Product Review: Dremel 8200 12V Max Lithium-ion Cordless Rotary Tool

The Dremel 8200 takes your hand held multipurpose rotary tool cordless using a lithium-ion battery that allows freedom from constraining cords along with the more common quality features of the Dremel line of rotary tools.

Ease of Use/Performance: 23/25
Convenience/Storage 24/25
Appearance/Design 23/25
How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 93/100

To give an idea of what it is like to be the best in your industry look no further than the rotary tool, Dremel is the word used for this tool much more than rotary tool. When your company name is used to describe a tool in general things could not be better from a marketing standpoint.

Dremel is a definite leader in the rotary tool industry and their quality is legendary and their rotary tools continue to excel for homeowners, do it yourselfers and hobbyists. The rotary tool from Dremel has continued to evolve as the company improves and tweaks features and addresses customer complaints with the newest tool a definite step up.

The Dremel 8200 rotary tool uses a removable lithium-ion battery to take the rotary hand tool to new heights of usefulness along with the more common quality features that Dremel brings to its tools. Dremel has recently been using a removable Lithium-ion battery for several tools and has brought this battery technology to its rotary tools.

The Dremel 8200 comes in a couple of different kits with various bits and accessories just like the numerous other rotary tools and other Dremel tools do. The Dremel 8200 comes in two kits with both including an assortment of bits and the multipurpose cutting kit but the main difference between kits being the inclusion of a right angle adapter.

The Dremel 8200 uses the newest Lithium-ion battery that a couple of other tools use from Dremel, the 12V Max Lithium-ion batteries. The batteries are a unique triangle shape and use a one hour charger for minimum down time between charges and both kits comes with the battery charges.

The kit with the right angle adapter comes with two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries while the less expensive kit comes with one battery. Both kits have a 28 bit assortment along with the plastic carry case to hold the tool and all the included accessories and charger.

The 8200 rotary tool itself is a common sized rotary tool that uses the mandrel common to all Dremel rotary tools and the bits and accessories as well. The main difference with this tool is the Lithium-ion battery that plugs into the back end of the tool near the speed slide switch.

The tool at the back also has a hanging clip to be used when you use the available Flex Shaft and has the push button stop along with the slide power switch that sits toward the front of the tool. The Dremel 8200 is adjustable from 5,000 to 30,000 RPM's and can be used for cutting, sanding, grinding, drilling and a wide array of other work and hobby uses.

The bit assortment included makes a good standard set of bits and more can be purchased for just about any use you can imagine for any rotary tool. The Dremel 8200 kits have a good range of uses right from the kit for homeowners working on projects and hobbyists building crafts and models.

I have recently been using the 8200 for drilling while helping teach 4-H classes building trebuchet's and catapults which came in very handy with its cordless feature. The kids could easily use the drill at their own work area and not have to worry about cords tethering them to a specific site.

The rotary tool without a cord gives the user freedom to work where they need to and without the hassle of a cord to potentially get in your way. The cordless feature could mean that power is a possible problem but the 12 volt lithium batteries work well enough that power is not a problem.

I have used the Dremel for simple work like drilling nail holes through pine wood for those trebuchet's and other work like drilling holes in glass, lots of holes. Just before getting the 8200 kit I received a couple of Dremel glass drilling bits and used them at the same time as the 8200.

I did find that the Dremel drilling bits worked better than glass drill bits I have used in the past, I have used both tile cutting bits and glass drill bits that use a flat carbide tip in a round shaft or a grit impregnated tip. The Dremel glass drilling bits use a hole saw type bit that is impregnated with diamond grit to cut and drill through glass, tile and other fragile material.

The Dremel Glass Drilling Bits work just like those wood hole saws that have the round blade with teeth but the Dremel bits use diamond grit to cut even giving a round plug of glass when done. The Dremel Glass Drill bits were also a bit faster than the same sized bits for glass that have the customary flat blade embedded on a shaft.

The Dremel 8200 worked very well in my glass drill bit experimenting to compare a common glass bit with the diamond impregnated bit from Dremel. I had no problems with either battery life or power of the drill during the glass drilling or other uses I have put the new Dremel tool through.

I have been very impressed with the Max 12V batteries that Dremel has come up with for their cordless tools and the 8200 rotary tool as well. The batteries have enough power to use around the home for tough jobs like drilling into plaster and lathe walls and my other home improvement projects.

The Dremel Glass Drill Bits are also an impressive addition to the Dremel line and work better than drill bits but they only come in smaller sizes. The glass bits come in 1/4 and 1/8 inch sizes for a common use in glass drilling and can be used for glass, tile and other fragile materials like rock and ceramic.

The Dremel Glass Drilling Bits come with a small bottle of cutting fluid and costs about $15 to $20 which may seem like a lot but the bits do last a lot longer than the more common glass drill bits. The diamond impregnated bit will last longer as the bit grinds the glass instead of using the steel or carbide tip to cut the glass and dull the bit.

The Dremel 8200 also works very well and costs $100 and $130 depending on the kit you want and are a great new cordless rotary tool. I highly recommend the Dremel Cordless Rotary tool and for those unique glass and tile crafts or work the Dremel Glass Drilling Bits work great.