Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well it is Christmas day and the living room is a sea of wrapping paper carnage. The kids are happy with xboxes and kindle fires. Wife is happy with Brad Paisley and Lady A tickets and dad has a new hand power planer.

Well I was working out in the garge, playing with my new toy and did some dremel work and i noticed it had not working just right. seemed to be binding. do i attempt to see if something has jammed in the brush and armature or will Santa be extra nice to me and get a new dremel. I have had this one about 10 years. Wish it could of lasted a few more. i have been using it alot with this build.

Forrest747 wrote:Well it is Christmas day and the living room is a sea of wrapping paper carnage. The kids are happy with xboxes and kindle fires. Wife is happy with Brad Paisley and Lady A tickets and dad has a new hand power planer.

Well I was working out in the garge, playing with my new toy and did some dremel work and i noticed it had not working just right. seemed to be binding. do i attempt to see if something has jammed in the brush and armature or will Santa be extra nice to me and get a new dremel. I have had this one about 10 years. Wish it could of lasted a few more. i have been using it alot with this build.

a laminate trimmer style router is a better tool than a dremel for the type of work involved in building a trailer.. dremels are very light duty tools so it's not surprising it's dying on you.. if you got a kit with the tilting and off set bases you'd be a lot better off in the end.. one of the nicer ones is the Bosch Colt.. http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tool ... =PR20EVSNK

you can get the whole kit for under $200 more often than not.. I've seen them on sale for as low as $120 at times..

I agree with afreegeek, I can't imagine many jobs building a trailer that would not be too much for a Dremel. But you asked about the health of your tool. If you have been using it for heavy work, I would first be suspicious of the condition of the brushes. It has been my experience that on any universal motor, brush wear goes up dramatically when the tool is being heavily loaded, so the first thing I would do it to take a look at the condition of your brushes.

Tom

I've worn out several rotary tools over the years and if you use them alot they really don't last that long.

Not knowing the Dremel, but if it has sleeve bearings rather than ball bearings you may be able to extend its life with some oil/grease. It seems like most/many power tools are built with out quality bearings limiting their life.

Have probably worn out 10 plus over the years bird carving and other overload abuse. Still a handy tool to own. The flex cable option allows you to get when no tool easily goes even if they don't last long. Have had a 12 volt Milwaukee battery equivalent for a while now and love the portability of it and the solid power it has.

My guess is that's worn out. I kinda see them as semi-disposable. Now I get the tool only because I've accumulated a ton of accessories. Depending on how much I use them, they last me anywhere from 2-7 years. Right now I'm using a Black & Decker knock-off.

The harbor freight version is a one day tool

ssrjim wrote:The harbor freight version is a one day tool

If the HF version (of anything) lasts long enough for me to finish the project, then I think it was worth it.

asianflava wrote:

ssrjim wrote:The harbor freight version is a one day tool

If the HF version (of anything) lasts long enough for me to finish the project, then I think it was worth it.

that maybe true but after three projects you've spent the money you would have spent on a real tool and got nothing to show for it... there's nothing more expensive that a cheap tool..

I buy good tools and use them to put bread on the table.. sure they cost a little more but I've still got them and they still work well.. some with over 30 years of use with nothing more than a set of new brushes..

afreegreek wrote:

asianflava wrote:

ssrjim wrote:The harbor freight version is a one day tool

If the HF version (of anything) lasts long enough for me to finish the project, then I think it was worth it.

that maybe true but after three projects you've spent the money you would have spent on a real tool and got nothing to show for it... there's nothing more expensive that a cheap tool..

I buy good tools and use them to put bread on the table.. sure they cost a little more but I've still got them and they still work well.. some with over 30 years of use with nothing more than a set of new brushes..

X2.

I have a Makita 5" disc sander/grinder. After over thirty years it needed a bearing. Got the bearing at a local tool repair shop (they had it in stock) and for grins I installed new brushes. It's now good for another 30 years. I'm not sure I am. I have a couple of HF air die grinders. When they go kaput (probably as soon as I use em again) I'll go buy a good quality tool and be done with it.

Cheers,

Gus

Shadow Catcher wrote:Not knowing the Dremel, but if it has sleeve bearings rather than ball bearings you may be able to extend its life with some oil/grease. It seems like most/many power tools are built with out quality bearings limiting their life.

Dremel's have sealed bearings, or at least the one's I've owned. One of those use it for small projects, when it wears out, throw it in the trash tools.

I'm on my third one and quit trying to use it for things that stress the tool and my third has lasted for several years now.

A while back, I killed both of my Dremels in one day. Next time I'll buy a Foredom

Yeah well I bought another dremel 4000 today. I looked at the brushes and looked like they had half life yet still. I will use it till its gone than use the new one. Now I just need to get some insulation



Ps mike if you read this I wonder how a forum on tools would go over

afreegreek wrote:

asianflava wrote:

ssrjim wrote:The harbor freight version is a one day tool

If the HF version (of anything) lasts long enough for me to finish the project, then I think it was worth it.

that maybe true but after three projects you've spent the money you would have spent on a real tool and got nothing to show for it... there's nothing more expensive that a cheap tool..

I buy good tools and use them to put bread on the table.. sure they cost a little more but I've still got them and they still work well.. some with over 30 years of use with nothing more than a set of new brushes..

That is true if I'm going to use it again, but for a one time use, HF does fine. Either I pay less and throw it away (it could actually survive) or pay a lot more for a "quality" tool, to clutter up my small place and gather dust. I haven't used the HF biscuit joiner and electric sheetmetal shears since I built my trailer 6 yrs ago. They still work fine, but if they broke or got lost tomorrow, I wouldn't be heart broken.

I used to be a tool snob Snap-On Matco but decided that unless I use them everyday as a professional it isn't worth the expense. Craftsman hand tools are fine for homeowner use. My other tools that I use again and again are Bosch. For one time use, I go to HF.

On the flip side back to the OP, the Dremel is supposed to be one of these "quality" tools I've had a few and they all die eventually. In that case, the cheapy ones work fine also.