After I burned out the motor on my Dremel 400 XPR, I decided to get something a little more powerful for the heavy work I'm doing. What I really wanted was a Foredom TX model, but I didn't really want to spend quite that much... So I found this on Amazon. 1/3 HP, 5/32" chuck instead of a collet..seems pretty good. Well, I couldn't find any reviews of it online, so let's fix that
(note to mods: if this is in the wrong place, feel free to move it)
Yay, flex-shaft-power-tool-thingy got here!
Unpacked:
Not quite as big as I was expecting for a 1/3 HP motor, but ok.
Construction quality isn't quite as good as a Dremel, but that was rather to be expected. The chuck means that I can use any Dremel accessories, or anything else for that matter, as long as it's on a 5/32" or smaller bit.
In initial testing, it seems to be pretty solid; it doesn't bind at all when I take a cut-off wheel to some 1/4" steel angle I'm cutting, which I had to go really light on with my XPR. Unfortunately, the handpiece is a lot thicker than the handpiece on the Dremel flex-shaft attachment, so I can't do detail work as easily with it. Also, because of the all-metal construction of the handpiece, under continuous use, it warms up as a result of the friction inside.
The foot-pedal speed control feels a little cheap, but will be nice to have hands-free control of the tool. It has a screw in place to set the maximum speed, but in initial testing, it's annoying for anything slower than the placement of the maximum speed.
So, in conclusion, it's a solid, powerful tool with middling-to-decent construction quality that will be good for heavy work, but for detail or delicate work, I'll want to use my Dremel once I get it back from repair.
I'll post further impressions as I continue using it.