dremel????

[www]

Just saw a decent, new Sears Craftsmen router $50.00. Just saw it last night

[Snork]

im talking about the auction rant section.

[Drak]

I think most of us will agree that you might get away with it (for awhile), but you'll ruin the Dremel in the end by wearing out the bearings on it by putting so much side pressure on them. They just aren't built nearly tough and rigid enough to take that much abuse.

So you might get one guitar out of it (god, it would be like Chinese water torture to me tho) but you'll probably trash your Dremel in the process.

[Snork]

well its not like im going to carve the body in one day. I'd rather do a precise job that takes 2-3 weeks for just cutting out the shape. So the dremel will be able to take it. I dont know about ruining the bearings. If anything was going to do it it would be cutting through a 2 inch thick 4 foot piece of acrylic. I didnt even stop and the dremel was fine

[Drak]

Maybe they make them better than they used to then.

I ruined one about 10 years ago (kind of) doing what you're talking about.

Good on Dremel if that's the case then.

[soapbarstrat]

Not only is the dremel itself under-powered for heavy wood carving, but the bits it has for that really can't take much. When I use a big router, the bit has to be carbide-tipped for using on hardwood. I started out with the HSS bit that came with it, but that went dull very quick. So, with the Dremel as a router, you got these little 1/8" HSS router bits that will get killed by hardwood. And they ain't cheap. I think your "slowly machined" body is going to end up being much more expensive than you realize. Hell, have mom buy a decent jig-saw, then shovel some snow for some more bucks to get the dremel.

Which makes me think again about how much I'd like a carbide tipped dremel router bit. 1/8th wide cutter or more. I haven't even looked for any yet. Now that I'm thinking of it again, does anyone know if they exists ? (I'm not talking about the carbide bits that are real small for doing fine inlay work {like dental bits}, I got a bunch of those). And I prefer carbide tipped over solid carbide. You guys that have had solid carbide bits just suddenly snap know exactly what I mean.

[LGM Guitars]

Which makes me think again about how much I'd like a carbide tipped dremel router bit. 1/8th wide cutter or more. I haven't even looked for any yet. Now that I'm thinking of it again, does anyone know if they exists ? (

yup, they do, but they are end mills for milling machines, I've got some TiCN bits, carbide with titanium coating They dont' go dull, you'll break em before you dull them in wood

[soapbarstrat]

Where's the best place to buy 'em from ? I got some machinist supply catalogs, but I don't even bother looking in them anymore, 'cause they don't even explain what the f*** the stuff is used for, and it all seems too expensive.

I have heard of end-mills, but never thought about seeing if they have small ones for a dremel. Hell, I want some kind of 1/4" shank gizmo to chuck in my big router to do a *little* bit of metal grinding on some SS screw heads.

That's what sucks about machinists and machinists supply places, they don't want non-machinists to know that they could also have some uses for their specialized tools. I joined a machinist forum yesterday and learned about using a "center drill" to get holes started in the exact right spot. Now I have to find out where I can get this thing.

Rob

[LGM Guitars]

Rob,

basically you want to look for a 1/8" shank fluted end mill, you can get 2, 3 and 4 flute, I generally get 2 flute in the really small ones for added strength. Be sure to get a center cutting one, there are some that are meant only for side cutting, they won't plunge. You can get reverse spiral as well. If they are carbide they will be called carbide, high speed steel is HSS, then you can get different coatings, but don't worry about the coatings, they aren't real necessary in wood.

Probably the easiest place to get all this stuff from is a company called Travers Tool Company. You can get the end mills and center drills there.

www.travers.com

Their online catalogue is really hard to find things in though, and the other downside is I think you have to place a $100 minimum order with them.

[Brian]

On a side note for those of you that have worn out their tool Dremel will sell you parts direct for refurbishing your tool at their listed price which really isn't expensive at all.

If you need to look up a part number go to the Customer Service section and you can download a pdf of your particular model.

[soapbarstrat]

Thanks LGM, I'll check that place out. 100 bucks is high, but I've got a pretty long list of several things I need from a place like that, and I've been looking at MSC and Mcmaster carr for a while trying to figure out what the hell I need (various screws, metal bars, rod and sheets, some taps, etc) But, ALL the online catalogs for places like that are a pain to deal with. Someone could make big bucks coming up with a internet catalog program that can really simulate thumbing through a printed catalog.

Brian, Dremel even sends free parts sometimes. At least they did with me. When I bought my late 80's/early 90's Dremel (the long one), I found that the new designed SUCKED, and made the chuck wiggle. I wrote to them saying it was crap, and as a reply they sent me a new shaft/bearing assembly (the end part that the chuck screws on). Of course, it was just like the one in my tool, so I didn't put the new one in there, because it was a design flaw, not bad bearings. I still have that extra part, even though I sold that Dremel. I think I'll hold on to it, because I'm pretty sure my step-father has one of those Dremels, and I guess it'll be mine someday.

I also just saw that Stew-mac has little Dremel router bits that are carbide tipped. Starting to piss me off that I'm so busy I can't even notice whats in a stew-mac catalog that I've had for 10 months already.

Rob