Genesis 7.2V pistol grip rotary tool

[grsjax]

A while back I asked on this forum if anyone had experience with the Genesis 7.2v rotary tool.

I got one to test out as it was not to expensive and it looked like it could be a very useful addition to my tool collection.

Here is what I found when I got one.

1.  First one I got had a defective switch but the vendor replaced it without any problems and the second one works fine.

2.  Fit and finish are very good, at least as good as any of the other rotary tools on the market.

3.  Has plenty of power for drilling.  I used a 1/16" (1.5mm) drill to test it and it drilled through dry hardwood with no problems.  Only issue is you can't push it, if you start to press to hard it tends to wobble a bit.  Other wise no problems.

4.  Very comfortable to hold.  Fits in my hand well and doesn't cause hand cramps like holding a regular tool does when you need to do a lot of work in one session.

5.  The on/off/speed switch is in an ackward place at the upper rear end of the tool.  You can't position the drill bit and then turn it on.  A trigger switch on the pistol grip would be a big improvement.

6.  The small LED light is useless.  Might be useful if you were working in complete darkness but is otherwise to dim to add any value.  Maybe putting a trigger where the LED is would be a good design change.

7.  A Proxxon 3-jaw chuck fits the spindle and is a worthwhile addition.

 

Over all I would rate this tool a 7 out of 10.  I might rate it higher or lower depending on how dependable it turns out to be over the long haul.  As of now I am very satisfied with it and at $30 delivered from Amazon the price is right.

 

 

[Barry Rudd]

Looks very similar to the Dremel Stylus, which Dremel has discontinued. And that's too bad because the Dremel was an excellent tool. I have have one that I've used it daily for about six years and have never had any problems with it. And I'n still using it. So if this is another company making basically the sane rotary tool i would recommend it. However if it's just a Chinese ripoff, then all bets are off.

It will be interesting to find out.

 

Barry Rudd

[rtropp]

Amazon has it listed as Chinese.  Not sure that automatically means bad. 

Richard

[Lorraine Swiger]

I have a  Pistol Grip Genesis 7.2V Hobby Tool also for abut 4 years.  It has been wonderful until this year.  The power when using battery dies within about 3 minutes, so I plug the tool into the power cord and got the same results.  Dies in about 3 minutes.  The pistol grip is perfect for my arthritic hands but I am afraid to order another one for fear it will do the same thing.  Never had this problem with Dremel but they do not have the  pistol grip, except the one that attaches and it is to wobbly.

Lorraine

[Bob Blarney]

The switch issues would be a dealbreakers for me.  A bad switch out of the box doesn't bode well, but perhaps that's a fluke and the vendor did the right thing.  So far as placement of the switch goes, a good fix would be to use a footswitch.  And perhaps a sewing machine pedal could control speed as well. 

 

There is one other thing about this whole genre of tools that I don't like - the angle of the bit/cutter when grinding or cutting.  It's always necessary to wear eye protection and possibly face protection because fragments are usually/often flung back at the operator.  I suppose that a transparent acrylic shield could be placed on the bench to deflect particles, but that's just another thing to have around.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Bob Blarney