I bought a dremel 3000 last year which was immediately replaced as the speed control would only allow full speed or off, it's replacement started doing the same thing after a few hours worth of occasional use but after an hour or so worth of use at full speed it started behaving again. It went wrong again yesterday while I was sanding some acrylic and I'm considering warranty repair/replacement (if I can find the damn receipt) but after the same problem with two units I'm unsure. I've searched online but couldn't find any mention of this problem so it appears to not be an inherent problem with this model so I'm just unlucky? If I decide to replace it with something else what are the quality options? I thought this would be a good place to ask as there are a few dremel users in the house. Any thoughts/experience folks?
Well, it seems it may be overheating-related as it didn't happen again while going alot of polishing but when I did some sanding with more effort it happened again. Good now I'm going to get a second (cheapest) dremel as a backup.
Tbh I've always found dremmels to be crap, for that kind of work I use a air driven one air tools are really cheap and a lot more powerful but you need a decent compressor to run them, but if you must have a electric one these are far superior not cheap but will out last any dremmel a good investment if you use that sort of tool often. https://www.robocutters.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=Kress1050FME-1
I have a dremmel 3000 and have cut many things with it, other than the cheaper cutting disks shattering I have zero complaints.
It's very tempting to invest in one of these suggestions, I'll look up Foredom later but I suspect it's also out of my piece range at this point. Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm always careful to not cover the vents when in using it but it still happens and not always under any real degree of load or duration. When I get whichever spare/replacement I get I'll have this one repaired or maybe open it up myself. I mostly suspect a problem batch as they both came from different Argos stores in the same town around the same time.
I got a walmart brand dremel with a bunch of attachments for $15 CAD, and honest to god, its been better to me than my previous genuine dremel. It's been a soldier, but dremel's burning up is a result of misuse a lot of the time. Read up on technique for the attachment you are using and it will save you some frustration. I thought I knew how to use my dremel without any instruction, boy was I wrong. Number one thing I remind myself every time I use it is "Let the tool do the work". Never apply pressure. Just gently hold it to the piece, its massively high rpms will do the work for you. Edit: I forgot to add this YOUR USING FULL SPEED WITH ACRYLIC?!? Never, ever, use full speed with a dremel on acrylic. That's your problem right there. First off, you'll melt your work piece, and second, you'll burn up your dremel. (especially when it bites into the piece) More importantly you'll melt plastic with those revs. From grinding, cutting, sanding, and polishing cast and extruded acrylic with my dremel I've never been able to use full speed (or had to for that matter). Polishing at full speed is especially suicidal, melts the stuff almost every time if you are not super super gentle. Even melts it on lower speeds if your not careful.
I can attest to that. I thought I wouldn't need goggles until I had molten acrylic flicked into my eye.
Agreed on the full speed thing. Cutting at full speed melts the acrylic, which then welds itself back together once the bit has moved on!
I was wearing my spectacles but it seems like they were aerodynamically designed to send things flying in over and under them. I did wear goggle shortly after.
The best tool I've used for cutting Perspex is a 4.5 inch angle grinder with a very thin metal cutting blade
Can confirm. I just finished planking a 3 foot diameter ash log, and a 6 foot long, 3 foot diameter pecan log. Chainsaws for the cheesecake.
Give me a good sharp axe and adz over a chainsaw any day... I'm simply terrified of the damn things! The great thing about the Fordom (and similar) is the range of hand-pieces and accessories - and the quality! A clamp-your-hand-piece-to-a pillar drill that has no problem drilling with a 0.3mm bit! I haven't scummed to that yet as I can manage plumb enough for the thickness's of metal I work with, but the quick change hand-piece is a literal gift from the gods!* *for those of us who regularly change burr well over a hundred times a day
Best thing for cutting acrylic I found was this expensive dremel brand titanium carbide bit. It cant do plunge cuts or drill but it sure as hell can cut about anything. Only thing I found that can shave straight through solid aluminum blocks as well. The thing costed me $18 CAD from home depot where my "dremel" knock off only costs $15CAD from wal-mart. Better than a real dremel too! My word!
