Dremel is Dead - Are The Alternatives Any Good?

[mrbounce]

I have killed my Dremel. It has problems where the spindle lock has worn and it won't lock out any more, which is pretty rubbish for changing tools. I use it regularly and quite hard - it's lasted about 7 years so I guess it's just had its time. Are the cheaper alternatives (Lidl, Aldi, Machine Mart, B&Q's own brand) any good, or do they simply fall to bits with a bit of grinding and cutting? I have a whole host of Dremel brand tools by the way, so accessories aren't an issue. The jobs it's used for are mainly when I can't get a 4" grinder in there

I've done my first Poll (woo!) but do feel free to let me your experiences with similar tools 

Ta muchly 

[VW]

My vote is another dremmel.
Ive never managed to wear one out, i normally loose them first.
The BnQ near me is always having discounted ones due to damaged boxes etc.

Not sure how the lock out has got so worn, any possibility your over tightening tools?

[nickwheeler]

They're all pretty poor, including Dremels which cost three to four time as much. As they're seriously underpowered for grinding or cutting steel, just get a cheap one.

It's the discs and grinding stones that need to be good quality, so spend the money there.

[droopsnoot]

I use the Aldi ones. I've got through a few, but I do use them quite hard - sometimes grinding down MIG weld for example, where I can't get a proper grinder in there. I've worn through some collets, but got replacements on eBay for hardly any cost. The warranty is good - three years, and no quibble. I contacted them when I wore out the first collet, they asked for a scan of the receipt and sent me a whole new kit.

I've had one or two where the lock wears out and won't hold any more. For a while I was shoving a thin bit of metal (actually a blunt scribe) in the plastic "fan" thing that rotates to help cool it, to lock the spindle in place while I changed the tool.

I did have a B&D "Wizard" as my first miniature multi-tool thing, that didn't last long and it went back to B&Q. The down-side of the Aldi ones is that they don't always have them - if you need one right now, that narrows your choices a bit.

[xbl]

Buy a proper Die grinder and be done with it. The small multi-tools never last if you use them for anything more than mdf.

[Spudgun]

I have had my Dremel for 13 years, used for cleaning welds, cutting bolts all manner of other jobs and its one tool I would never be without.
Where I live noise is a big issue so I cant really get the big grinder out without upsetting neighbors so the Dremel is the choice weapon.

[Jem45]

I bought a cheapo one from Screwfix or Machine Mart for about £20. I think it's a Clarkes - it oozes poor quality but 7 years on is still functioning. As Nick says above, for the more heavy duty applications, the quality of the discs is probably key imho.

[bmcnut]

My old Dremmel, which was about 20 years old, was fantastic, it was really torquey (no matter which way i spell it, it don't look right) and got used and abused and operated really smoothly untill one day there was a flash from inside it, followed by a grinding noise and it had packed up. I borrowed a cheap one a couple of times and you get what you pay for, it was rubbish, weak, and i swore never to buy one. I ended up buying another Dremmel about 6 months ago and it is not nearly as good as my old one. Its got adjustable speed which is great, but the torque just isnt there. The old one would just constantly work at the same speed no matter how hard you pressed it, the new one just seems to snag when using the discs because it hasnt got the power to keep it spinning when under load.
So if you can buy an old Dremmel youll probably do better than buying a new Dremmel, but don't bother with anything cheap. Also the variety and quality of bits available for a Dremmel will still sway me to buying another Dremmel.

[droopsnoot]

I should add to what I said above about cheap ones - I haven't used anything more expensive than the B&D Wizard I mentioned, which lasted the shortest time of them all. Maybe a proper Dremel is worth the extra - the description that it doesn't slow down when cutting sounds useful - but I'm not sure I can stomach the cost.

Perhaps worth pointing out that the variety of bits doesn't really come into the Dremel vs. Aldi argument as the bits are the same as long as they fit into a 3.2mm chuck.

Die grinders are great, I just don't want or need the compressor running all the time. I did see a reference on a US board to a mains-powered one, but didn't follow it up.

[Phil H]

I recently got a mains powered die grinder for not a lot off Amazon. Name I’ve never heard of but it’s got some poke! Variable speed on it as well which is a bonus. How it lasts long term I can’t say as it’s early days but so much easier than firing up the compressor.

[nickwheeler]

Aug 28, 2019 9:18:57 GMT droopsnoot said:

Die grinders are great, I just don't want or need the compressor running all the time. I did see a reference on a US board to a mains-powered one, but didn't follow it up.

You need a BIG compressor to run air grinders. It's inefficient and noisy to use a 3hp compressor to run a grinder. I have air tools, but only ever used them at work. An electric die grinder is the tool to use here, and although it's noisier than a Dremel(I'd have to look but it's about 4 times the power) it does the job of grinding welds/cylinder heads/whathaveyou in seconds rather than hours and £20 in weak accessories.

[Simon998]

I've had three of the cheaper (£30) dremels and they keep burning the motor out or breaking the pin in the locking collar. My dad has an older one and it looks like it's been through the wars and still going.

I've been trying to find an older model in bootsales and ebay for a while now with no avail.

I found that if you use the wee extension it makes the Dremel last a lot longer and you can get it in tighter spaces, it was a godsend when I was doing a bit of porting recently.

www.amazon.co.uk/Dremel-Multi-Purpose-Extension-Sharpening-Woodworking/dp/B008ETGPOY

[gryphon]

I've fixed the locking button on a few dremels by drilling it out and epoxying a bit of metal rod in place of the plastic locking pin. If it's an old Dremel it's probably worth fixing?

We have two genuine dremels and a Lidl one (all mains powered, battery ones were curse word). They've all needed repairs at some point, but my go to is the Lidl one as it has a separate on/off button and speed selection rather than just a dial with off at the end, and it has a flexible drive attached to it for getting into awkward places - which is pretty much all I use it for!