I’ve used both the Dremel 8240 and the 3000, and have sussed out what you need to know in order to choose the right one for your projects. So what’s the difference between these two Dremel tools?
The best thing about the Dremel 8240 cordless rotary tool is that it is nearly identical to its predecessor, the eminently useful Dremel 4000 Rotary Tool Kit. But not identical.
Dremel 8240
Dremel 4000 Kit
Why does a carpenter use a Dremel tool?
You may be asking yourself: “Self, why would a tree-cutting, snow removing, deck building contractor like Carpentologist Mark own such a DIY-ish, crafty, definitely-not-hydraulic spinny tool that’s probably used in a craft room?”
I’ll tell you.
There are some tools we own because nothing else will solve the problem that needs solving. And as a home improvement contractor, my job is solving those problems, large and small. Once we find what I call a “Get Out Of Jam Free Card,” we sink our talons into it. Or in the case of the Dremel rotary tool, it gets us out of multiple jams.
I also know that thoughtful tool designers–even though they may not be designing for my work–build tools that “generalize.” In other words, they work all over the place. The Dremel rotary tool nails this.
I honestly don’t know what half the bits, wheels, polishers and abrasives are actually intended for.
But I know what I use them for.
It’s making sad chains sparkle with wood-cutting Excalibur-like wood-beavering that my Dremel 4000 eats the lunch of every other chainsaw sharpening method I’ve found…by, like, a hundred miles.
How do we use Dremel tools?
Over the many years I’ve owned Dremel rotary tools. They have been able to help solve many problems.
- Absent my other door-not-closing-right trick, I’ve reamed strike plates on entry door locksets so the dead bolt can throw.
- Cut RailFX stainless steel cable rail for a deck build. It’s Beast Mode for cable railing.
- I’ve definitely used the sanding bits.
- And the hero function of my Dremel rotary tool is sharpening my chainsaw chains (not blades, dammit!).
What was the Dremel tool designed to do?
I have my suspicions that this crafter’s tool was not designed to grind strike plates, build decks, or sharpen chainsaw chains. However, I have found nothing better. This tool–now cordless in the 8240 version with a 12-volt, 2.0 amp-hour battery–has paid for itself a hundred times over in chainsaw chains (again, NOT BLADES) alone.
I don’t know–and I’m not asking, duh, why?–what the intended use for the cylindrical, ceramic grinding stones is. These are not included with the 8420, but are included with the 4000 kit. Nevertheless, it’s the locksets I can rescue and customers I can make happy. And it’s making sad chains sparkle with wood-cutting Excalibur-like wood-beavering that my Dremel 4000 eats the lunch of every other chainsaw sharpening method I’ve found…by, like, a hundred miles.
What are the Dremel 4000 and the Dremel 8240?
The Dremel 4000 is a kit and ships with the ceramic bits and a million other things I don’t know what they do. It also ships with a cord that I often can’t plug into anywhere on a tree site.
The Dremel 8240 ships with a battery that I think will power me through a zillion chains and locksets on a single charge, so I don’t really care that there’s only one battery.
There’s a kickstand on the tool. I have no idea what it does. I’m not looking and it doesn’t apply to me. What the unit does do, however, is keep chains sharp and eliminates searches for exterior plugs or running extension cords.
The Dremel 8240 is $100 at Amazon (right now). The included bits and wheels do nothing for me. The battery…yeah, that solves problems. The ceramic bits are cheap, grab a few.
The Dremel 4000 that rides on my truck every day of its life along with other, similarly arcane but useful Dremel tools, has the bits I need included in the kit–60-smackers on the Big A–which brings us back to the beginning.
The Dremel 8240’s best attribute is that it is just like the 4000, plus a kickstand and no cord. It comes replete with decades of Dremel solving highly perplexing problems in a tight, compact, affordable get-out-of-jam-free format.
Also–WEAR SAFETY GLASSES, ot better yet, a face shield. These ceramic bit spin at 35,000 rpm. A fleck comes off in the wrong direction, and …
Note: If you have one of those weird, cordless 6-inch “chainsaws” with no oil reservoir I am diving down to the bottom of my heart to say that NOT IF, WHEN that chain gets dull–and it’s not going to take long–you’ll soon find there is (a) nobody to sharpen for you and (b) new chains are expensive, time consuming, and costly. Comparatively, when the glitter wears off the missing pieces of this money-grab tool category you can at least bring your own chains back to life with near zero effort. The two sizes the bits come in match my chain gullets. There’s some luck there. Buy a few.
