Dremel

My wife bought me the new XBR 400 kit with the flex shaft and all the goodies. Actually this thing is pretty damn nice. With a good reinforced cut off wheel you can really clean up your welds. The flex shaft works wonders and I almost never take if off of the main unit. Now for bigger stuff, this little guy make take a while, but it'll cut, grind, sand, and polish steel pretty well too. Also, if you like that wood stuff, works wonders on that. Plus, if anything these things are great to have in your tool arsonel.

Hey guys, I use the same kit to open cylinder heads, intake manifolds, etc and I love the smaller Dremel mentioned here. It runs like a well built tool should and this one is finally one I'm happy with. I have several small die grinders and flex-shaft tooling for the work I do and it's a lot quieter than my air driven dental styles (the only Dremel issue is a tight 45deg turn is not there like a dental) but it's the tool for the money in short..(A lot lighter than the std. die grinder.

Rob

You would do better with a small 1/4" shaft die grinder.

I have a cordless dremel that I use for cleaning up stainless steel welds on location, but it is way too small for heavy die griding on steel welds.

I agree with Foredom - but not that 1/8hp model - look at this one -

There are other pages - kits... They make a HD hanset - and it is useful in a collet :-)

Mart> Foredom make the Rolls Royce of flex shaft tools used mostly by pro wood

I have the dremel with all the bells and whistles too. I even bought the plunge router attatchment for some of my wood working jobs.

I ave strong hands and thought I would never use the flex shaft. But then one day I had to cut a hole into the tin wall of my barn at arms length in the back of a cabinbinet for a water line. NOTHING else could have done the job, but the flex shaft. It took... maybe 30 seconds.

Heck..thats what a sharpened piece of rebar and a big hammer are for. Takes less than 30 seconds if you follow through when you swing.

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

You can get miniature air die grinders, I've got several, faster to change grinders than to change chucked tools, sometimes. HF usually has a kit on sale if you want to try one out for cheap, $15-20, Foredom has one that uses their collets that's much better quality. They are small, about 3/8" dia., and usually have 1/8" collets. I've also got a Foredom flex shaft that doesn't get much play anymore. The flex shaft always seems to get in the way when working on stuff, a small-bore air hose is a lot more flexible. The die grinder doesn't heat up the way a flex shaft does, either. If you've got larger needs, a 1/4" die grinder isn't too expensive, mine doesn't get much use, though. Foredom flex shafts are a lot better made than Dremel's, in my opinion, if you want to go that route. Get a spare shaft core and the grease, if you do.

Stan

The Foredom only does 18000 or 20000 RPM, Dremel does 35000. Even though they are exspensive, Dremel bits and attachment are available almost anywhere.

Yes, speed kills.

The speed isn't the real want for much of this - power is. If you want a 1/10 HP - that will stall out and heat up - go for it.

What I settled on for CNC routing and grinding is a 1/3 HP Foredom that is on it's way now.

The 1/3hp - (THX and EMX control) is a new model just announced. If one picks the hand unit - mine uses only the heavy duty type it uses any 1/4 " and 1/8" material. They have other collets for two other sizes down to 1/16. "In addition to tools, Foredom also offers a comprehensive selection of rotary power tool accessories with 1/16", 3/32", 1/8", and 1/4" shanks."

Foredom.com re-directs to blackstoneind.com who serves several companies.

If you are into polishing, speed might be it - working in the fine grits.

Mart> The Foredom only does 18000 or 20000 RPM, Dremel does 35000. Even though