Sealey E540 Multi-Purpose Rotary Tool Review

Sealey E540 Multi-Purpose Rotary Tool Review

Manufacturer: Sealey
UK price (as reviewed): £28.34 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed):N/A

Sealey, is a UK-based tool manufacturer that offers a plethora of power tools and other gear that makes DIY fans weak at the knees. It also makes the E540 rotary tool, which includes 40 head accessories for just £27. The E540 and its accessories fit in a compact hard case, with the accessories housed in their own removable case.

The build quality of the cases isn’t amazing, but they make carrying the E540 and all its bits around particularly easy compared with most of the other rotary tools on test. We were unable to find a power rating for the E540,so used some GCSE physics to work it out. Oddly, we found it was rated at just 0.3A – barely half that of all the other rotary tools – giving it a power rating of just 69W. This won’t be too much of an issue for low and medium-load tasks, but the E540 lacks the grunt for more demanding work, as well as struggling to maintain a constant speed while under load.


Testing
The range of accessories is surprising given how compact the case is. However, the accessory box opens to reveal a plastic sheath and bags stuffed with parts. Inside is one of the best ranges of aluminium oxide grinding tools on test, with no less than ten precision head accessories of various shapes and sizes.

Sadly, there are no large grinding wheels, and the parts that are included tended to wear down quite quickly when pitted against our steel case. This means that the E540 is limited to dealing with small areas when it comes to grinding unless you buy more rugged heads. Thankfully, if you need more in the way of head accessories, the E540 is compatible with most of those offered by Dremel and others, thanks to the included 2.3mm and 3mm collets.

For basic engraving tasks, the E540 is well equipped, thanks to the inclusion of both precision and spherical engraving tips. The tips are quite small, so if you’re planning to engrave large areas, you’ll need to purchase a larger spherical tip separately. Also included are nine 22mm cutting disks. Despite their small size, they’re quite thick and proved to be adept at dealing with small sections of steel.