Un-Wow’d by a Wow Stick

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fair warning here
Saw this on FB Kickstarter advert



Figured it would be excellent for modelling
What a POS


Pulled the guts out taking the chord off the first USB charge and now the switch doesn’t function when I reconnect everything

I could go on about its shiteitude

[Twokidsnosleep]

Had to look back at the Kickstarter info for info on this thing

I paid $53 CAD for it
It has a plastic chuck that only accepts the shaft diameter of those drills in the photo.
All threads in the chuck are in plastic
The chuck is too small for the circuit board drills many of us use in modelling
The motor has one speed and seemed not much torque, but I didn't get a proper test in
I swear mine ran counterclockwise which backs normal drills out rather than lets them drill in.
I didn't get to test anything as it broke right after the charge up taking out the USB plug
The aluminum case is super nice and the on off button was in a good position ergonomically

It broke open with very little effort or force and seems to have torn out the guts of wiring damaging the switch circuitry
Hard to repair as it is jammed up into the aluminum tube with no screws or release mechanism

[DBMiller]

Wow! Are you going to try to get back your money?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow! Are you going to try to get back your money?

Not sure actually, still in shock it came apart in my hands last night
A bit embarrassed by the entire thing . Talk about a spontaneous FB purchase
But it looked really perfect for modelling, just not executed to its full potential
ie they cheaped out

I sent a message describing my problem. Will be surprise to see them respond

[ForbesHutton]

Had to look back at the Kickstarter info for info on this thing

I paid $53 CAD for it
It has a plastic chuck that only accepts the shaft diameter of those drills in the photo.
All threads in the chuck are in plastic
The chuck is too small for the circuit board drills many of us use in modelling
The motor has one speed and seemed not much torque, but I didn't get a proper test in
I swear mine ran counterclockwise which backs normal drills out rather than lets them drill in.
I didn't get to test anything as it broke right after the charge up taking out the USB plug
The aluminum case is super nice and the on off button was in a good position ergonomically

It broke open with very little effort or force and seems to have torn out the guts of wiring damaging the switch circuitry
Hard to repair as it is jammed up into the aluminum tube with no screws or release mechanism

That's a long list of deficiencies and failure points.

Most things involve a learning curve, it seems they went into production right at the bottom of the curve.

I have this exact one:


Not the best, but it does well enough. 3 speeds, not huge torque (it shuts off automatically if it binds up, but it's not like you have a pistol grip like a full drill to resist the spin if it binds, and if it didn't shut off it would spin around, anchored in the hole you've partially drilled until you grab it (no trigger, on/off/power level button is on the body)).

I had a Yamaha made Dremel knock-off. Lasted a while, but it seems the plastic wore internally with the motor's vibrations and the whole mechanism moves around inside the body, most annoying this caused the speed control to become useless and it would only work at Warp Factor 9. Not used much but it was 15+ years old and now it's in the bin, but all the bits will work with the cordless one above while I decide on a new middle tool (the cordless above and pin vises for small/light work) and 18v cordless hammer drill for the heavy stuff and a to-be-determined new one for everything in between. By sheer coincidence the catalogue I ordered from MircoMark arrived to days before the Yamaha became unusable ( A WARNING FOR SCOTT, DO NOT get a catalogue from them without getting a divorce lawyer lined up first, you'll spend the GDP in it and SWMBO will seek some form of justice when you've spent the kid's college fund at Micromark.)

[ForbesHutton]

Had to look back at the Kickstarter info for info on this thing

I paid $53 CAD for it
It has a plastic chuck that only accepts the shaft diameter of those drills in the photo.
All threads in the chuck are in plastic
The chuck is too small for the circuit board drills many of us use in modelling
The motor has one speed and seemed not much torque, but I didn't get a proper test in
I swear mine ran counterclockwise which backs normal drills out rather than lets them drill in.
I didn't get to test anything as it broke right after the charge up taking out the USB plug
The aluminum case is super nice and the on off button was in a good position ergonomically

It broke open with very little effort or force and seems to have torn out the guts of wiring damaging the switch circuitry
Hard to repair as it is jammed up into the aluminum tube with no screws or release mechanism

That's a long list of deficiencies and failure points.

Most things involve a learning curve, it seems they went into production right at the bottom of the curve.

I have this exact one:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cordless-HERZO-Po ... 196&sr=8-1

Not the best, but it does well enough. 3 speeds, not huge torque (it shuts off automatically if it binds up, but it's not like you have a pistol grip like a full drill to resist the spin if it binds, and if it didn't shut off it would spin around, anchored in the hole you've partially drilled until you grab it (no trigger, on/off/power level button is on the body)).

I had a Yamaha made Dremel knock-off. Lasted a while, but it seems the plastic wore internally with the motor's vibrations and the whole mechanism moves around inside the body, most annoying this caused the speed control to become useless and it would only work at Warp Factor 9. Not used much but it was 15+ years old and now it's in the bin, but all the bits will work with the cordless one above while I decide on a new middle tool (the cordless above and pin vises for small/light work) and 18v cordless hammer drill for the heavy stuff and a to-be-determined new one for everything in between. By sheer coincidence the catalogue I ordered from MircoMark arrived to days before the Yamaha became unusable ( A WARNING FOR SCOTT, DO NOT get a catalogue from them without getting a divorce lawyer lined up first, you'll spend the GDP in it and SWMBO will seek some form of justice when you've spent the kid's college fund at Micromark.)

[digger303]

That's a real shame and disappointment.
I'm a bit weary of small battery powered drills. They seem to all lack power or chuck speed. My personal worst is Tamiya's embarrassment they call a drill. I could go have a cup of coffee while it's trying to drill a hole through plastic.

[Twokidsnosleep]

That's a real shame and disappointment.
I'm a bit weary of small battery powered drills. They seem to all lack power or chuck speed. My personal worst is Tamiya's embarrassment they call a drill. I could go have a cup of coffee while it's trying to drill a hole through plastic.

Yep
I got suckered in

[Stokesy44]

That's a real shame and disappointment.
I'm a bit weary of small battery powered drills. They seem to all lack power or chuck speed. My personal worst is Tamiya's embarrassment they call a drill. I could go have a cup of coffee while it's trying to drill a hole through plastic.

Yep
I got suckered in

Scuppered by the old 'shiny things' syndrome. It affects us all my friend.

[aur0ra145]

Ouch, not a good look for that company.

[Casper]

That's a shame scott, it looks pretty good in the top photo and I was tempted myself until I saw your second photo of it in bits They should reinburs you the full amount
digger do you mean the Tamiya drill that comes as a kit that you assemble yourself, I did think of looking for one of those but even that one sounds a bit naff!
mark

[digger303]

That's a shame scott, it looks pretty good in the top photo and I was tempted myself until I saw your second photo of it in bits They should reinburs you the full amount
digger do you mean the Tamiya drill that comes as a kit that you assemble yourself, I did think of looking for one of those but even that one sounds a bit naff!
mark

Yeah that's the one. All they have done is gotten a small motor like is the type that used to propel the slot cars back in the 70's connected a battery to it. It has so little torque that it immediately slows on contact with any material and any pressure further reduces rpm to like 50 % and the rpm was slow to start with. Takes a age to drill though 0.5mm plastic.

[digger303]

Ouch, not a good look for that company.

The bosses of Tamiya are not worried about upgrading old products unless competition forces them too. They still sell very old products. They only concern is the products must fit well and mostly fit within a certain price point.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Good thing they used all the fancy packaging and presentation like an Apple phone has
Sure wouldn't want to put that effort in the engineering of the product

I had a course many moons ago at a dental lab where the dentist lecturing was talking about "The Theatre of Presentation"
The lab box had to be nice and wrapped carefully in paper...
What a load of crap. End product performance is my final verdict on a product