Rip Rotozip

[macten]

Well after 8 years of hammer my Rotozip died in spectacular fashion today in a shower of sparks and 150 mph projectile bearings.
Thank god I was outside or I reckon the bath I'd just put in would have been peppered with holes.
Got myself a shiny new Bosch one on it's way and I'm quite excited - not bought any power tools in ages.

 

[Old Mod]

Bosch one???
What's that then Nick?

 

[macten]

 

[p4ulo]

Oooh, that looks nice. Do us a review when you start using it please, I can see a place for that in my tool-kit.
How much?

 

[Old Mod]

U'd better be quick then @p4ulo,
It's discontinued, anything from £100-£300

bosch gtr 30 ce - Google Search

 

[macten]

Got mine for £120.
I've used my rotozip on almost every job and I wouldn't want to be without it and from what I can tell this will be better.

Slightly more power than my Rotozip
This has variable speed and my rotozip didn't
This also has a soft start - the rotozip could twist your wrist on start up
I normally only use this bit:

but I shall try out the dry core bits too.

 

[Old Mod]

Does urs come with any accessories Nick?
Like dust extraction hose?
If so where D'u get urs from, if u don't mind mate?

 

[Italy]

sorry @macten .
but have strongly opposed.
measures cutters too limited
small holes ok, but large holes .......

 

[Italy]

sorry @macten .
but have strongly opposed.
measures cutters too limited
small holes ok, but large holes .......

I had considered a few years ago, but here in Italy the smaller holes for water have 35mm !!!

 

[macten]

Sitebox Online Home Page

Comes with a few bits - I have all the accessories for my Rotozip but only used them a couple of times - too much hassle lol
I'm going to stock up on enough diamond router bits to last the lifetime of the new tool for fear of them being hard to track down in the future.
I'm on a bathroom refit at the moment and used my rotozip for cutting 120mm diameter circle for extractor - that's when it detonated.
Hopefully new on comes early next week because I've got about 50 holes to drill into porcs and loads of cut outs at the back of toilet/basin units and that's when you don't want to be without it.

 

[macten]

sorry @macten .
but have strongly opposed.
measures cutters too limited
small holes ok, but large holes .......

Sorry Antonio - not understanding your post.
You can make any size hole using the router bit

 

[Italy]

Sitebox Online Home Page

Comes with a few bits - I have all the accessories for my Rotozip but only used them a couple of times - too much hassle lol
I'm going to stock up on enough diamond router bits to last the lifetime of the new tool for fear of them being hard to track down in the future.
I'm on a bathroom refit at the moment and used my rotozip for cutting 120mm diameter circle for extractor - that's when it detonated.
Hopefully new on comes early next week because I've got about 50 holes to drill into porcs and loads of cut outs at the back of toilet/basin units and that's when you don't want to be without it.

120mm of porcelain?
only small cutter from photos?

 

[macten]

Using this bit you can mill out any size and shape you want.

 

[Italy]

Sorry Antonio - not understanding your post.
You can make any size hole using the router bit

ok @macten ,
succeed in making porcelain hole on 10mm thick, 120mm wide?
if I say YES, consider Bosch immediately !!!
thank you

 

[Italy]

View attachment 78734

Using this bit you can mill out any size and shape you want.

even porcelain thickness 10mm?

 

[Qwerty]

Does it not overheat with that bit? I can see lack of dust extraction and heat build up being an issue?

 

[macten]

ok @macten ,
succeed in making porcelain hole on 10mm thick, 120mm wide?
if I say YES, consider Bosch immediately !!!
thank you

Did exactly that yesterday.
Obviously flies through ceramic and It does takes longer with thick hard porcs but once you figure out the right technique it's not too bad. If I can piano cut the bigger holes I'd always do that for speed but when it's in the middle of the tile I find it the best option (I don't want to spend a fortune on a huge 120mm wet core bit). No issues with heat build up using the milling bit but the 6 and 8 mm core drills can benefit from intermittent dipping in water apparently (not used them before).
I usually cut outside but dust isn't too bad - and it has an attachment to whack a vacuum hose on if you're indoors.
Best thing is all the other things you end up using it for. It's a bit like my Fein, got it to undercut door architrave but use it for so much more.

 

[Italy]

Did exactly that yesterday.
Obviously flies through ceramic and It does takes longer with thick hard porcs but once you figure out the right technique it's not too bad. If I can piano cut the bigger holes I'd always do that for speed but when it's in the middle of the tile I find it the best option (I don't want to spend a fortune on a huge 120mm wet core bit). No issues with heat build up using the milling bit but the 6 and 8 mm core drills can benefit from intermittent dipping in water apparently (not used them before).
I usually cut outside but dust isn't too bad - and it has an attachment to whack a vacuum hose on if you're indoors.
Best thing is all the other things you end up using it for. It's a bit like my Fein, got it to undercut door architrave but use it for so much more.

ok understood, thank you for the information ,very helpful

 

[Two-Trowels]

I had to make some holes in the centre of some tiles once and simply could not find my ATS stuff in the war zone that was the back of my van at the time, but I did have a 4'' grinder and in the box was a mortar raking tool I had recently used to do some repointing - I thought I would give it a try and it worked brilliantly, only ceramics though.

 

[macten]

For Gods sake my Fein's bust now!
Both tools on the same job. Always happens on the run up to xmas

 

[On one]

By Christ,you're hard on you're tools
What were using the Fein as.....a hammer!

 

[macten]

Was only cutting through tongue and groove to get a bit of chip board floor up and the body started to get really hot and lost some power. Left it outside for a while to cool down but it just overheats as soon as you turn it on

 

[Old Mod]

Was only cutting through tongue and groove to get a bit of chip board floor up and the body started to get really hot and lost some power. Left it outside for a while to cool down but it just overheats as soon as you turn it on

Wouldn't be just the brushes would it Nick?

 

[Saltire69]

Try the dewalt instead of the fein. my plumbers got one and pretty good. Once my fein gives up the ghost gonna get the dewalt one. Less than half the price as well.

 

[macten]

I'm guessing it's the brushes just don't know if the heat did any extra damage - it was burning my hand and it wasn't smelling too great but you know what it's like - 'just 20 more seconds, c'mon you can do it' - I really needed that bit of floor out to get to some rad pipes.
Took it to a power tool fixer who lives local to me - he's even looking at the Rotozip, he's changed the bearings and I dropped off the nut, collet and a bit for him tonight to check if it's done the trick, apparently there's some thread damage but sounds promising.

 

[macten]

So the Rotozip will be all fixed and ready on Monday. The Fein isn't worth fixing.
Looked at the other multitools out there and did some research. I know how hard I was on my old Fein 250Q and the next one will have to stand up to the same abuse so went for the newer Fein 350Q. It might be a bit more expensive but I've saved a bit with the Rotozip repair and from all the professional reviews, comparisons and tech data it does seem to be the best multi tool available.

Now I need a new combi drill and SDS! I would have liked to treat myself by adding an impact driver, an angled impact driver and a reciprocating saw to my arsenal but looks like they'll have to wait now.

 

[Dhtiling]

Just purchased a rotozip today. Should be a handy little tool.

 

[macten]

Gave it a test run and am very happy with the new Fein 350Q
A little bigger than the old one but feels same weight. Soft start and much less vibration. Much quieter too but makes the same racket when your cutting. Using a cheapo shark blade with some wear and it flew through some timber with no smoking - reckon the extra 100w is worth it. Got to wait till Monday now to really put it to the test.

 

[macten]

Got the Rotozip back and it's running sweet again.

The bearing that went is in red and the subsequent damage from using it at 30 000 rpm with the business end misaligned is highlighted in yellow. If any other owners notice a slight change in speed and/or noise my advice would be to stop using it immediately as repair for the bearing would only be about £30. Probably only a tenner if you did it yourself.
As it was I needed all the above which is basically all there is to a rotozip -that and a switch.
Parts are still available from Skil.

 

[White Room]

Gave it a test run and am very happy with the new Fein 350Q
A little bigger than the old one but feels same weight. Soft start and much less vibration. Much quieter too but makes the same racket when your cutting. Using a cheapo shark blade with some wear and it flew through some timber with no smoking - reckon the extra 100w is worth it. Got to wait till Monday now to really put it to the test.
View attachment 79310

Found the vibration on the older model is too much for long usage.