Canadian tire "Spin saw"
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 62
Canadian tire "Spin saw"
I live in Canada and at Canadian Tire they sell something called a "spin saw kit". It's actually a great-looking combo, it is a spinning motor that has 1/8" and 1/4" collets so it can use cutting bits for wood or drywall, as well as a vast array of 1/4" router bits [widely available as you know]. There is a plunge router attachment that allows for the "safe" use of these router bits. It also has a circle-cutting attachment, a free-hand cutting handle, and a snake-like extension wand that allows the motor to power a smaller tip that houses dremel-like bits, excxellent for grinding, sanding, cutting, and other dremel-type duties. The kit retails for cdn$149 but is most often on sale for $99.
Well, I bought one fo these about a year and a half ago and as you can imagine it does a ****-poor job on just about all fronts. The circle cutting is a joke, based on the fact that the mounting collar tends to flex and the pivot can move out of its adjusted point when strained or jolted. I have cut more MDF rings and speaker holes than you can shake a stick at and not one of them is round [though most are liveable].
The plunger router is rediculous; Based on the plastic parts and half-assed setting arrangements you really only can set it to a fixed depth [no "plunging"] and go from there [with only a modest aim of trueness from left to right, and levelness].
The dremel attachment is OK for what it is but the heavy snake-like shaft [which houses a cable spinning 30,000 rpm, by the way] is cumbersome in that it forces your hand against pointing the tool in certain directions. Also, there are substantial warnings in the manual against bending it into less than 6" radius - which would seem easy to do, inadvertently, if you are intensely involved in what you are dremelling and paying less attention to what is happenning at the other end of the cable.
Finally, FYI I have burned out two of these devices. I learned quickly that this could not cut directly through MDF [in fact, I don't think anything other than a saw can]. That's OK, I would take several passes about 3/16 of an inch deep each time. Well, after several runs of this cutting a few MDF rings I could not remove my 1/4" cutting bit from the collar. I guess they had fused together under heat [even though I was using the bit in its recommended <24000 rpm range].
Under warranty, I traded up to the "spin saw maximum", a very similar but heavy-duty version of the same device. It also came with 5-year over-the-counter warranty vs. the 3yr of the previous device. This version came with all the above plus a large grinding-wheel attachment, and some other apparatus', none of which I bothered to use. I got the plunge router going with a 1/4" flush-trim bit to clean up the rough edges left by some jigsaw cuts. After doing 2-sides each of 3 relatively small pieces of MDF, the unit would not turn on anymore. Lights come on but no action. I removed my router bit this time without a problem, but even after letting the unit cool down for a long time it still does not power up. Perhaps it is an internal, self-resetting switch but I don't give a s***. I need a power tool, not an over-glorified ****tail blender. The saving grace is that Canadian Tire doesn't usually give hassles on this sort of thing [I hope].
Of course, you get what you pay for. I just regret that I will have to shell out $$$$ for power tools that I truly may never use enough to justify. Can't have everything...
Anyways, considering the spin saw this christmas for MDF work? Think again. Know better? Please see my post asking for advice on router tools etc.
I live in Canada and at Canadian Tire they sell something called a "spin saw kit". It's actually a great-looking combo, it is a spinning motor that has 1/8" and 1/4" collets so it can use cutting bits for wood or drywall, as well as a vast array of 1/4" router bits [widely available as you know]. There is a plunge router attachment that allows for the "safe" use of these router bits. It also has a circle-cutting attachment, a free-hand cutting handle, and a snake-like extension wand that allows the motor to power a smaller tip that houses dremel-like bits, excxellent for grinding, sanding, cutting, and other dremel-type duties. The kit retails for cdn$149 but is most often on sale for $99.
Well, I bought one fo these about a year and a half ago and as you can imagine it does a ****-poor job on just about all fronts. The circle cutting is a joke, based on the fact that the mounting collar tends to flex and the pivot can move out of its adjusted point when strained or jolted. I have cut more MDF rings and speaker holes than you can shake a stick at and not one of them is round [though most are liveable].
The plunger router is rediculous; Based on the plastic parts and half-assed setting arrangements you really only can set it to a fixed depth [no "plunging"] and go from there [with only a modest aim of trueness from left to right, and levelness].
The dremel attachment is OK for what it is but the heavy snake-like shaft [which houses a cable spinning 30,000 rpm, by the way] is cumbersome in that it forces your hand against pointing the tool in certain directions. Also, there are substantial warnings in the manual against bending it into less than 6" radius - which would seem easy to do, inadvertently, if you are intensely involved in what you are dremelling and paying less attention to what is happenning at the other end of the cable.
Finally, FYI I have burned out two of these devices. I learned quickly that this could not cut directly through MDF [in fact, I don't think anything other than a saw can]. That's OK, I would take several passes about 3/16 of an inch deep each time. Well, after several runs of this cutting a few MDF rings I could not remove my 1/4" cutting bit from the collar. I guess they had fused together under heat [even though I was using the bit in its recommended <24000 rpm range].
Under warranty, I traded up to the "spin saw maximum", a very similar but heavy-duty version of the same device. It also came with 5-year over-the-counter warranty vs. the 3yr of the previous device. This version came with all the above plus a large grinding-wheel attachment, and some other apparatus', none of which I bothered to use. I got the plunge router going with a 1/4" flush-trim bit to clean up the rough edges left by some jigsaw cuts. After doing 2-sides each of 3 relatively small pieces of MDF, the unit would not turn on anymore. Lights come on but no action. I removed my router bit this time without a problem, but even after letting the unit cool down for a long time it still does not power up. Perhaps it is an internal, self-resetting switch but I don't give a s***. I need a power tool, not an over-glorified ****tail blender. The saving grace is that Canadian Tire doesn't usually give hassles on this sort of thing [I hope].
Of course, you get what you pay for. I just regret that I will have to shell out $$$$ for power tools that I truly may never use enough to justify. Can't have everything...
Anyways, considering the spin saw this christmas for MDF work? Think again. Know better? Please see my post asking for advice on router tools etc.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Yeah, the problem as you have found is that a rotary tool makes a poor substitute for a router.
Need a router? CanTire has a nice little plunge on sale for $69 starting today. I've had a look at it and it is going to find it's way into my garage along with my other two routers.
Need a router? CanTire has a nice little plunge on sale for $69 starting today. I've had a look at it and it is going to find it's way into my garage along with my other two routers.
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 62
I agree that multiple routers are an asset. Still, I am starting with a Porter Cable 895pk and PC aluminum router table. BTW Why does everything get underlined while I type a post, have others had this experience? Annoying
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 924
personally i didnt have much problem with my spinsaw dealy for 3/4" mdf the circle jig does suck, the grinder dealy was great for sanding edges smooth, the hand tool dealy was great for cutting fibreglass
im not overly impressed with it, but i havent tossed it at a wall yet either...
im not overly impressed with it, but i havent tossed it at a wall yet either...
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