an all around general use tool.
Cuts faster and easier then a hacksaw.
Make sure you get the flex shaft attachment, hang the tool above you, and the shaft woks great.

I’ve used mine for carving: some free hand and some using the router base attachment—>

-- don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things

I’d stay away from the 400XPR (I think I have the model right), the motor seems much less durable than the others. I burned up a couple of them on relativly light work.

-- Dylan Vanderhoof - General hobbiest and reluctant penmaker. http://llarian.etsy.com

I grind off rivet heads with mine and use the router occasionally. Always have one available though.

-- Thos. Angle

Thanks guys and gals. I’m sold!!! Lowes has one with a lot of extra’s and the flex shaft is one of them. I do believe it is the 400XPR though. I’ll probably get the 400 and see what happens. Time will tell how much I use it. This kit sells for about 90.00, so that’s not a budget killer, especially since I have a couple of gift cards from Lowes! Nice carving Cool.

-- Rick

Definitely get the flexible shaft too…it holds like a pencil in your hand allowing for more detail. Variable speed is a must as well. Diamond bits are no good on wood…they load up quickly. Tungsten steel bits are the best for carving.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

The Dremel, or any of the other similar tools, are one of the most versitle tools on the market. I have the Black & Decker version and I have used for everything from sanding, cutting (wood, metal, & plastic) , routing, etc. etc. etc. With the flexible shaft, you add an entirely different aspect to the tool, now you have a fine tip pen in your hand and you can write anything. If you want to use it for carving, it will do the trick, but as the commercial leads you to beleive, don’t try to hit a nail into a 2×4 with it.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

I love dremel tools so much, that I’ve burned up three of them in the last 15 years… lol. I wish they made one that stands up to “dremel abusers” like me… heheh.

They are pretty handy… when they aren’t smoking… lol.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †

I’ve liked mine. Had good luck with it carving a variety of stuff. I like to use it to rough things out and then I detail with hand tools. I stripped my flex shaft though by not attaching it right. Watch out for that.

-- ~too many hobbies, not enough free time.

I have the Lithium Ion cordless, and I really like it. It has plenty of snoose and it holds a charge for quite a long time. I have several high quality attachments from Stewart-McDonald, a luthier supplier.

I have 2 battery Dremels, 1 corded Dremel, 1 Foredom, and several air grinders for my compressor. It really depends how long you will be running the tool (continuously) and the size of your carving work. The Dremels are nice for short bursts and for all around shop jobs besides carving (cutting nails, cleaning and polishing small parts, etc.). The Foredom is great for continuous use without overheating (I have several different hand pieces). If you are not familiar with Foredom (http://www.foredom.com/), they make a lot of dental, jewelry, and industrial use flexible shaft rotary tools. For long periods of heavy duty carving/grinding, you can’t beat air compressor driven tools.

So my recommendations are:
1. Foredom – if you want top of the line, fully repairable, last forever tool.
2. Air Grinders – if you want to run for long periods and do heavier work
3. Dremel – if you want a nice hobby grade system for occassional work. You will burn these out with heavy use.

I hope that helps. This is my first post. Discovered this website about an hour ago and it looks great. I hope to participate regularly in the future. Cheers!

-- TomB, Louisville, KY

I love mine.

-- There is no such thing as a mistake. Its called a design modification Rick Kruse, Grand Rapids, MI

Welcome to Lumberjocks boss….. I have a Dremel. I don’t use it a lot, but it’s very handy when I need it with certain jobs.
- JJ

-- JJ...... I guess you could say I'm a 54 year old "juniorjock". — Make things with wood.

I love my Dremel.Especially for sanding and smoothing out tight spaces.

-- Dustygirl..Hastings,Ontario.. How much wood can 1 gal chuck if 1 gal can't cut wood?

I like the Foredom for carving, The Dremel gets hot very fast when using under heavy load. It works pretty good, I found it satisfactory for lite work.
Good luck!

-- Can't never could do anything, to try is to advance.