Last updated on July 22, 2014
A few weeks back when cutting spokes to build bicycle rim ERD measuring tools my Dremel suddenly stopped spinning reliably. The shaft would vaguely turn, but with and load applied it’d simply stop. This afternoon I pulled it apart and found that there is a rubbery flexible coupling between the motor and drive shaft itself, and this had disintegrated. My parents gave me this tool a bit over 20 years ago, so I’m not surprised that a part like this has eventually failed.
Thankfully this is a common failure (and seems to be a sacrificial part), so $4.75 later via eBay and I have a replacement on the way. It’ll be easy to install and should get things back up and running. I much prefer this to buying a new one. (Rotary tools such as a Dremel are not a tool that I frequently use, but when a need calls for it there aren’t really any suitable replacements.)
UPDATE: The new shaft connector arrived and has been installed (photo). This was very easy to do, and the Dremel is now working like it had before.
