I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

SteveB wrote:
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

You almost certainly won't need all the stuff.
However, having the big case of stuff is really handy in finding which
stuff you do need, and which just won't work for a given job.
The two-speed model isn't that much worse than the 5-speed one, but
occasionally you can want an intermediate speed.

You probably don't want a rechargable tool for your first dremel.
Some bits are surprisingly useful, for example the sanding drums are great
at removing quite gently layers of paint over even quite large areas.

And some are not nearly as handy as you might think.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Some bits are surprisingly useful, for example the sanding drums are great
at removing quite gently layers of paint over even quite large areas.

One of the most useful of all is those tiny, fragile, cutting disks. I
have done things with those that would otherwise take a torch. One frequent use
is when I strip the head of a Phillips head screw. When that happens, you just
cut a new slot across the head of the screw and apply a flat screwdriver. The
harder the metal, the better those disks work. Thay sometimes grab badly on
soft metal.

And some are not nearly as handy as you might think.

True enough. I have plenty of unused goodies in my kit.

Vaughn

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

For work at the bench, I use a Foredom tool with a foot switch For a
portable tool, I use a run of the mill Dremel with variable speed, though
fixed speed would probably work as well.

But then the best answer really depends on what applications you have for
it.

Mike

Keywords:
In article U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03, "SteveB" wrote:
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

The most useful setup is no longer available, so you have to compromise.
The ideal Dremel is a ball-bearing FIXED speed model, and then use it
with the foot pedal speed control. The foot pedal is incredibly useful,
but it won't work well with the variable speed models. At this time, I
don't think you can get fixed speed models with the better bearings, but
I'd rather have sleeve bearings than give up on the foot pedal. I've
complained to Dremel about this, but as far as I know, they haven't done
anything about it.

I'd go ahead & get a full kit. You never know which bits you'll need.
The router & drill press attachments are also handy, but the current
drill press is a bit sloppy. It tends to wobble from side to side as you
lower the tool, which is a no-no if you are drilling with tiny carbide
bits.

Doug White

On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 17:07:01 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:

I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

I would buy just the motor tool and some sanding drums and cutoff
wheels. I have several, my fav is the variable speed. My least fav was
a rechargable that I gave away a few months ago. I've often thought a
flexible shaft machine would be better than a dremel.

"Mike Henry" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all
the stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

For work at the bench, I use a Foredom tool with a foot switch. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's a lot more expensive and a lot better than a Dremel. I found a
Proxxon on sale, which I like very much. Even on sale it costs more than a
Dremel, but less than a Foredom.

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

I have two Dremel tools, one variable speed and one rechargable (which I
have yet to even open). My Main Dremel tool gets ALOT of use, I have
purchased the flex shaft for it which makes it even better. I restore
Coleman products and my Dremel is perfect for this operation. I go through
about 5 wire wheels a week if I am steady working. I mainly use the wire
wheels and buffing wheels. The thin cut-off disks really does a job on small
welds that my larger grinder would make a mess of. My opinion would be to
buy the Dremel kit with the flex shaft attachment. Like another poster said
there will be bits in the kit that you will never use. I do have most all of
the bits available, but then again I do have alot of hobbies!

Searcher1

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

A friend of mine bought one recently and was not impressed. First one blew
the motor in a few days and the replacement/repair jobs have been pathetic.
The current one has a large amount of run out and is basically useless for
the purpose he bought it. I bought three different cheap ones (I was
intending to buy the Dremel but after his experience I changed my mind) and
each of them is better than the Dremel. Each of these was under $30 AU. Two
of which came with the bendy drive. VERY impressed with them.


AJS

I have an old single speed dremel that I've had for years, but I find I use
an air powered tool much more often - if you have shop air, this might be a
valid alternative. I also have a Pfingst flex shaft tool (like foredom)
that is pretty handy for small work. the real problem with the dremel is
the weight of the motor is right there in the hand set.
"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all
the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

SteveB wrote:

I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve


Well I was seriously short of cash so I got the really really cheap
'dremel' clone. For anyone looking for it, Its the one with the 15V dc
power 'brick' with the standard dc wallwart style power plug (2.5mm
centre pin I belive) on a lead attached to the tool, NOT the psu. About
£15 at B&Q if they ever have any!

It did some really heavy cutting on a 4" diameter propeller hub, I was
taking a 1/4" square groove out of it all the way round for clearence on
the housing. Nasty grabby aluminium as a previous poster said. Steep
learning curve with many shattered disks but I can now make a disk last
freehand on steel till its down to a nub. *** Wear eye protection ***.
Seeing as the job really should have been done on a lathe, it went
amasingly well. The speed control in the handset failed wide open but
as I had allready abused it beyond what I regarded as fair and
reasonable, I took a look. One beefier transistor in the same series
later I had speed control again. A bit of copper strip as a heatsink
ard I reconed it would last a little longer. That was 3 years ago and
its still going strong. A little too much runout now, probably due to
cutting all the rust siezed bolts off a 40 year old boat trailer and
slotting 1/4 inch steel plate but it just wont die. I am so impressed I
bought another one which is waiting on the shelf for this one to croak.

It has a ball bearing in the noze of the tool, and plain bearings in the
motor. Apart from a tendency for the other race of the bearing to spin
in the housing (I packed it a little with aluminium tape), not too
crappy. The collet set only goes to 2.5 mm but with a little work I was
able to make a real Dremel 3.2 mm collet fit. (it needed a sleeve as it
was under diameter for the spindle) The spindle nut and the thread on
the outside of the noze of the housing are a different size to a real
Dremel, so you cant use Dremel accessories that arent cutters or bits etc.

On the subject of bits:

Cutting wheels - Great, You will use lots and lots.

Glass fibre reinforced cutting wheels - Not as aggressive as the thin
ones and too pricy for most stuff. Should be better for softer metal

Sanding drums - quite handy, consumables too expensive and often you
cant get the angle to get a good finish on the surface if its too big an
item to hand hold.

Sanding disks (rubber with stisk on pads) - Wonderfull, you *MUST* get
one if it doesnt include one. I bought a couple of sheets of self
adhesive sander paper all the way from 600 grit to 36 grit and punch out
my own disks using a sharpened piece of thin wall steel tube and a scrap
of hardwood as a backing block. A 36 grit sanding disk at 20,000 rpm
(nominal but at least 10,000 under load) really chews through just about
anything you want to shift :-)

Diamond engraving points - Pretty handy, I grind carbide tool tips and
make holes in ferrites with them.

Mounted stones - either real Cr@p or I just dont know how to use them.
Might be ok for sharpening toothpicks. Basically disposable on one job.
only use if no other tool will do the job.

Unmounted stones - OK, much better than the mounted ones.

Various milling cutters - Not bad, The thinnest paralell sided one gets
a lot of abuse, the others I dont use much.

Felt polishers, buffing wheels etc. - Do what they say, The dremel
polishing compound may not be agressive enough for some jobs. Valve
grinding paste has its uses, but I reckon pumice in a hard wax would be
the most use for me for shifting areas of salt water corrosion on bronze.

YMMV :-)

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk [at]=@, [dash]=- &
[dot]=.
*Warning* SPAM TRAP set in header, Use email address in sig. if you must.

Not if you have the flex shaft, which just about takes care of that issue.
Most people don't have shop air, contrary to popular belief. But I agree,
You will find yourself making use of air tools faster than picking up the
electric ones. I have both and I do like my Dremel with the flex shaft,
without that shaft I most likely would not have one.
BTW, I will DAGS the Foredom, but what about this would you say is
better than the Dremel. Just curious. Maybe if the Foredom looks to my
likeing I may upgrade.

Searcher1

"william_b_noble" wrote in message
news:1102142068.fWhoW/piPzOIPz9jPE9baw@teranews...
I have an old single speed dremel that I've had for years, but I find I use
an air powered tool much more often - if you have shop air, this might be
a
valid alternative. I also have a Pfingst flex shaft tool (like foredom)
that is pretty handy for small work. the real problem with the dremel is
the weight of the motor is right there in the hand set.
"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all
the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

I switched over to the fiber cutoff wheels that look like full size ones.
They hold up much better but are expensive. I did have a problem with them
grinding down really fast when they got LPS 2 on them while I was cutting a
screw slot on a frozen Philips screw that had twisted out.
Karl


"Vaughn" wrote in message
...

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Some bits are surprisingly useful, for example the sanding drums are
great
at removing quite gently layers of paint over even quite large areas.

One of the most useful of all is those tiny, fragile, cutting disks.
I
have done things with those that would otherwise take a torch. One
frequent use
is when I strip the head of a Phillips head screw. When that happens, you
just
cut a new slot across the head of the screw and apply a flat screwdriver.
The
harder the metal, the better those disks work. Thay sometimes grab badly
on
soft metal.

And some are not nearly as handy as you might think.

True enough. I have plenty of unused goodies in my kit.

Vaughn




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.805 / Virus Database: 547 - Release Date: 12/4/2004

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 03:28:15 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


"Mike Henry" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all
the stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

For work at the bench, I use a Foredom tool with a foot switch. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's a lot more expensive and a lot better than a Dremel. I found a
Proxxon on sale, which I like very much. Even on sale it costs more than a
Dremel, but less than a Foredom.

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

Gunner

"I mean, when's the last time you heard of a college where the Young
Republicans staged a "Sit In" to close down the Humanities building?
On the flip side, how many sit in's were staged to close the ROTC building back in the '60's?
Liberals stage protests, do civil disobedience, etc.
Conservatives talk politely and try to work out a solution to problems
through discourse until they believe that talking won't work... they they go home and open the gun cabinets.
Pray things never get to the point where the conservatives decide that
"civil disobedience" is the next step, because that's a very short route to "voting from the rooftops"
Jeffrey Swartz, Misc.Survivalism

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner
wrote back on Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:43:18 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking :

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

One for the tool (attached to cord).
One for the tool's case
One for the toolbox,
And one for the cat to bat around before losing interest?

Hmmm - how many cats do you have? You might want to go get a couple
more.


--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:43:18 GMT, Gunner
calmly ranted:

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

I bought the HF version of the Foredom for $50 when they went on sale
and used it a few times. Then I moved and couldn't find the bloody
chuck key. I went to Medford to the HF there and the manager said
"When did you say you bought this?" I told him "Just about a year
ago." "Six months, you say? Here, no charge for warranty losses."
he said, as he handed a bag with the new teensy chuck key (and a pair
of brushes) to me.

Happiness is a warm bag. (Now what does that remind me of...?


----------------------------------------------------------------
* OPERA: A Latin word * Wondrous Website Design
* meaning * Save your Heirloom Photos
* "death by music" * http://www.diversify.com
----------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of posts, but I will add a little.

Stores do not seem to carry the top of the line Dremel, which has
electronic speed control, and holds it's speed under load.

The mini (1/8 inch chuck) air tools (Dremel equivalent) often turn
50,000 RPM or so, higher than any Dremel. Most of the grinding wheels,
cutoff wheels, etc, are probably not rated for 50,000 RPM, and might
explode.

My favorite bits on a Dremel or a die grinder are carbide burrs, remove
even steel quickly.

I use the 1/4 inch chuck die grinders very often, they are very
impressive, much more powerful than a Dremel. I have a Makita electric
that I love, like an oversized dremel.

Richard



SteveB wrote:
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:56:19 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner
wrote back on Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:43:18 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking :

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

One for the tool (attached to cord).
One for the tool's case
One for the toolbox,
And one for the cat to bat around before losing interest?

Hmmm - how many cats do you have? You might want to go get a couple
more.

Im running a Christmas Special on cats. All visitors must take at
least one cat home with them.

I figure only real good friends or the unwary will be visiting this
year G

Ive also got 5 pups that need homes as well as two half grown dogs
needing love. They are gonna be good ones.

Gunner


Gunner

"I mean, when's the last time you heard of a college where the Young
Republicans staged a "Sit In" to close down the Humanities building?
On the flip side, how many sit in's were staged to close the ROTC building back in the '60's?
Liberals stage protests, do civil disobedience, etc.
Conservatives talk politely and try to work out a solution to problems
through discourse until they believe that talking won't work... they they go home and open the gun cabinets.
Pray things never get to the point where the conservatives decide that
"civil disobedience" is the next step, because that's a very short route to "voting from the rooftops"
Jeffrey Swartz, Misc.Survivalism

On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 01:13:54 GMT, Richard Ferguson
wrote:

Lots of posts, but I will add a little.

Stores do not seem to carry the top of the line Dremel, which has
electronic speed control, and holds it's speed under load.

The mini (1/8 inch chuck) air tools (Dremel equivalent) often turn
50,000 RPM or so, higher than any Dremel. Most of the grinding wheels,
cutoff wheels, etc, are probably not rated for 50,000 RPM, and might
explode.

My favorite bits on a Dremel or a die grinder are carbide burrs, remove
even steel quickly.

I use the 1/4 inch chuck die grinders very often, they are very
impressive, much more powerful than a Dremel. I have a Makita electric
that I love, like an oversized dremel.

Richard

In my service truck, I keep the Ryobi version of the Dremel. 5 speeds.
Ive been using it weekly for about 4 yrs now and still runs like a
champ.

Gunner



SteveB wrote:
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve



"I mean, when's the last time you heard of a college where the Young
Republicans staged a "Sit In" to close down the Humanities building?
On the flip side, how many sit in's were staged to close the ROTC building back in the '60's?
Liberals stage protests, do civil disobedience, etc.
Conservatives talk politely and try to work out a solution to problems
through discourse until they believe that talking won't work... they they go home and open the gun cabinets.
Pray things never get to the point where the conservatives decide that
"civil disobedience" is the next step, because that's a very short route to "voting from the rooftops"
Jeffrey Swartz, Misc.Survivalism

On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 02:36:18 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:56:19 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner
wrote back on Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:43:18 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking :

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

One for the tool (attached to cord).
One for the tool's case
One for the toolbox,
And one for the cat to bat around before losing interest?

Hmmm - how many cats do you have? You might want to go get a couple
more.

Im running a Christmas Special on cats. All visitors must take at
least one cat home with them.

I figure only real good friends or the unwary will be visiting this
year G

Ive also got 5 pups that need homes as well as two half grown dogs
needing love. They are gonna be good ones.

Gunner

LOL , I was wondering how you'd answer that question.

Driving people away till the 1st so you don't feel bad cause they
could have had them at after X-Mas special price ?


As for Dremels , I still think they should run the other direction.
I lost my first one for a yr. and was given an other type then found
the other one under the kitchen sink. Wish I could find or make
stronger wire wheels for them to get junk out of internal threads.

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner
wrote back on Sun, 05 Dec 2004 02:36:18 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:56:19 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner
wrote back on Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:43:18 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking :

The feature of Proxxon which I particularly like is the chuck. It's like a
tiny Jacobs chuck, so you are not forever changing collets.

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G

One for the tool (attached to cord).
One for the tool's case
One for the toolbox,
And one for the cat to bat around before losing interest?

Hmmm - how many cats do you have? You might want to go get a couple
more.

Im running a Christmas Special on cats. All visitors must take at
least one cat home with them.

Oops, Pronoun trouble. I should have used a proper noun, so that it
reads "You might want to go get a couple more chuck keys."

I'm having a surrealistic moment, parsing the song lyric "Chuck Keys in
Love" ... I haven't had my coffee this morning.

I figure only real good friends or the unwary will be visiting this
year G

Ive also got 5 pups that need homes as well as two half grown dogs
needing love. They are gonna be good ones.

Good luck to the dogs, I'm not a big dog person myself.

--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03...
I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of the
line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I need all
the
stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just nice to have
around
IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in my shop.)

STeve

You might want to try a Roto-Zip.

My choice would be a pneumatic grinder. I have used mine under flowing
water to grind glass. Can't do that with an electric grinder.

Gunner wrote in
:

My Foredom has a tiny Jacobs chuck in the handpiece.
Took me forever finding a chuck key, and one day I found about 200 of
them in Reliable Tools for a buck a pop. I bought 4..just in case G


I've got a couple of Dremel 3-jaw chucks.

The "funny" thing is that the won't work well on my older flex shaft but
will on my newer one.

FWIW, the latest "top-of-the-line" Dremel kit includes a planer and a saw
that are both powered by the mototool.

"SteveB" wrote in
news:U48sd.187172$G15.141109@fed1read03:

I want a Dremel tool. Should I buy a standard Dremel, or the top of
the line? What would you do if you had it to do over again? Do I
need all the stuff that comes with the most expensive one, or it just
nice to have around IN CASE I need it? (Like lots of other tools in
my shop.)

STeve



Go for it!

Get the latest-and-greatest top-of-the-line kit:
http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/Display.asp?SKU=400-6/90 comes with
some very neat goodies!

I have 5 of them at the moment (3 corded VS, 1 2-speed cordless, and a
corded VS clone received as a "free gift" from some mail-order bunch) and
love them for light work in a variety of materials.

2 of the corded units are semi-permanently dedicated to accessory usage:
router and shaper.

I'm always finding new uses for them. G

If nothing else G it makes it easy for kinfolk to supply me with Birthday
and Christmas presents: I'll never complain about duplication!

If you have a compressor, though, you might look into a pneumatic flex-
shaft unit such as the Campbell-Housefield (sp?) PL153000AV or equivalent.
Twice the speed (60K vs. 30K) and no motor housing to mess with.

"Forger" wrote in message
...

I would buy just the motor tool and some sanding drums and cutoff
wheels. I have several, my fav is the variable speed. My least fav was
a rechargable that I gave away a few months ago. I've often thought a
flexible shaft machine would be better than a dremel.

So get a flex shaft for your Dremel!

Most of the "better" kits come with a flex shaft and stand.