Four of these tools in trouble suggests severe bad luck or they're being pushed too hard for what they are. What do you mean by "I don't use them heavily"?

My Dremel shows no signs of distress, but it's only used once or twice every few months for relatively light duties – cutting and polishing small parts etc. In my workshop 10 minutes 'at it' with the Dremel is considered heavy use, and then I let it cool off for at least 10 minutes before starting again.

The industrial equivalent has a separate motor spinning a chuck on the end of a bowden cable-thingy. The motor is considerably bigger than the one in a hand-held Dremel. Watched a stone mason using the same sort of tool except his was driven by compressed air – no risk of overheating but it wasn't half noisy!

Dave

Same here my Dremel mostly gets used to tidy up castings, first lasted 10yrs or so and the current one is 4-5yrs old.

If your needs are heavy enough to wear them out or make them hot then maybe a commercial electric die grinder would be a better option as your compressor won't be up to powering an air driven one. The Makita ones are good but should be for a bit over £200.

JasonB:

I've been eyeing up the Makita range of corded die grinders and notice that one at least is stated to be "slow speed". Have you any comments as to the relative merits of these as opposed to the normal 24,000 RPM or so?

Ega Which one were you looking at I was thinking of the 24-29K rpm ones like this

NDIY The Screwfix 100mm angle grinder is shown as needing 170lts/min, that's 6cfm. Die Grinders are a bit less.

JasonB:

There's a 7000 RPM model on the same site:

https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/makita-gd0811c-750w-8mm-die-grinder-7000-rpm-gd0811c

I suppose that the relatively slow speed will allow larger tools to be used but be too slow for efficient cutting with the smaller sizes.

Never used one but a pencil type air powered die grinder might be an option, maybe they don't use so much air as the standard sized ones. Very fast and not too expensive if you already have a compressor. I noticed this one in MSC's last advantage sale:

Jupiter Micro Die Grinder

William.

Posted by William Chitham 19/05/2022 18:55:52

Never used one but a pencil type air powered die grinder might be an option,
maybe they don't use so much air as the standard sized ones. Very fast and
not too expensive if you already have a compressor. I noticed this one in MSC's
last advantage sale:

Jupiter Micro Die Grinder

William.

————————————————–
This is the same pencil grinder from J&L ,runs through an air
pressure regulator at 90 psi from a 2 HP 25 litre tank compressor.
Compressor will cut back in after about 2 to 3 minutes to keep it running .
Same sort of pencil grinders from Aliexpress from about £12
and free delivery.

John

I have the identical die grinder and needs both hands to hold it and the motor will not stall when taking heavy cuts with a 12mm dia. carbide burr on the edge of a 12mm thick steel plate.

Like other cutters, rotary burrs come in different grades and it is worth paying a bit more for a quality carbide burr that will remain sharp under use.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 20/05/2022 04:38:35

I have seen some which claim to stop if they sense a jam.

I've got one of these: KATSU Die Grinder Variable Speed 6mm 320w (aimtools.co.uk)

for the price is great doesn't get hot at all

the same company do this as well: KATSU Electric Straight Die Grinder 6mm 101730 (aimtools.co.uk)

I also have the second type from AIM tools. Very good and I am building a 7" scale steam lorry with it, so it is not cossetted!

Martin

What about the other two?🙂