Dremel Plunge Router Review

By Ben Everard. Posted about 5 years ago.

There are quite a few different types of router, but they all do the same basic job – spin a bit that’s designed to cut sideways (rather than downwards, as drills do).

Plunge routers, as the name suggests, allow you to plunge the bit downwards and start a cut in the middle of a piece of wood (other routers require you to come in from the side). Using this edge, you can carve out grooves, or hollow out whole areas in wood and some plastics.

This isn’t a product in its own right, but an adaptor for Dremel rotary tools to convert them into plunge routers. It should work with most official Dremels, and many rotary tools from other brands.

It comes as a set of parts, but it’s easy to slot together. You should be able to unscrew the end of your rotary tool, and this screws into the router body to make your router. It contains all the basic bits you need for routing – in our test setup, we had a Dremel 3000 with a chuck (though a collet will work equally well).

There are all the features you’d expect of a plunge router: two solid handles enable you to push the bit down into wood, an end-stop lets you limit the depth, and a fence to enable you to cut a groove parallel to an edge.

If you’d prefer a different routing setup, Dremel also sells a table router, a line and circle cutter, and a ‘multipurpose cutter’. If you’re of a more automatic bent, some people have created CNC jigs for rotary tools – there are some quite impressive looking builds like this, but we’re yet to get one in our test lab.

ON TEST

We’ve been using this tool for a few months now, and have put it through the test on a few builds, including on the ‘word clock’ from issue 20. It’s done its job in each build. Bits have been spun, wood has been carved, and objects have been created. On that very basic level, it's worked, but we do have a couple of fairly serious reservations about this tool.

By far and away the biggest limitation of the Dremel router is the chuck/collet size – it’s far smaller than those on regular routers. The Dremel router needs bits with a 3 mm shaft, while the standard is 6 mm.

The result is that there are far fewer bits available for Dremel routers. The official bit set of seven bits sells for £29, and there’s also a common ten-piece set that sells under a range of off-brand names that expands on it slightly and contains:

• Slot cutter diameter 3.2mm
• Slot cutter diameter 5.0mm
• Slot cutter diameter 6.5mm
• Rounding over cutter diameter 6.4mm
• V-Slot cutter diameter 6.5mm
• Combi cutter 6.5 / 2.5mm
• Core box bit 3.2mm radius
• Rebating cutter 6.4mm
• Edge cutter with pin diameter 5.0mm
• Half-round cutter diameter 13mm

As far as we’ve been able to tell, these are the only bits available with a 3 mm shaft. If you don’t see all the bits you’ll need here, then it’s probably not the router for you.

The other thing we’re not keen on is how unsubstantial it is. Plunge routers typically have a bit of heft to them, and this can make them a bit easier to control. The plastic-with-metal-rods construction is, at best, OK. It’s not really flimsy, but there’s a little more bend to it than we’d like. All the adjusters are
a bit more sticky and jumpy than we’d like. All this means that you have to take a bit more care than usual to get your cuts in the right place.

We had hoped that this router would save some workshop space, but unfortunately, it doesn’t pack up particularly small – perhaps a little smaller than a regular router, but not much.

There’s certainly a case for this router. It’s cheaper than even the cheapest plunge routers by 30–50% (if you’ve already got a compatible rotary tool). If you want a battery-powered setup, then the cost saving is even more.

There’s an environmental win by not bringing another electric motor and associated control electronics into the world if you don’t need to. It’s certainly capable of some reasonable routing, and if all you need is carving some grooves using the fence as a guide, then it’s worth considering.

However, it’s no substitute for a proper plunge router. If you need the full range of bits, or if you’re going to be using it regularly, a purpose-designed tool will do the job better and easier.