I have a cheap crappy dremel type copy that was never great to begin with, but got worse, the collets don't grip and it slows badly when asked to cut anything.
So I was on the look out for a proper branded Dremel as these seem to get more favourable reviews when directly compared to copies.
But I am now wondering about a Rotozip.
I see that the price of a used Rotozip on ebay seems to be about the same as a Dremel, but the power rating is several times that of a Dremel. Just a quick google search comes up with about 125 Watt motor in a Dremel and about 600 Watt on a Rotozip.
It looks like you can buy various sized collets for Rotozip and even though its designed to be mainly used as a plunge cutter, if it can handle tough masonary work then a cutter disc should see it go through a bolt like knife through butter.

I don't have any particular need or job in mind for these, but I have decided that in the new year my old dremel copy will be replaced.

So have I missed something here? If the Rotozip is so much more manly, why don't more people use or recomend them as an alternative to a Dremel?

Any thoughts or opinions?

Anyone use one as a Dremel type tool rather than a plunge cutter?

The first impression I get from the Rotozip is that it is quite a bit bigger than the Dremel and more like a router. It is possibly not suitable for the smaller jobs that the Dremel was designed for. It certainly looks very capable and worth the extra cost if you need a more 'industrial' tool.

I've got the B&Q version of the Dremel which seems ok and good value for money - 5 years on it is still going strong. They also do some really cheap accessory kits which are surprisingly good value when compared to the proper Dremel stuff.

[Edited on 22-12-10 by RazMan]

I have the woolworths version of the dremel and its ok but the tools with it are cr*p.

dave

dont laugh but halfords do a £15 dremel type thing with tools and it doesnt look like a really cheap one
i havent used one so dont blame me if it turns out to be crap
Ray

The one I have is from Woolworths. And it too 'looked OK' but I am not going to make that mistake again. I want its replacement to be gruff and manly and not go 'zzziiiiiinnnnnnggggg bbbbbuuuuurrrrr' when I try to cut something with it. And a Rotozip seems to be like a more heavy duty item. So I am surprised its not mentioned more when people ask about Dremels. The usual response is 'well I got one for £10 and its fine'.

I bought a real Dremel, and wished I hadn't. I suppose it would be ok for models and stuff, but hasn't got the power to do anything much on a real car.

i got one in costco many years ago, looks a bit abused because it has been but still going strong dont remember the make off the top of my head, will have to look when i get home.

Dremels are brilliant.

I had a few "looky likey" and they were rubbish.

Agreed a Dremel isn't a quick as an angry-grinder but in small spaces, or something fiddly, then they can't be beaten.

Matt

I've just bought a dremel type tool from Maplin to replace my Halfrauds one. The speed controller on the Halfords one was playing up for a long time until it just stopped working. It's cheaper than Halfords and comes with loads more accessorys and even a wall mountable storage box. I do abuse it quite alot but when this one breaks I won't be getting a Halfords one again.

ive been working with a normal 600w drill and a reasonable 'greasable' flexi drive which you can use mosts tooling with, might take a bit of getting use to positioning of the flexi drive to get the best angle of attack on things but generally works fine with chuck head smaller than a dremmel and plenty of power

I got a JCB one from argos about 7 years ago. The accessories were cr*p, I used to port and polish 2 stroke race engines with it so it worked very hard. The bearings are now very noisy but still spins up to 18,000rpm! sounds like its going to explode But I too have to face facts that if I need to do anything on the car, the "old" one is only going to last so long.....

Try Tool Station for a cheap but reasonable quality copy

I bought an Aldi bargain 240v one with a flexible drive and tools for about £12.99 and it proved invaluable for a few different jobs. Although I haven't used it for a while I bought another to eventually replace it as it was such a bargain.