Customer Reviews

Dremel 6000-01 Contour Sander Kit

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased the Dremel contour sander at a local hardware store about 3 weeks ago, when working on a piece with a lot of curves that I had to sand. It did the job, but it lacked power and did it rather slowly, while sounding as though it could fall apart at any moment. I think it would have been better with a more powerful motor and more strokes per minute -- I really saw this on flat surfaces where I used the diamond-shaped H&L pad to get into the corners and switched to my PC 1/4 sheet palm sander for the larger flat areas. Where the Dremel would want to hold the pad still and vibrate me instead, the PC palm sander just purred along.

The crowning disappointment was when the Dremel totally and completely died in my third week of ownership while detail sanding a set of Plantation shutters. When I took it back to the store, the hardware guy refunded it without any argument. He said that he wasn't surprised at its failure, saying the Dremel sander is "less like a tool and more like a toy, good for people doing a few craft projects, but not for real work." He was right. The Dremel 6000 just didn't hold up under even moderate usage. If you're doing an occasional craft project, the Dremel contour sander may be just the ticket. If you're looking for a contour sanding TOOL, then keep looking.

I'm in the process of trying to finish a long-term project -- an eight foot totem pole and have had a hard time finding something to sand down the more intricit designs. I've only had this tool for one day and already it has saved me hours of hand sanding and bleeding thumbs. The only suggestion I have that would make this tool better would be to vary the sizes of the attachments. You can cut them to fit the area you're working but if you make them too small, the tool has a hard time gripping them. If they came in say 1/4", 1/2" 3/4" and so on with the strip across the top to fit the tool, it would solve the problem. I'm still pleased with this tool overall, but this is an early review.

We own 6 different electric sanders, ranging from big belt sanders to this little guy. Each is particularly suited for its own task. This one works great sanding down trim and door casings. The nice thing about it is that it will not scuff up the wall or the trim when the head comes in contact with it. We used it and a mouse sander to do the same job. The mouse sander was far more powerful, but it would scuff the heck out of the wall. This Dremel was slower but it was far better able to get into the nooks on the trim. Overall it is a good detail sander and will work well for the small jobs. Do not expect it to take on huge projects. Ours came with a plastic dust collector which had a broken plastic piece right out of the box.

The next project this little guy will be used on is some rocking chairs that have been waiting for a year to be sanded down. This will be the perfect tool to sand the spindles.

The item works great, but it emits a loud, higher pitched sound than any other sander or small power tools. Be prepared with ear protection.

I'll save you from the painful story on why I needed a tool like this.

I searched this forum and was looking at the PC 944VS. It got pretty poor ratings. The Dremel 6000 looked like a good choice based on the reviews and the price was hard to argue with. I'll admit I've only used it on a single project so far but I am very impressed.

I cut some 2½" cherry brackets on the bandsaw. The design had a concave arch and some inside corners that would have required hours by hand to sand any other way. I used the Dremel to finish these details, going from the rough saw cut to a glass smooth finish. It did take a little time, but progress was consistent through all of the grades of sand paper .

Though the motion of the pad seems linear, I did get swirl marks when pressed down too hard. "Let the tool do the work", as they say is the answer with this little number.

Overall I am very happy with this purchase.

The only negative notes are:

Lack of readily available sanding tubes or pads. For some reason Lowes only carries the 80 & 120 grit versions of each. Amazon only carries the assortment pack.

It seems pretty loud for the size and the amount of work it's doing.

Because I hate sanding, I love the Dremel contour sander! It makes quick work of sanding all those little hard to get at spaces on spindles and molding. My three year old Dremel sander has received much abuse from remodeling my 103 year old house. But with more rooms to go, I got another Dremel contour sander tool because Amazon had an awesome price and immediate delivery.

This tool belongs in the hands of every woodworker who can't afford to spend all their time sanding by hand. Contour shapes fit into nearly every groove and around every corner. Pick up the extra contour shapes available at this site and with this tool alone, you can do most of those awkward routed areas. And it's tough enough for bigger jobs, too. Of course, I'm not talking about heavy construction work. This is a detail-type sander meant for detail work. But, for what it is designed for, it does the job nicely. This is a "must-have".

Got a 6000 for my wife for furniture refinishing projects. It appears to have been designed specifically for contour/spindle work, she loves it, and there have been no problems with it whatsoever. However she doesn't use the large flat-surface pad piece because she also has a B&D Mouse; it's possible that using the large pad stresses the tool.
For what it's worth, the P-C 9444 appears (no experience, just handled) to be the exact opposite of the Dremel 6000, i.e., designed specifically for lots of large flat detailed areas like kitchen cabinet doors; it seems too large, heavy, and awkward for contour work.

I was a bit disappointed in the power of this sander. You will not be able to use this for heavy material removal or shaping (so don't bother getting the coarse grit pads). On the other hand, for detail work involving light material removal it works fine. It was a good idea for a sander, but wait until a better version comes out.

All I will say is if you are not satisfied with the Dremel contour sander try the Porter Cable contour sander.
You will come running back to the Dremel!
Yes the Dremel is a little underpowered. The brushes are very easy to change though and the tool is very light.
As long as you are not expecting the sander to take raw stock to a polished finish you'll be satisfied.
Taking router rip from a cove molding or smoothing out a set of chair spindles is this sander's prime use.
Believe me there are worse choices!