My mini-craft drill is a bit old now and often slows to a crawl when put under any load. That's a 12v device with a transformer which weights a ton!
So I picked a Dremel 3000 kit from CPC at the end of last year as part of the prize for the wacky automation devices
Dremel 3000-5, 240V Rotary Multi-tool with 5 Accessories & EZ Wrap Holder - DREMEL | CPC UK
It's one of the smaller kits with just a holder the drill and a handful of accessories but given that I've plenty of those that I've collected over the years that's not an issue.
The Dremel 3000 comes with a collet system which holds the tools tightly. I did have a small chuck on my old drill but that too is getting a bit temperamental old so I might stick with the collets. I've yet to check if the chuck can be swapped over.
The tool is mains powered with no transformer and a variable speed control that provides different speeds from 0 to 10. I tried cleaning my small anvil with a flap disk and found that unless it was on 6-10 that the drill did start to slow under the load, so I'll likely not make too much use of the speed control other than for polishing tools and wire brushes where the tool can benefit from running a bit slower. The brushes for the drill can be replaced without opening the case, a massive improvement on my old drill.
The size is quite chunky and it weighs quite a lot but I did not find it was a problem when engraving a plastic medal back in January. I traced the lines and lettering from a printed template.
I've managed to find a tear-down video and an exploded parts diagram online to save me having to look inside myself. As you can see it's got some large bearings at either end of the drill and a very modular/repairable design. If you were careful or bought new stickers you could do a repair and it would look as good as new when you'd finished. The prices for spares seem reasonable too with a new rotor being around £15.
I was also interest to see if I could mount the dremel on my lathe as a cutoff or grinding tool. I found that the nose unscrews and there is a 3/4" X 12 TPI BSF thread. I picked up some taps at the model engineering fair earlier in the year so I should be able to make some mounting for the Dremel fairly easily.
I had previously thought Dremel to be a bit over priced and not worth the extra. But having found this budget kit and having seen the build quality first hand, I'm pleasantly surprised and can genuinely recommend this specific kit.
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