Rest in peace, dear Dremel Stylus...

[Malebolgia]

So after ten years the battery of my Dremel Stylus is dead. A real shame, as it's the best tool I've had the last decade. Excellent for grinding and drilling, perfect grip, cordless and initially a terrific battery. But in the last two years the batteries slowly degraded and now it's about dead. Darn...

I need a new tool and unfortunately the Stylus is officially OOP  . What the heck...?

So what will make a great replacement for a good price? I prefer a cordless machine and if the Stylus can be found somewhere for a good price, I will buy it (eBay has it for €140-€160, while the original cost me €75...). Any tips or ideas on a good alternative?

[6milPhil]

I found a decent version in a Lidl for around £20. I bought two...

[jthomlin]

I was a big Stylus fan until I tried a Dental Micromotor with foot pedal, absolute chalk and cheese. You don't notice the power cable, I drape mine over my lamp arm and it just doesn't get in the way. The reason for the difference is mainly precision, there is no run-out (wobble) in the bits so everything is so much easier and you have far more control. The foot switch also increases accuracy in drilling because you can line up the drill from several angles and lock your hand position.

Then again mine is a high end model (~650 GBP*), so I can't honestly speak to the precision of the ones in your price range:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC1.A0.H0.Xdental+micromotor.TRS0&_nkw=dental+micromotor&_sacat=0

Note: They all seem to be limited to a 2.35mm (3/32") shank, so all your burs and drills etc would need to be that size.

Perhaps someone else has had experience with the eBay ones?

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson

[DELTADOG]

If you really like your dremel and would miss it, bring it back to life.  

You can do it yourself:
http://akkuplus.de/Akkupack-fuer-Dremel-1100-1120-72-Volt-Li-Ion-zum-Selbsteinbau


Or use their Service!
http://akkuplus.de/Akkureparatur-Zellentausch-Retrofit

And it should be the cheapest solution either!

[Silent Invader]

I use a dremel minimite, which is a two-speed 6v (takes 4xAA batteries). By the way, you can buy a rotary chuck for the dremel that will enable the use of standard drill bits rather than the special tools with the common shaft size.

[ancientsociety]

Did you try contacting dremel? When my Stylus battery went out a few years back, they replaced it and I inly paid to ship it to them.

[Malebolgia]

If you really like your dremel and would miss it, bring it back to life. 

You can do it yourself:
http://akkuplus.de/Akkupack-fuer-Dremel-1100-1120-72-Volt-Li-Ion-zum-Selbsteinbau


Or use their Service!
http://akkuplus.de/Akkureparatur-Zellentausch-Retrofit

And it should be the cheapest solution either!

Wow man, that is an excellent solution! I will try that one and report back once I've done all the work involved.

[DELTADOG]

Good luck! 

[Malebolgia]

The battery arrived Tuesday and yesterday I wanted to replace them yesterday. So I opened the Dremel and took a look inside...



Okay, that looks kind of easy. But then I found out the battery was soldered to the bottom copper plate. Darn...
I snapped it off the plates and then placed in the new battery. Closed the Stylus again and tried the power. Nothing. Darn...so I set it aside.
This morning I had the idea of connecting the two small strips on the top of the new battery, maybe that would help. Sparks! Sparks! Sparks! The battery also turned hot and one of the strips was fried off. Oops. Did I tell you I know jack about electricity...?
So as a final idea I simply turned the battery upside down (so with the fried strips to the bottom) and tried again. Bzzzzzzzzt...it works!

MWUAHAHAHA! It works! So although the battery is a bit fried (doh), the machine works again and very well too. I placed in the shed for now. Nobody home at the moment and don't want to find my home burned down when I get back...
So no, doing this myself wasn't the wisest idea, but I became wiser and fixed it in the end. And I'm thrilled the Stylus works again.

[DELTADOG]

Glad to hear your favorite tool is back on your side!