Opinions of Dremel? Is cordless version worth it?

[DrPhill]

I am contemplating a Dremel tool setup (eventually with plunge router set) as an addition to my small tool hoard. I see it as a smaller, more versatile version of my Trend T5 router. I could see this getting a lot of use over the years. I was previous put off by a cheaper copy of the dremel which didn't feel like a 'real' tool, if you know what I mean. Is the cordless up to the job? Cordless tools have come on in leaps and bounds since the early days when cordless meant feeble. Is the Cordless Dremel up to it? I would be interested in any opinions folk have.

Thanks

 

[Etaf]

i purchased a dremel kit (corded 4000 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007651OPW?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3 ) when it was on offer a cople of years ago - along with lots of accessories - plunge base, vice , drill type stand , router bits , chick, covers etc and a big kit of bit accessories

I looked at the cordless, BUT then thought my use would be infrequent , and probably not justify a cordless version and keep batteries conditioned

So i got a cabled -
also at that time the cordless did not come with a couple of batteries and the cost of a replacement battery was very expensive , and difficult to get hold off
not so much now

i have used the dremel a few times now , and being able to plug in is fine, BUT i dont use mine very much a few times a year i guess

 

[Amplidyne]

Had a corded one for at least 20 years, and it's been useful.
Bought a cordless 8220 in the last year or so. Much more convenient.
As said the batteries are pricey though if you need extra / replacements.
Battery charge life seems good.

 

[TheUnicorn]

as with most tools, the benifit of batteries is portability, and often speed - you can grab the tool, do the job and be finished in half the time it would take to walk the lead out (especially outside). Corded tools make more sense any time you are static, or need to hook up dust extraction. With that in mind I'd go corded, I can't imagine a scenario where the battery option would be prefereable

 

[Eshmiel]

as with most tools, the benifit of batteries is portability, and often speed - you can grab the tool, do the job and be finished in half the time it would take to walk the lead out (especially outside). Corded tools make more sense any time you are static, or need to hook up dust extraction. With that in mind I'd go corded, I can't imagine a scenario where the battery option would be prefereable

That's about right - corded if the tool and the work that it'll do is all in the fixed place of a bench in a workshop. However, one big feature of Dremels and similar tools is their versatility. They can do all sorts. I've used mine to dig out manky grouting in the bathroom tiles, for example. No 3-pin plug for a corded tool in a bathroom - and I'd be wary of a long extension.

When a tool is small, as a Dremel and several other handy tools are, cordless makes a lot of sense. Although I have a corded drill or two, I use the cordless ones far more often and all over the place. Doing things in the garden, for example, such as fitting a catch and lock to a garden gate.

A cord on a lightweight tool can also detract from its more precise usages. The weight of the cord can drag at a lightweight tool, making a faux-pas more likely.

A lot of battery-driven tools these days have better batteries but also more efficient brushless motors. It all makes a significant difference to their usability.

 

[DrPhill]

as with most tools, the benifit of batteries is portability, and often speed - you can grab the tool, do the job and be finished in half the time it would take to walk the lead out (especially outside). Corded tools make more sense any time you are static, or need to hook up dust extraction. With that in mind I'd go corded, I can't imagine a scenario where the battery option would be prefereable

I would agree with all that you said, except for your conclusion in my case. I do not have a proper workshop etc. If a task requires a firm hold, then I generally uses a vice attached to our heavy picnic bench - weather permitting. Indoors I have an old kitchen table in the garage, but as the space is shared with white goods and (tool) storage I need a very strong motivation to do anything that creates dust.
I think that I fall into your first category where cordless is better - no need to trail a power lead to the picnic bench.

The smaller size of the dremel especially the 'mini router' options look very attractive for the scale at which I mostly work.

 

[Eshmiel]

Another option to consider - a small router that can also act as a drill or even a freehand motorised carving device!

My first router was a Bosch POF 600ACE - an 800W router that was like a big corded Dremel but complete with a base into which the router body fitted via a Euro-collar (a 43mm diameter hole with a tightener). You can still buy these second hand; and Trend do a copy still sold new: their Trend T4 router. These generally come with a fence as well, along with 3 collets (6mm, 1/4" and 8mm). The Trend version can be had new for £83 from Amazon, just now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trend-T4ek...Z62Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Although I have a small Festool router, I often use the Bosch POF 600 for small (not really small) jobs. Its a very reliable machine and can take a large range of accessories for doing all the various router tasks. It can be used as a vertical drill, with a drill-like router bit in it. It has a larger depth of plunge and a larger power than a Dremel.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29709081...7779&msclkid=962bfa34d2fd17592cb79de20c6ac054

These are routers and so versatile. They're not as versatile as a Dremel perhaps ..... although its surprising what bits you can get to put in them. Trend, for example, say you can use theirs as a handheld carver with a burr-bit in it. I wouldn't risk that with 880 watts and no dedicated fence or other gubbins to control over-large bites or trying to carve in the wrong direction! But as a router, they're very handy and just small enough for things like box making. The power cord can be a nuisance; and you need a 3rd party fence if you want one with micro-adjustment. But they would be another and less expensive option to the Dremel + Veritas or similar base.

 

[Sideways]

I ruined a dremel alternative using it to modify some roofline plastics in situ when I had no other tool that would fit. Pulling an extension cable up a ladder wasn't ideal in that instance, but it also wasn't a job a dremel should ever have been used for.
Generally, I see these as a tool for fiddly, precision jobs, to be used sitting at a bench or table and I'd rather have max power and lightness in the tool. I can't see how I get these from having one battery powered.

 

[woodieallen]

I am contemplating a Dremel tool setup (eventually with plunge router set) as an addition to my small tool hoard. I see it as a smaller, more versatile version of my Trend T5 router. I could see this getting a lot of use over the years. I was previous put off by a cheaper copy of the dremel which didn't feel like a 'real' tool, if you know what I mean. Is the cordless up to the job? Cordless tools have come on in leaps and bounds since the early days when cordless meant feeble. Is the Cordless Dremel up to it? I would be interested in any opinions folk have.

Thanks

The Dremel is very good. The plunge router attachment is the very pinnacle of C-cubed sh*te