unterhausen

I keep forgetting about my rotozip tool. Have you used a cutoff saw in it?

Charles Wahl

I have a Dremel model 395 with variable speeds. When my father sent it to me for a birthday, he inserted a note saying "every man needs a Dremel" -- I wish I still had that. I don't use the Dremel that often, but as others say above, when I do, it's worth it's weight in gold. Cutoff wheels for cables and housings (perfect tool for this IMO), and I use the sanding wheels on rubber drum mandrel for a lot of things. I also have the flex extension, which I'm not sure I've ever used, and a router adapter made by Stewart-MacDonald, which is very nice, but not robust enough for any heavy work, like a real router.

You can find a model like mine on eBay, with attachments for somewhere around $35 - $100 depending on a lot of variables. I recommend it highly, and enjoy using it. It's not a "production" tool that one would use for removing all the rust from a frame or the like, but a "detailing" tool for finer work.

Doug Fattic 

While I find a Dremel useful for a number of tasks in my workshop, I and my framebuilding class students primarily use it when cutting a design into a blank lug. This has already been mentioned a couple of times but I want to emphasize how much I like its fairly new EZ Lock system. It is so much more convenient and efficient when using grinding discs. The old system had these smallish brown easily breakable disks that were attached to a shaft with a very small screw. You needed to buy them in a package of 20 or 25 (I forget how many). The new system allows a bigger diameter and much more durable and stronger grinding disk (among the many different kinds of disks also available) to be attached without the need for any tools. These new grinding disks make quick work of hogging out space in a lug. The diameter of the disc gets smaller as it is used and I save those for getting in to tight spaces. I've also used the wood cutting disc for wood projects more than I expected.



Here are some lugs I cut out and shaped with a jeweler's saw and needle files. I used the EZ lock grinding discs to hog out areas not part of the design as well as cut access channels for my jeweler's saw blades.


This EZ Lock system is far superior to the old brown discs. If you use a grinding disc and haven't bought the EZ Lock system yet, you will want to do that.

rumrunn6

Craftsman 4.8 V Cordless. it’s a small unit perfect for plastic fender mods & toe nails

milksteaks

Cordless Dremel 8220. Was concerned at first that it being cordless means it might not be powerful enough, but it's been great for any bike and non-bike related things I've thrown at it.

panzerwagon 

Wanted to give a shout out for my Proxxon IBS/E 38481. Very well-made (Germany) and has been running strong for years. I’ve used dremels in the past but their build quality really nosedived some years back.