Dremels And Their Use....

[yalesmith]

I have a dremel and was wondering does it have any benefit in guitar building? Would i be able to use it to route the truss rod channel on a guitar neck? They sell a router attachment.

Thanks

[Southpa]

For routing stuff like cavities and channels you would need something with a bit more power. You could do it but would likely be there for a long time before finally burning out the motor. Dremels are more useful for smaller stuff like inlay routing. And of course, also handy for everything else on a small scale.

[chrisb0109]

I actually just got one today. It came with the flex shaft attachment and some differebnt bases. Its looks like it could be very usefull, especially for inlaying.

[Daniel Sorbera]

IMO a dremel is a tool you really need to build a guitar. You need it to do the inlays the binding, and to clean up any routs you did with the big boy router.

[eddiewarlock]

i don't have any power tools , all i have is a dremel, they work great for routing turss rod channels, maybe they don't go deep enough to make pickup and control cavities, but i have used for it, i also use them to cut fretwire, almost everything, very very useful tool

[LGM Guitars]

lets put it this way, I wouldn't call it my favorite tool, and I certainly wouldn't call it my best tool, but I have 8 in my shop, most with flex attachments. I wouldn't own less than 5 (mostly because I'm to lazy to change the bits so I just keep a different one in each tool )

I think they are very versatile and great tools as long as you don't try to use them for jobs they really aren't meant to do.

[stiggz]

dremels r the most useful tool about IMO, but u do need "big boy tools" to do other work like pickup cavities, i suppose it could be done on relatively soft wood, but not anything like mahogany or walnut or some other hard wood. but yeah, its great 4 small jobs, cutting frets etc

[guitarmonky55]

also invaluable for modifying other tools for guitar specific jobs. for example this weekend i needed to remove some frets so instead of buying the 26 dollar pliers from stewmac i bought a pair from home depot for 10 bucks and ground the face sharp just like stewmacs with my dremel...works a charm

[Ragasguitars]

There is nothing better than a dremel for any type of craft. I use one for just about everything if I have the right bit for it. I used one on every guitar I have built. Carvings are done on all guitars I have built using a dremel. www.angelfire.com/la3/powerguitar/index.html

I even rely on a hammer and chisel from time to time also. basically if you can find a use for something, use it if its the best option. I also find a lot of stuff from stew mac overpriced and unecessary.

Edited January 28, 2005 by Ragasguitars

[rockthe40]

i bought a 1-speed 6volt cordless drill by black and decker the other night (a steal for $16!) because i really have no tools and im wondering if i can use a dremel tool attachment to cut out just a little in my PUP cavity to make room for my p90.. is that ok to do?

edit: i meant 2 speed, forward and reverse

Edited February 3, 2005 by rockthe40

[marksound]

I don't know what anybody else thinks, but look at some of this stuff. Use whatever works.

http://europa.spaceports.com/%7Efishbake/index.html

[Mickguard]

I don't know what anybody else thinks, but look at some of this stuff. Use whatever works.

http://europa.spaceports.com/%7Efishbake/index.html

←

Inspirational! Thanks for the link!

[erikbojerik]

I think the cordless drill spins too slowly to use as a decent router. You'll tear up the edges of the pickup pocket. But then again you may not need to care if the damage will be covered by the pickup ring.

[marksound]

I've used a drill with a sandpaper roll to reshape the control cavity on a strat-style body. Don't know if that helps, but you know.

[robbie_rnfr]

I have busted the shaft/motor connection on several dremel tools. I am of the opinion that they are only good for weeked HO railroaders. They have their place, but there are really only good for light carving and grinding work. If you are planning to do any sort of routing, I would suggest a laminate trimmer. Preferably the Porter/Cable Professional. The scale is perfect or guitar work and much easier to use than a standard router. There are tons of useful bits that use the standard 1/4" shaft. You can abuse these in ways that would make a dremel shatter in your hand. And these have the hp and rmp to actually cut rather than burn and burnish your wood. Plus you can very easily cut your own base plates. And you can get 1/8" collets so you can use all those dremel/stew-mac bit if you must.

[Workbench]

I used my dremel tool to route out a pup cavity on my Ibanez CN250, and it worked great! I did drill about 30 pilot holes first, and then used the dremel from there. These things come in handy all the time!!!

Chris