I will soon move to a bigger house with my family and will have more space for my 'shipyard'. Until now, I don't have any electric tools. Maybe I will upgrade my tools.

I (and possibly many other modelers) would like to know from the community whitch electric tools you find most useful and for what task in shipbuilding.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

I like my Proxxon DB250 lathe, it's pretty basic but it's fairly small and works great for when it comes time to make spars. I also have the proxxon disc sander and drill press, and while they don't get as much use as the lathe, they are still nice to have when needed.

The same for me, Proxxon for ever 😉

If you don't have the money for proxon, just get the best dremel you can with a good set of bits and a drill press for the dremel. I'm sure you will find a mix here for corded vs cordless. I happen to like the cordless. For bits, diamond / jewelry engraving sets are good, and a mini radial saw are worth adding. And don't forget the dremel mini chuck to go along with the ferules.

That will give a lot of versatility. Just don't get a cheap one or knockoff brand!

I would probably just square this edges by hand (I like using old exact blades like mini cabinet scrapers)

Without my Proxxon disc sander, I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of model making. A Dremel or Proxxon Micromot is also very handy. The rest is a luxury if you can afford it, such as a lathe, milling machine, table saw, and so on. Then you get closer scratchbuilding stuff, you don't really need those with building a kit unless you modify a lot. (maybe a lathe for the masts)

A small disk sander like Proxxon TG125 is by far the most used tool in my ”workshop”. It is the only power tool that is permanently on the table rather than hiding underneath, which proves its special status 😂

A rotary tool is usually very popular as well, followed by a table saw and a mill.

Thank you all for your replies!

I see, a Proxxon disc sander will probably move in my workshop in the near future. 😉

Has the Dremel Lite enough power for the tasks? I guess so, since wood shouldn't be a challenge.

Or how much does the cable annoy with the Proxxon micromot 60/ef?

Power is not the issue, the difference is vibration / precision / runout, as well as ergonomics (shape and weight distribution).

The regular Dremel is a pretty bad tool for our scale, I am very fond of Dremel Micro (my daily go-to tool, very good ergonomics and decent quality), but it is decommissioned and Dremel Lite looks much bulkier. See if you can find some second-hand Dremel Micro?

There are also new alternatives from DSPAIE and various aliexpress/amazon clones.

No first-hand experience with Proxxon though, but it's usually considered better than Dremel from the vibration / runout POV. Though some review complain about the stiff cable making being annoying and upsetting the tool balance.

Dremel Micro in the flesh, note the LED light in the working area - very useful, actually! But the key thing is ergonomics and weight, such a pleasure to use comparing to more bulky rotary tools.

Mine is 10 years old, but is still going strong. Though I always made sure to not store it with full or empty charge to keep the battery alive.

Rather asking everyone this question - and they will tell you what their pet-tool is, you should observe yourself: what kind of work do I do, what seem to be difficult tasks to do by hand and why, what materials am I working with, etc.

Then one has to distinguish between hand-held power tools and stationary ones.

• Hand-held power tools are particularly useful, when applying hand-tools cause more stress to the part, when you don't have the space for a sanding stick/file, when you want to remove more material in a shorter period of time, etc.

• Stationary power-tools, apart from being capable of removing a lot of material, reduce the number of degrees of freedom for movement compared to hand-held tools, meaning that it is easier to achieve straight corners, flat surfaces, perfectly cylindrical surfaces, etc.

Cost is certainly an important criterion. Per item, hand-held power tools are probably lest costly than stationary ones. Also remember, that for certain machines the insert-tools may cost as much as the machine itself. Of course, one needs to buy everything at once.

As to pet-tools: I bought a (by today's standards primitive) hand-held power-drill some 50 years ago and it is still in use. It's essentially an electric motor with a collet-adapter on the axle - the Chines have started to sell such thingies again. I ran it of an old transformer for my childhood electric railway. The keypoint are the collets, so much better, safer and smaller than drill-chucks. It also doesn't run too fast, thus gives better control on material removal. BTW: as you are in Europe, buying a Dremel may not be a good idea, as the collets and the tools they offer are imperial, while it is easier here to obtain metric bits, burrs, etc.

Some 40 years ago I invested into the PROXXON drill-press, which at that time was offered with a kit to convert it into a wood-lathe and a disk-sander. Back then neither machine was offered as a stand-alone machine. The drill-press suffered much abuse until I could afford other machines.

The next significant purchase was a (watchmaker) lathe. While with the hand-held drill and a file etc. one can go a long way, the lathe improved the quality by orders of magnitude. Plus, a lathe can also be set up for light milling duties.

I am always hesitating to recommend particular products or makes. Everyone has different expectations and modes of use.

The one small tool I have found very useful is a "Nail Drill" usually used for nail salons. I bought mine for $13 on Amazon it uses the power from a "brick" you use to charge your phone with. You can also buy cordless versions for about $25. They come with a sanding drum and replacement drums are cheap. It has a 3/32" shank so it will NOT take Dremel tools. However you can get drill and burrs that fit it. Id does not have as much torque as a Dremel but I find it has more than enough to do what I need it to do. It is the only power tool (besides my proxxon disk sander) that I have on my bench and I use it all the time. IT is not bulky, fits well in your hand and is a joy to use,

Rob

https://www.amazon.com/COSLUS-Electric-Nail-Drill-Professional/dp/B0DBKQVJHB/ref=sr_1_6_pp?crid=2K44MRWXVMEN9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2Mp821Os1VhxLeMMZolmqOIKDFYlGzsuH_hfr09wqsQ_HMzwZeaMgu8c3V0I8Z9wIsEQEPvRXeSkEbPQ9iO9OFUOusBnL8PUbUCnWsxCP92hTk76C1cWbNr2qOiIlCQyb9aHg4I9hH7OCqxfH99fk60TZcXyu8NnTppxZYE4-zb3CFxGbvb-aX30BpN8gSrfv3MnkkNL1J5waKHd41B8mf8__3Q92Mf8mycufg2nTnysltLbeku5WB0BapMB0d0iJALWf5zPvQTsIfThW6u22CJVBTeephQFZTWMroecjg8.OZATeSOw6DEEq3jyvSakMcSyLUauwPoFVbSsaleJDA4&dib_tag=se&keywords=nail%2Bdrill&qid=1788314325&sprefix=nail%2Bdrill%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-6&th=1

I have one of these as well and use it pretty often. It was a good purchase.

I am fortunate to have Byrnes saw, disc sander, and thickness sander. Sadly those are no longer available other than overpriced used models on eBay. Proxxon makes a reasonable good alternative saw and sander. I also have a Proxxon lathe and mill. Frankly I don’t know how I got buy with out any these now 🤣. That said that while the saw was long ago my first purchase the tool I use most often by far is the sander. The others have their purpose but not nearly the frequency of the disc sander, I’d start there.

I have, but am not a fan of the Dremel, just overkill and hard to handle for detail work. I also have Proxxon rotary and vibration hand held sanders I like much better, probably more in line with the Drexel micro model, which I haven’t tried.

Basically I haven’t met a tool I didn’t like.