Dremel/rotary tool advice

[Spiny Norman]

What sort of power/speed rating should I be looking for in a rotary tool? Amazon have a few in the Prime Day Deals so I'm tempted to pick one up, but I want to make sure I get the right one! 

 

Thanks!

[sbarnby71]

In my experience you don't need super fast.  I have a plug in one and I tend to use it on setting 1 of 5, I also have a rechargeable one that is like a pen and that is just fine for small detail work.  

 

Go for one that has variable speed and a lot of attachments and try and get something as small as possible so it's easy to use - also you don't need Dremel branded, the cheap ones are fine enough around the £20 mark.

[sbarnby71]

This is the one I got 5+ years ago for about £20, I use it all the time

[Karhedron]

My only advice is avoid the Parkside ones. Cheap and shoddy. You don't need to spend a fortune but sometimes getting the cheapest on the market is a false economy.

[andes]

I didn't use mine anywhere near as much as I expected to. Can't remember the last time I fired it up... The problem I had was that even on the lowest setting it ran fast enough to melt the plastic rather than cut cleanly. Of course, I could just be an oaf but caveat emptor.

 

If you just want to drill holes, maybe check out the WOW Stick drill. That thing rocks.

[Spiny Norman]

Thanks everyone that's really helpful. The main thing I want it for right now is for hollowing out neck sections for head swaps, so like a round tipped engraving/carving tool.

[sbarnby71]

Whatever one you get, practice on some spare plastic so you get used to the speed and also be aware that as others have said it can melt the plastic, so do short contacts with the tip so you don't overheat and melt the plastic, if you do the tip gets coated in plastic goo that goes hard pretty quick.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Would adding a little water to the surface help with the melting issue? (assuming the surface is shaped in a way that means it doesn't immediately run off...)

[Evil Eye]

I recently got a Dremel Stylo+ and it's very good. Not hugely powerful but for our scale it works fine and it's very comfortable to use. Also completely compatible with all Dremel accessories despite the small size.