…Is a book I’d buy. I’ve been in this hobby for over a quarter of a century and have never owned a Dremel tool. I understand this is a power tool for modelers and that every serious model railroader owns one. I own a cordless power drill, can I use the Dremel bits on that, or do I actually need the Dremel tool? How or where do I start? How much would I have to invest for a basic set?
I bought a Dremel specifically for Model Railroading when I got back into the hobby about a year and a half ago. I think I paid about $40 US for it at Lowes. (For some reason, Lowes was cheaper than Home Depot.) I got the simplest model, with the cord and an assortment of bits and wheels. I found that I needed more cutting disks, and I picked up a couple of other bits along the way. I love having this tool, and I use it a lot. It’s particularly helpful when replacing horn-hooks on old rolling stock and locomotives, when I’ve got to machine out a pocket, or remove the old coupler from the body or Talgo truck. I even use it for fine trimming of Hydrocal casting when I don’t want to risk cracking the whole thing.
A cordless drill isn’t going to do the job a Dremel will. The key to the Dremel is high-speed. Mine has two speeds, low and high. (I said that to distinguish it from a “3-speed” blender I once had, which took credit for “off” as one of the speeds.) The Dremel is also better suited to fine work, being smaller and lighter than the typical drill.
Christmas is coming. Put it on your list.
[#ditto] to what MisterB wrote. I got my first one back in the 60’s. It was a Sears though then wore it out and went to Dremel and had Dremel ever since. My latest one was an Xmas gift a couple of years ago and has the flex shaft with it. This is one of those tools that are “wife friendly”. In other words, it’s for making repairs and such around the house if you get my drift!! A word of caution here. Like Norm Abram say’s, always wear eye protection and a breathing mask is not a bad idea when use of the sanding features. Also practice useing it as it will remove material FAST. For the first time buyer or user, I would suggest a basic set, but get the variable speed one. You can always add to it as experience and needs arise. Happy Turkey Day, Ken
I find the cutoff disks to be most useful. It’s the cleanest way I’ve find to cut rail, especially rail that’s already been laid. If I need to insert a turnout into a section of track, I just cut out the old section of track to make room for the turnout.
I have the cordless Dremel and use it for cutting things (diamond cuttoff wheel) drilling tiny holes, polishing, and grinding. Its light weight and high speed are its key. The cordless allows me to do trackwork easily.
If you get one, get the expensive one or you will be disappointed in its performance.
In addition to the speed problem already mentioned, a cordless power drill is too big to allow fine control and will prevent you from getting close enough in some situations. I own both the corded and cordless 10.8v Dremel tools. I have the flexible shaft on the corded tool and use the cordless on the layout. They’re great.
Enjoy
Paul
Thanks for the question. I have been pondering the same thing.
With xmas coming you should be able to pick up a dremel for cheap, and as for accesorys the cheapest place is ussually an auto parts store when they have a lost leader sale, sometimes for the tool too!
The Dremel is the way to go.
I got a variable speed one last Christmas that replaced my single speed one & it’s made a huge difference.
The attachments you can get such as the right angle attachment & the flex shaft makes it an amazing tool for cutting rails straight & clean. I’ve been able to cut rail while it was nailed to the benchwork on a curve.
If you look, you can find attachments cheap for these things. The right angle attachment I picked up for $7 Canadian at my local Sears.
The Craftsman & Dremel attachments are universal to each other as Dremel made the Craftsman version.
I highly recommend that you get one as it’s great to use for other applications. I used it to sand an opening in the ceiling so I could put an electrical box in to properly wire a ceiling fan I installed.
Gordon
I love mine. I spent a little more and got the variable speed one with the flex-shaft, right angle, and router base attachments. I almost never use it with out the flex-shaft, though.
Nick
Just a little note, if you go with the cordless version…get an extra battery pack while your at it. Mine seems to run down pretty quick. Usually after about an hour or so depending on how much usage it gets. Its nice to have the extra battery to keep working while one is charging.
The one I have came in a nice case and had 100 extra cut off wheels, buffer pads, grinding bits etc included with it. Get a variable speed Dremel, thats the best way to go.
Everyone is right on I went cheap and I hate it. The speed is there but doesnt have the torque. I added an expensive one on my Christmas list. Dave
Okay, how much is the cheap one and how much is the expensive one?
I use my Dremel for grinding (including plastics) and polishing (jewelry). I use grinding stones and the occasional cutoff disk. I tried using the saws and the “milling” bits but found they dug in and/or walked all over my work–bad, bad, bad. I don’t use one for drilling as it seems to me to go too fast. I usually use a pin vise for drilling small holes. I did just get a cute little drill press from Micro-Mark but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I’m also thinking of getting a Foredom flex shaft with a slow speed motor–I’m thinking of using this item for “hand” drilling.
I
Ed
I’m on my 3rd tool in 40 years. Get ther variable speed model. Unless you plan on using it while reaching over the layout, get the corded model - it will run all night without stopping to charge. The accessories are the most expensive part of the tool - right now Home Depot has a 200 piece accessory kit for $30 or so. When using cutoff discs - use the reinforced ones - the old hard discs have a nasty habit of shattering! With them, a face mask is better than safety glasses! A must tool.
I too go with the corded varitable dremel.
CAUTION Watch out for cheep grinding stones and allways check the max RPM it can handle. If a cheepo lower speed wheel is used, it will explode before the dremil reaches its speed.
I have mine for thirty years, variable speed a must. Battery wasn’t available back then,but I never found it a short coming to plug it in. I recently purchased a new XP model with flex shaft (great for tight spots) and all the good stuff. Reinforced discs a big plus even though initial cost may be higher they last a long time. I even used used it to cut off a muffler! A source on the web if you can’t get what you want locally is Tyler Tool.Com. Best of luck you are making your life easier.
Dremel is a great company. A long time ago I got a Sears cordless tool, which was built by Dremel. The switch went bad and I tried to purchase one from Sears and was told it was N/A.
I contacted Dremel to see if they had one and was informed Sears never bothered to get any parts stock to service this model. Dremel told me to mail it in and they would see what they could do. Since they had no leftover parts from the Sears model, they sent me a new Dremel for 20 dollars complete with a charger.
A new corded one is also on my Christmas list. The battery model is nice but it does run out of juice kind of fast. I use mine for all kinds of work, not just MR projects. It works great for cleaning corrosion from electrical terminals and cutting off rusted bolts.
Jim
I have both styles of Dremel tools and would be lost without my cordless Dremel as I use this tool for several projects from cutting ABS plastic to drilling out coupler boxes.I even have a home made screw driver bit that comes in handy.