My Dremel wore out. Is Dremel the best brand?

[fiatboy]

I am looking for a cordless.  The chuck that is part of the motor, is stripped, won't hold a bit.  Thanks for any input.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Odd. I have a 30+ year-old Dremel (corded) that I used in the real-stuff shop for over two decades, and retired it to the model shop when I replaced with air tools. It's still going strong, though I did have to fix the switch once.

Is the chuck metal on yours?

Edited November 7, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[crazyjim]

Do you have a universal chuck?   https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-4486-MultiPro-Keyless-Chuck/dp/B0000302ZV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541631434&sr=8-3&keywords=dremel+replacement+chuck

[Dave Van]

My Dremel just  burned up too........A plug in model it lasted only 38 years.......still works but gets hot as heck!!! 

I bought another one last week. 

[Jon Haigwood]

I always replace my Dremel chucks with Keyless chuck. Both on the corded Dremel and the Cordless Dremel. Screw the old one off and the Keyless one back on. Sears rotary drills are made by Dremel.   https://www.woodcraft.com/products/dremel-keyless-chuck?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI09-CwOzD3gIVxFt-Ch2_BQTlEAQYBCABEgJQifD_BwE

[Deuces]

How often do you guys replace the brushes and spring kits in your dremels????? 

Those are only good for 60 continues running hours... Then they need to be replaced.... I rebuild those corded ones for the guys at my shop all the time....

[peteski]

1 hour ago, Deuces said:

How often do you guys replace the brushes and spring kits in your dremels????? 

Those are only good for 60 continues running hours... Then they need to be replaced.... I rebuild those corded ones for the guys at my shop all the time....

LOL Guido!  I Never ran my Dremel for 60 continuous hours.

But seriously, I had my oldest Dremel for probably 30 years and the brushes barely show any wear.  I suppose it is because I almost never run mine at full speed. Actually, I mostly use it at very slow speeds (so I'm sure there is much less wear on the brushes).

 

I'm also surprised that fiatboy's Dremel has worn out chuck on the motor shaft.  I don't have the cordless model but I assume that the motor shaft is steel.  How the heck did it wear out?!  On my Dremel, the Chuck is aluminum and the collets are either aluminum or steel (depending on the size). Pretty solid stuff - mine shows no signs of wear.

I tried the keyless chuck but it didn't run true enough for me (especially with small drill bits and dental burrs).

Edited November 8, 2018 by peteski

[Dave Van]

8 hours ago, Deuces said:

How often do you guys replace the brushes and spring kits in your dremels????? 

Those are only good for 60 continues running hours... Then they need to be replaced.... I rebuild those corded ones for the guys at my shop all the time....

I never did in 38 years. That may have been my issue with mine.....but I just thought  a new unit was a better deal at around $50......not sure I could get bruches for a almost 40 year old unit! 

[GLMFAA1]

I had a problem with my cordless and I called customer service first and resolved the problem, Maintenance helps a good cleaning with air gun helps. Give them a try

greg

[dimaxion]

Lol .. I am married to : "Why do you need another tool ?"      Some of my results : overwork + overheat = snapped shaft . 1 RIP . Overworked + overheated = snapped shaft . Not overworked , overheated . yet let to run for too long a cutting period non stop on the same speed = hole burned into the speed controller disc . Rendering it useless as Variable 23 Speed . Just a ONE Speed Tool now .  No heat felt in my hand . I can buy the replacement part . Cannot replace the Battery . It is a matter of Dremel ceasing production of the Battery ?? Hmmm .. Still , I bought another Dremel . Not a 23 Speed Variable  Tool . Obsolete within 3 yrs IIRC .. The Battle of the  Sexes continues .. lol .. Thanx .. 

[blunc]

I converted a very old cordless (that they don't make batteries for) to a corded one using a 1 amp 5v wall pack.

[dimaxion]

1 hour ago, blunc said:

I converted a very old cordless (that they don't make batteries for) to a corded one using a 1 amp 5v wall pack.

Good Suggestion .. The cost of the replacement part is close to $35 + Shipping ??  There are no Electronic Stores here . I appreciate the Idea . Thanx ..  

1 hour ago, blunc said:

I converted a very old cordless (that they don't make batteries for) to a corded one using a 1 amp 5v wall pack.

 

[fiatboy]

Thanks for all the input.  I think I will call Dremel.

[blunc]

7 hours ago, dimaxion said:

Good Suggestion .. The cost of the replacement part is close to $35 + Shipping ??  There are no Electronic Stores here . I appreciate the Idea . Thanx ..  

 

got the wall pack from goodwill for $5, power switch was taken from a dead computer power supply.

[Ace-Garageguy]

20 hours ago, blunc said:

I converted a very old cordless (that they don't make batteries for) to a corded one using a 1 amp 5v wall pack.

 

NICE !! Love to see stuff like that, rather than just throwing everything away.  

[Tom Geiger]

This is my Xacto brand battery power drill. It takes 2 C cells (anyone else notice those are getting scarce?)  and I've had it 25 years plus.

 

When my chock lost some of it's grip, this is what I did..  I took  my smaller bits and glued them into scale heater hose.  Now the chock grips them just fine! The extra bulk and red color also keeps them from getting lost!

[Mark]

23 hours ago, dimaxion said:

Cannot replace the Battery . It is a matter of Dremel ceasing production of the Battery ?? Hmmm ..  

Dremel is apparently taking lessons from Sears (Craftsman) regarding batteries...change the battery design, and hopefully a bunch of people will then buy new tools from them.  If you look at where Sears appears to be going, doesn't look like a particularly smart move...

[Ace-Garageguy]

20 minutes ago, Mark said:

Dremel is apparently taking lessons from Sears (Craftsman) regarding batteries...change the battery design, and hopefully a bunch of people will then buy new tools from them.  If you look at where Sears appears to be going, doesn't look like a particularly smart move...

From what I see, just about everyone who makes "cordless" anything is on the same train. It's maddening to have shop tools that function perfectly fine, but can't be used because there are no batteries...other than offshore knockoffs that rarely hold a charge for very long.

Someone who had some mass-marketing savvy and cash to invest could probably make a large pile of money developing plug & play lithium ion packs (and chargers) to replace all the nicad packs you can't get anymore.

I've converted some of my old tools with cobbled-up rigs, and they work just fine.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Dave Ambrose]

15 minutes ago, Mark said:

Dremel is apparently taking lessons from Sears (Craftsman) regarding batteries...change the battery design, and hopefully a bunch of people will then buy new tools from them.  If you look at where Sears appears to be going, doesn't look like a particularly smart move...

That's true of battery powered tools in general. When the batteries in my drill die, I generally find it's cheaper to buy a new drill. I suspect part of it is due to the rapid evolution of battery technology in general. They just can't get equivalent batteries for a long time. 

My shop has one battery powered tool; the drill. I was lucky with this last one. I was able to get new battery packs with different and better technology for a reasonable price. Maybe that will be the case going forward, but I suspect Dremel isn't a big enough market to justify the investment. 

I just stick with line-powered tools for the most part. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

27 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

...This is my Xacto brand battery power drill. It takes 2 C cells (anyone else notice those are getting scarce?)...

Look into getting rechargeable C cells, and a charger. They're out there.

I haven't had to buy AA batteries for my cameras in a decade.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 11/8/2018 at 7:29 AM, Dave Van said:

...not sure I could get bruches for a almost 40 year old unit! 

You can find brushes for just about any old electric motor online. I'm lucky here, as there's a hardware store that's been around for decades close by, and they have a cabinet chock full of small motor brushes. Naturally, nobody but me ever seems to buy any, and they don't get restocked. I probably need to go buy them all. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 11/8/2018 at 10:48 AM, dimaxion said:

 ...Cannot replace the Battery . It is a matter of Dremel ceasing production of the Battery ?? ...

If there's a Batteries Plus near you, they often have oddball batteries I thought I'd never find.

Or...if there's a number on the battery, an online search might very well yield a generic replacement.

[Dave Ambrose]

14 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Look into getting rechargeable C cells, and a charger. They're out there.

I haven't had to buy AA batteries for my cameras in a decade.

I have several C-cell powered SCUBA diving flashlights. Tenergy makes an actual C-size rechargeable battery. It has a capacity of 5000 mAH. A lot of C-cells only store 2500 mAH, which is the same as both the AA rechargeable cell, and your garden variety alkaline C-cell. You can get a set of good C-cells, and a charger for a reasonable price at the usual outlets.

[Ace-Garageguy]

12 minutes ago, Dave Ambrose said:

 ...Tenergy makes an actual C-size rechargeable battery. It has a capacity of 5000 mAH. A lot of C-cells only store 2500 mAH, which is the same as both the AA rechargeable cell, and your garden variety alkaline C-cell. You can get a set of good C-cells, and a charger for a reasonable price at the usual outlets.

Exactly. I went a little farther, and made up a solar power supply for my charger. Put it in the window, in a couple of days, fresh batteries for free. As much as I use my cameras documenting 1:1 work, I hit payback quite some time ago. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[peteski]

On 11/9/2018 at 10:14 AM, Tom Geiger said:

This is my Xacto brand battery power drill. It takes 2 C cells (anyone else notice those are getting scarce?)  and I've had it 25 years plus.

Hmm . . . that's odd. As I understand, those are the most popular size for vibrators, um "personal massagers". 

Edited November 12, 2018 by peteski