rotary tool recommendations

[mimoose]

Hello, i am a total "noob" in regards to this craft. after over 20 years of wanting a dremel rotary tool but always putting it off for one reason or the other, i am finally going to buy it it for my birthday. i would like advise or recommendations on what kind of rotary tool i should/can buy in the below us$150 range. is there another brand beside dremel i should consider? and which dremel should i get?
all i do know is i DO NOT WANT CORDLESS. i havent had good experiences with cordless machines.
i am planning to use it
for engraving metals
paper
cardboard
fiberglass
ceramics
foam
for starters.
if recommendations are not allowed on this board, please pm me. thanks!

 

[dave gibson]

Hi Minimoose, welcome to the forum.Dremel tools are great, not for engraving though, especially the kind of engraving you see on this forum. I'm often quick to point out that this is not a cheap hobby. My recommendation to you would be hang out for a while and research engraving, there's a ton of info right here and a couple other forums. Find out about the different suppliers and what they offer. The price range you mentioned would probably restrict you to "push" engraving or maybe hammer & chisel. Check out the catalogs, there's soooooo much stuff to spend your money on. There's a great book, " The Art of Engraving" by James Meek, an engravers bible.
So hang out and enjoy the scenery, this is the right place to learn, good luck. ...DG

 

[sam]

Welcome to the Cafe, mimoose. Good advice there from Dave. While there's work done with rotary tools, what the folks around here do is hand engraving with chisels as opposed to rotary bur work, which is reserved for things such as background removal, etc. Check out our Gallery and see if you have any interest in our style of engraving.

Cheers / ~Sam

 

[K Frei]

Diddo's on the two former posts. they have both given good advise.
to answer your question though, i would look into a Foredom Flex shaft before i bought a Dremel-tool. they are a bit more but you might find one on e-bay or even on the buy sell portion of this forum for the price range you are looking for. they are much higher quality that the Dremel-tool, and will last much longer; they also have bigger motors, so they will give more torque. Grobet, also make one that is close to as good, and there is a "in-expensive" version in the RIO catalog, but i don't know anything about it.

 

[Haraga.com]

The Dremel will work fine for you. Please post some pictures of your work. May I also suggest Ingersol Rand or Chicago Pneumatic also. They make some fine rotary tools but you will need a cheap air compressor.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

There are two factors with the Dremel tool that make it a poor choice. The first is the noise..............mine can give you ear damage within minutes and drive you nuts.

The second and most important is centering. The micro motors and Foredom type rotary tools remain on center at the bur end which is what you need for fine and accurate work. Dremels tend to drift and spin a wide arch which is OK for not so fine work. Both have their place......basically you get what you pay for and it all depends on exactly what you want to use them for.

Well, that's my experience with them anyway.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[kfengraver]

get a foredom motor. there is a reason why jewelers have been useing them for years and years.. dremels are cheap

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Foredoms heat up. They're not intended for any kind of prolonged use. Just hearing the word "Dremel" makes me want to lose my lunch ..... no offense. There's some pretty nice work done in glass and wood with rotary tools ..... check the TurboCarver folks. It's inexpensive enough but still air driven for prolonged use and "etching" the materials you list is what they specialize in.

 

[Haraga.com]

Andrew, what you are calling "drift" is most likely gyroscopic precession.

 

[mimoose]

Thanks to everybody for responding! I am very glad I decided to ask! Waiting is a good idea ordinarily, but I need to buy it now for the project i have in mind. I need to carve into foam for fiberglass and casting molds and for fiberglass. i live in detroit, mi and i want to fiberglass outside within the month while its still warm. but now i am distressed to hear about dremel because i cant afford anything better right now.

the Foredom Flex and the turbocarver look wonderful, just not in my price range because there is so much other stuff i have to buy right now before my money has melted away. I will look to buy the turbocarver next year. I dont have any pictures because I havent made anything as yet.

 

[Joe Jacob]

I would not get a Dremel, for the reasons given by others. A Foredom is a great tool, but costly. There are Foredom clones that may be suitable.
Take a look at the offerings from Contenti, imports - lower cost - quality far better than a Dremel but less than a Foredom.
http://www.contenti.com/products/flexshafts/236-971.html
or
http://www.contenti.com/products/flexshafts/236-991.html

 

[kfengraver]

grobet has a s-300 flex shaft motor foot pedal n0 30 hand piece $ 119.00 and a c-300 for $74.95 from stuller. i am looking at the catolog right now