Cool Design and gadgets Lastest news*: The comparable Dremel tool would be the 400 series

11/15/2012

The comparable Dremel tool would be the 400 series

I own a professional model shop, and although we occasionally use a Foredom (this is a motor with a cabled handpiece--very powerful, and with a foot pedal speed control, quite easy to use, except for the darn cable) we mainly use Dremel "rotary tools." I've gotten used to them lasting less than a year. They are not in constant use--a week may go by when none are used, but we have several because all of a sudden three people may need to drill tiny holes, or use small burrs, or?

One of my employees came in with this B&D and I was impressed. I ordered one for our shop, and now there are three. It's been less than 6 months, so I'm not sure about longevity, but the oldest still seems solid. There is no external brush replacement like there is on the better Dremels, but I don't know if this is an issue, as generally, the Dremels were dying before the brushes were worn down to replacement status. One of the problems with the Dremel design is the location of the cooling vents--it's hard to hold the Dremel comfortably and not block many of the vents, so the tool overheats.

The B&D is better in this regard, though still not perfect. Balance is good, certainly on par with the top Dremels. Power seems similar. The speed control may be a bit less specific (although there are intermediate settings between the three marked speeds, so this is actually better than expected. Quieter than the Dremels, seems to run a bit smoother. I like the lever lock for the collet change quite a bit too.

Overall, I am very please with these roto tools. Especally at about half the Dremel cost, they are a definite best buy.As an artist who does light sculpting for my paintings, I needed a tool that had a bit of finesse. Something I could do nitpicky little details with. I currently own a Dremel 750-02 Minimite, which has sufficed. However, for some jobs I just... well, I need more power. My little Dremel, while a good tool, just didn't have the power to cut into harder woods like oak.

As an artist, I'm also consistently broke. The comparable Dremel tool would be the 400 series (slightly higher speed at 35000 rpm, as opposed to this tool's 30000 rpm top speed) which costs $90. I figured that for $30, I could take a risk, especially when Black & Decker is a name that I can trust. I was not disappointed. There's a few things that I find to be superior on this tool when compared to its Dremel counterparts.

1. The price. At a third of the price, I can't complain.
2. The spindle lock is a switch, rather than a button. One of my complaints about the Dremel line is that the spindle lock is a little TOO easy to press... as in I press it when I'm working on something. In this case, there's a switch to lock the spindle, the design of which is fairly hard to do on accident. (This was a major issue I had with the MiniMite, but I believe they may have adjusted this on the Dremel 400 models)
3. The torque on this model is exceptional. I've been carving through oak like it's butter.

And in case you were concerned: ALL OF YOUR DREMEL BITS WILL WORK ON THIS TOOL. Get a collet set if you're concerned about the size of the bits, they're dirt-cheap. Like Dremel's rotary tools, this has a 5-year manufacturer warranty. In other words: This is a nice piece of hardware, and it's at a price I couldn't sneeze at.

Cool Design and gadgets Lastest news*

11/15/2012

The comparable Dremel tool would be the 400 series

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