The lithium version has none of these drawbacks. Because there's no cord it's more comfortable to hold (and much more convenient to use!), about the same weight as a corded model, and has plenty of RPMs and torque. Battery lifetimes are very good, and the "fuel gauge" seems to be reasonably accurate. (Exactly how long a charge will last depends greatly on what you're using it for--working on balsa wood uses a lot less power than, say, grinding metal.)

Battery charge times are quite short, about three hours to charge a completely empty battery. (But thanks to a "smart charger" it should only take a few minutes to charge it after a typical job.) An added bonus is that lithium batteries hold their charges practically forever, so there's no need to "trickle charge" them; just charge it back up after you're done with it and put it away, and it'll be ready to use the next time you need it.

The only nit I've found so far is the need to remove the battery to charge it. (This is probably for safety's sake.) It'd be slightly more convenient to just put the whole unit in the charger after use, but since it doesn't need charging that often this is really minor.

I'd consider this to be an entirely practical replacement for a corded Dremel. For everything I use my Dremel for (mostly small models plus the occasional home repair task) this one seems more than adequate. It's a sturdy unit that should last a long time.

My one concern about lifetime is how long the lithium battery will last; only time will tell.


This is a first look   April 15, 2004
J. Clarke
115 out of 119 found this review helpful

I've been using Dremels for a long time and always wanted a decent cordless. With the advent of decent cordless power tools (the first one that I had that was actually useful for something was an 18 volt DeWalt drill that went right through stuff my corded drills wouldn't touch, but that's another story) I've been waiting for Dremel to come out with a good cordless.

I've been hesitant about the earlier cordless Dremels but this one looks like "it".

So far it's done everything I've asked it to do but I haven't asked it to do much--I got it specifically to deal with a piece of acrylic that my cordless Rotozip melted instead of cutting--I figured the adjustable speed on the Dremel would take care of that and was right.

Just an aside about stalling--if you're stalling a Dremel then it's time to take a good hard look at a Rotozip, which, if you've never played with one, is kind of a Dremel on steroids--Dremel has an equivalent, the "Advantage", but only the one model and not cordless.

The lack of a provision to charge the battery with the tool attached is just carrying through the current practice with cordless tools--it's assumed that one will have two batteries, one on the tool and one on charge if this is an issue. There's space in the case for a second battery.

A "gotcha" to be aware of with the lithium ion batteries, always store them charged--if they self-discharge below a certain point a protective circuit kicks in and they disable themselves--this is a safety issue--trying to recharge a lithium ion battery that is discharged below a certain point can result in an explosion (I'm not talking about a little spill--exploding lithium batteries in emergency-locator transmitters have brought down light aircraft).

The bundled accessories are, near as I can figure it:

Aluminum oxide stone #932 and #8193
Silicon carbide stone #84922
Aluminum oxide abrasive wheel #541
2 rubber polishing wheels #425
3 Large felt polishing wheels #429
5 Small felt polishing wheels #414
1 cutter, looks like a #181
1 drill bit, #150
1 Mandrel #401 (for felt pads etc)
1 Mandrel #402 (for sanding disks, cutoff wheels etc)
Sanding cylinder mandrels 1/4" and 1/2"
4 80 grit 1/2" sanding cylinders
3 120 grit 1/2" sanding cylinders
4 80 grit 1/4" sanding cylinders
3 120 grit 1/4" sanding cylinders
11 sanding disks
17 cutoff wheels, 3 are thicker than the others, the others are in two containers of 10 and 4 but can't tell any difference between them.
1 wrench with screwdriver tip that fits screws on mandrels
1 case with a good deal of unused storage even after all the accessories are stored.


I love this Dremel !!!   April 22, 2004
Nicholas Cherney (Cincinnati, OH USA)
41 out of 41 found this review helpful

Mine is utilized for robotics projects--it finds a lot of uses with metal. I also bought the press accessory with it. This little accessory helps me make straight cuts and drill holes.

I'm telling you, I use this thing constantly and it works like a champ! It is powerful enough for me to cut all my brass and aluminum with the precision of that of a doctor. For as handy as this tool is--I'd pay twice as much to get one if need be. I've had mine for 5 months too.

One HUGE word of advice. WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES! I know this may sound lame, but it saved my @ss!!! When cutting some tubing, my disk exploded at full RPM's and the shrapnel hit me in the goggles. (Of course I had my fat head over top of it while I was cutting) Just be careful. The tool is A+, but the little thing could be dangerous if you slack on the safety.


Dremel Lithium Ion Rotary Tool-Model 800   November 11, 2003
Dremel Fan (Niles, Illinois United States)
40 out of 41 found this review helpful

Finally, a cordless rotary tool that holds it charge while being stored. Now I don't have to worry about charging my tool's batteries the night before I need it for a project. And the Lithium Ion batteries are environmentally safe--unlike Nickel Cadmium batteries.
This tool is surprisingly smooth, yet seems as powerful as my old standby corded Dremel Model 395. At 35,000 RPM it is the fastest cordless rotary tool I've seen on the market. I like the sleek, ergonomic design. Based upon my previous experience with Dremel tools, I expect this tool to be trouble free for a long time.


Great Tool   December 3, 2003
Joe and Anne Bryant (Greenwood, Indiana USA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I wish I'd bought one years ago. I've only had it for a month, and I've used it several times. I do wish, however, that I'd bought it at Sears. They sell it for $65.
Edit: When I reported the price at Sears to Amazon, Amazon matched Sears price, lowered their price from $75, and gave me a refund on the difference, accounting for the tax that I would have paid here in Indiana. i.e., Amazon stays up with and ahead of competition. I even got free delivery.