jewelry you can sell from home

Review by M. Cheshire "you bet yer ace" : Dremel quality is going downhill

While this tool does the job, it is far inferior to older Dremel products I have owned in construction and power. The speed varies around a bit on any setting, not that it is a big deal, but it's noticeable. I hope Dremel starts looking in the rearview mirror at the way they used to manufacture their products.

Review by Eli E. Bar "Gliocure" : Exactly what I wanted

This little thing is amazing. It gets the work done and fast! I did a relatively simple bathroom tile fix in minutes. I recommend it to everyone.

Review by Cheryl M Collins : Dremel 4000

This is a nice Dremel . I have 2 others also as I power carve sometimes and this has proven itself to be a reliable product . I would recommend that the purchasing rate on this is on spot.

Review by Susan Smith : Love the power!

This is my second Dremel. My first was battery operated. What a difference the cord and power makes! Also bought the drill press and diamond bits. Works great for drilling holes in glass. Have used it every day since I purchased it.

Review by A happy multi-Dremel owner : No other manufacturer can compete with a company this good

Two examples of why Dremel is still the unquestionable leader in mini-rotary tools: I recently bought a 4000-3/34 and I wanted to use the chuck I had been using on my old 395 instead of the collets. It didn't fit through the hole in the nosepiece of the 4000, so I took off the nosepiece and enlarged the hole. I wasn't satisfied with the 'quick-and-dirty' job I had done, so I contacted Dremel in Palm Desert in order to buy a replacement nosepiece. Without any questions they told me they'd send it right out to me at no charge as warranty service. When it arrive it was, unfortunately, the wrong part. Well, that's happened to me before, with other companies' tools, so even though they had been good enough to provide it for free (and the tool was working fine as it was) I decided to try again. And again, they told me they'd send a replacement at no cost with no questions or reluctance. Within a few days I had the right part, and I did a better job enlarging the hole (I subsequently discovered that the chuck they're selling now will fit the stock nosepiece). The reason I had bought the 4000 is that my venerable 395 had broken down and I needed to finish a job without delay. When I opened up the 395 I discovered that there was a "flexible link" between the motor and the output shaft, and it had stripped. It was a short piece of flexible plastic tubing with internal splines to engage the metal shafts at both ends, and it was shredded inside. Initially I thought this was a regrettable design flaw, but I realized that it's just the weak link to prevent the user from damaging more expensive parts by challenging the tool too hard. Anyway, when I went to order the part, the woman who answered knew immediately what I was referring to and was able to complete my order efficiently. She even pointed out that, with the cost of the part being so small compared to the shipping (which was minor as well), I might consider ordering a second one. She encouraged me to leave the second one in the sealed package to prevent it from weakening from oxidation, and it would be ready to install if I should ever need it. Considering how old my 395 is, I'm not worried about that being any time soon. The parts arrived in a couple of days, and my 395 is back in action. And, considering how nice an upgrade the 4000 is, I don't mind having been forced to become the owner of two Dremels. Dremel tools are well-designed and well-built, as long as the user works within the limits of their appropriate use (these are not industrial die-grinders). Craftsmanship is more a matter of patience and care than brute force. But any tool will require service at some point, if it's used a lot over the years, and that's where a manufacturer shows what they're really all about. With the kind of service I've received, I'd say it's no wonder that no other manufacturer has made much of a dent in the mini-rotary tool market. Dremel makes good products in the first place, and they back them up well. I'll never even consider buying a Dremel-like tool from anyone else!

Review by JCC : Excellent tool

Use it mostly for hobby work. Especially like the variable speed feature. My old Dremel (300 series) had two speeds; too fast, and too damned fast. Although this one is a little larger and heavier than the old one, it fits the hand well and is excellent for detailed work. JCC

Review by Brian F. Class : Dremel does it right again.

My old dremel finally bit the dust after 30 years of service so I needed a new one. After reading some of the negative comments I was a bit worried about this one, but decided that I would give Dremel my business again since the last one had last so long. I also wanted the flex shaft attachment and the right angle attachment [and that German unit did NOT have a right angle attachment for sale and people really trashed their flex shaft attachment]. Well, so far so good. It is actually quieter then my old one, and I have already used and fallen in love with the right angle attachment - wished I had bought one years ago]. I also wonder how many people that complained about the flex shaft did not run it for two minutes in a vertical configuration before usage each time? Manual says to do that and it helps to work the storage kinks out of it and likely keeps it running cooler with less issues. And the case was built to hold all of that stuff, so I now have it consolidated into one box, even with all my old parts. Dremel has a keeper here. Oh, and I use mine for making fine details in hard wood, cutting tiles and metal, cutting the occasional lock that has lost its key... etc. A little bit of everything which is what these things can do.

Review by Donnovan Greaves "dteg" : excellent especially for the price

This has to be one of my best Amazon purchases; It's a great tool and most of the attachments(they are a a lot) are quite handy including the grip which is as close to a flex shaft you can get without actually purchasing one. This is quite worth the amount paid for it, and I'd gladly repurchase it if I had to do it over. I highly recommend this for DIY people as well. If you doubt its usefulness simply go to the website and watch some of the videos or view the pictures of projects people have completed with this dremel.

Review by greenT : A little too big but solid performance.

Many people may be wondering if they should get Dremel 4000 for their holiday gifts and have been looking for detailed reviews so here is my contribution. I received my Dremel 4000 a month ago and so far used it for moderate work with cutting and shaping sheet metal (soup cans etc) and very light work with drilling and shaping plastic. So far it's been working great. 4000 works fine with all the speed setting as they advertise. It seems like they solved the problem with the lower speed setting. The speed changes in a little increments rather than smooth transitions. In a way, it feels a bit like digital but I see no problem here. My only complaint is its size and weight. Probably it's OK for rough work but for detailed work it strains my hand after some time (my hands are small). It probably makes sense to invest on flex shaft and foot pedal if you are going to do a lot of detail work with this machine. The engraver's handle that comes with this particular set adds more grip options but it's a bit flimsy so it's only good for very light work. 4000 is a really big machine. It's thicker than XPR and way longer than any previous models I've seen. Probably the speed feedback circuitry and new cooling system required this added size. The balance is quite a bit awkward when I hold the machine like a pen to do detail work. The engraver's handle does not really solve the bad balance either. In the higher speed, it is quite loud. It gives off high pitch sound like you are in dentist's office even without any tool attached on it. I can stand it but for some people it can be quite annoying. I recommend having earplugs handy. It also blows a lot of air from the vents- I guess it's a good thing for keeping the motor cool. They say they designed 4000 according to the user feedbacks and I can see they are reflected in everywhere. In doing so it seems like they went back to basics, which I think is the right move. I appreciate they went back to more basic shape and moved away from XPR kind of design. I never used XPR but when I handled it at Home-depot the peculiar body shape felt awkward and tend to limit the way you can hold it. I can see that there are a lot of thoughts went into the new carrying case as well. I am so happy that they forwent the ridiculously bulky toolbox type case (such as the one came with XPR). It did not only took so much space, its bubbly shape refused to fit in a shelf or stacking any other things on them. Also I did not like that the tools were stored in the fragile plastic box attached outside of the main case. That's asking for disaster. The toolbox tended to break easily and I had to fix it with duct tape or keep the tools inside of the main compartment. Now Dremel 4000 comes in a more standard but nice thin briefcase type case. It slides right into my shelves and does not take up too much space. The toolbox is also stored securely inside of the main compartment. The handle feels nice and the plastic latches on this case also feel pretty sturdy. The only thing I wish it had was a tool block that I can stick tools in for quick access, but this I can make my own by drilling little holes in a wood block and it will be nicer than the one they make with plastic anyways. I don't like when designers go too creative and forget about functionality in utility tools. I think it is important to stick with "form follows function" philosophy and not the other way. With Dremel 4000 it is apparent that they tired to keep the usability to its first priority. I am not a big fun of power tools that look like straight out from Star Trek. Why designers these days are so compelled to make rotary tools or even toothbrushes look like tricked out Nike shoes is beyond my comprehension. I miss old tools that looked like tools. I also looked at the Proxxon and with such good reviews I was almost going to go with it. The reviewers say Proxxon is more solidly build and quieter than Dremel. Even this Dremel's latest model 4000 is still lacking in that department. I've never seen Proxxon myself so I can't say but for me the deal breaker was that the Proxxon's "Professional" model could not take a keyless chuck. A keyless chuck makes so much difference in productivity when you have to change tools often. Also Dremel and their attachments are cheaper and more readily available in US market. Dremel 4000 is not perfect but I think it's performance is solid. The most important thing to remember using Dremel is not to put too much pressure on it but let it's speed and tool do the job. You have to make a number of light passes rather than try to push it with one shot with your force. I didn't know about this when I was using my first Dremel and only after a few months the motor started spin really loud and hot. Nonetheless it never completely quit working and withstood my 6 years of abuse. This time I will be more careful and hopefully my 4000 lasts longer.

Review by P. L. Huang "bookworm" : great to use, but not cheaply made

I bought my dremel 4000 on Amazon.com. I find that this is a fine rotary tool. The best 2 parts are the extra cooling system and the ability to dial the speed. My biggest complaint is the quality of the tool. The rubber and plastic feels so soft and rubbery. I much prefer the hard plastic feel of the 300/200/100 series.