Micromotor as pendant drill?

[Niamh]

Hi everyone,
I really want to start learning to flush set diamonds, but i only have a flex shaft on a dremel 4000 it has varying speeds but i cant control the speed with a foot pedal which i think would be very handy. I cant afford a pendant motor sadly but i saw micromotor marathon drills and thought they looked like they might do the same job? can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thankyou

[china]

Yes you can use a micromotor to cut seats and many other operations some only have a micromotor, they are not powerful as a pendant, I would be surprised if it would be a lot cheaper.

[CJ57]

I would think the Marathon micromotors may be cheaper. I have a foredom and it was so much more expensive than the pendant

[Niamh]

I would think the Marathon micromotors may be cheaper. I have a foredom and it was so much more expensive than the pendant

Thank you both,
I dont know if its a good deal but i managed to buy a second hand SECO pendant motor hardly used with a fingertip controller for £125. Im hoping its worth the extra £70-80

[CJ57]

The foot control is more sensitive as you can tegulate it as you go without having to take a hand away to change the speed n a dial.if you can work a sewing machine a foot control is no bother

[ps_bond]

Fine control of the speeds is essential - *any* foot pedal is an improvement. The SECO sounds a good buy.

I use my micromotors for drilling, cutting seats, polishing... TBH, the pendant motor rarely gets used now.

[Ankolosova]

I want to jump in discussion if I may. I have Dremel 3500 and at some times it does make me feel scared for my life... Although I always try to protect my eyes etc.. it's too powerful at low speeds... I was thinking if I can go for something with better controls over speed? would micro-motor would be better solution? so after studying options I found recently this one
https://www.dentalplaza.co.uk/Marath...SABEgLXK_D_BwE
so you think would be decent replacement? would I be able to use my Dremel burrs? looking at swap from Dremel to micro-moter it for months now... still not sure if ready to buy and spend too much

[ps_bond]

Apart from a generally lower torque (more expensive models tend to have more) the one issue to watch out for is that micromotors can usually only accept 1 size. Most jewellery-related rotary tools use a 3/32" (2.35mm) shank, so that'll preclude the easy use of 1/8" shanks, standard drill bits and the like. Looking at the spec it seems not bad, but the site itself makes me twitch - the language is off, they've stolen the image from here for "who we are", the company address is shown in London, there's a 2nd London address listed as the office (but they don't take returns) and the real address is in China. None of that would encourage me to buy from them.

[Ankolosova]

but the site itself makes me twitch - the language is off, they've stolen the image from here for "who we are", the company address is shown in London, there's a 2nd London address listed as the office (but they don't take returns) and the real address is in China. None of that would encourage me to buy from them.

oh I would never look at such details... good I have asked ... will definitely stay away now from that option.. although I do believe all tools are done in china now on the same factory...
anyhow....
so still for my future consideration, when I finally decide to switch from Dremel to Micromotor, am I right to understand that Micromotor will give me better control over speed and stop/start rather then Pendant motor or Dremel or similar tools. If I go for any micromotor I have to either sacrifice my different sizes of burrs and find replacements for micromotor diameter or it does depend on models what shank size they use? My only issue is Dremel is too poweful... really want to find something where I can have access to quick control.... if I would be working at lower speeds rather then 3000rpm would I be able to achieve good results ( I maindly sand/polish /remove extra metal and drill)

[ps_bond]

although I do believe all tools are done in china now on the same factory...

Absolutely not the case. There are plenty of manufacturers who do not use Chinese factories to manufacture, yet still get copied.

so still for my future consideration, when I finally decide to switch from Dremel to Micromotor, am I right to understand that Micromotor will give me better control over speed and stop/start rather then Pendant motor or Dremel or similar tools. If I go for any micromotor I have to either sacrifice my different sizes of burrs and find replacements for micromotor diameter or it does depend on models what shank size they use? My only issue is Dremel is too poweful... really want to find something where I can have access to quick control.... if I would be working at lower speeds rather then 3000rpm would I be able to achieve good results ( I maindly sand/polish /remove extra metal and drill)

I use my micromotors almost exclusively now for setting, grinding, polishing, drilling. The fine control you get you cannot achieve with a hand-held Dremel, the units are easier to handle (smaller & lighter) and you can slow-start with practice. I'd suggest having a look & see which attachments you have that aren't 2.35mm and work out a) if you can do without them, b) if you can find an alternative or c) you can use the Dremel on just those attachments. Drill bits are the biggest issue - you really need to use shanked bits with a micromotor; there are small chucks available, but I don't find them terribly good.