Armed and Dangerous with Dremel

[BRAKIE]

I don't know..For me its a all round do everything tool from cutting rails to drilling holes for grab irons from cutting ABS plastic to balsa wood.I would be lost without my Handy Dandy Dremel.[:D]

[bogp40]

The keyless chuck and reinforced cutoff disks- could not do without them. Use a firm braced grip- that small tool looks harmless but got to watch those kickbacks.
Bob K.

[on30francisco]

One useful accessory for the Dremel I use a lot is the device that lets you use the tool as a drill press. This allows you to drill perfect perpendicular holes.

[Anonymous]

The rotary wire brush (good for cleaning wheels) and the cutting disc. I use the discs for cutting track as I can clean up the cut ends afterwards with the same tool! They also make short work of cutting plastic...

[adrianspeeder]

The flex shaft is a good investment, dont know if it works on the cordless though. My favorite is the blade sharpener. It lets you sharpen lawnmower blades while they are still on the mower, great for big decks on tractors. If you sharpen the blade every few cuts, the lawn looks better and gets cut faster, so you have more time to play with your trains.

Adrianspeeder

[jjbmish]

I've used my Dremel tool for just about everything. Its got to be the most used tool I have. But look out when those cutoff wheels break!!

John

[Anonymous]

I tend to buy accessories for my rotary tool when they are on sale. I have discovered you can buy what appears to be the most useless accessory and yet a year latter end up using it on some project. So when I see a really good sale on I buy as many as I can afford at the time.

To be honest, I prefer the Xuron track cutting pliers much more than the dremel for Peco N scale track. Of course, those little bits can go flying at amazing velocity when I use the pliers so I use my free hand to "block that kick."

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with using the reinforced cut off wheels. I also tend to use the sanding drums a lot for shaping plastic or wood. Definitely get comfortable safety goggles, and I sometimes use a dust mask too.

I have the Dremel drill press, and have found it very handy. It works great for drilling circuit boards. It's very handy for tasks where uniform depth and straightness matters. I found an inexpensive foot switch that works really well lets me leave the somewhat fiddly switch on the Dremel at whatever speed I'm using at the time.

I also have a flex-shaft which is nice for fine work, much easier to hold in the hand, though I don't know if it works with the cordless. I used to have a MiniMite cordless and mostly used it on my dog's toenails since he was terrified of clippers and it left them smooth and short. I suggest going to www.dremel.com to look at what's available, they keep coming out with interesting new things...

[dknelson]

I stopped using the standard cut off wheels (which I think are made of clay) and use the reinforced ones -- the cut is thicker but they do not explode when you apply side force as is almost impossible to avoid doing. Some people double the clay standard cut off wheels for greater strength. but at that point the cut is as thick as the reinforced, which do last longer too.

For polishing metal I do use wire brush (takes the blackening off the wheel surface of Kadee wheelsets very nicely) but an above poster is correct that the brass wire brush might be superior to steel from the standpoint of creating particles that are attracted to magnets. The brass wears down faster however.
Even with eye protection -- a must - you get little bits of the wire embedded in your cheek (FACE cheek that is -- Dremel tools and home nudism would not make a good match I would imagine, although I do not speak from experience here) and having a tweezers nearby is a good idea. Wash hands thoroughly after each use. If you get a cut use a disinfectant.
The foot operated speed control is something I might explore someday It sure could be useful sometimes.
Also do not overlook the attachment Dremel makes that converts your motor tool into a small drill press. Maybe not absolute precision but often useful for some work.
Dave Nelson

[Jetrock]

Amen to the frequent reminders about eye protection--those cutoff blades just want to die, and even if they don't shatter, whatever you're cutting will fly all over--metal can be especially hazardous, with little fine bits of metal and sparks going through the air.

On my list of Things to Get are a couple of those metal Dremel cutting blades--like a mini Skilsaw. Not good for metal use but they're unlikely to shatter. The cutoff tool is the one I use the most, but I also use fine drill bits in it for making teeny holes in things, and have used various grinder attachments to wear down bits of metal. It definitely saves a lot of time in many chores--much faster than a pin vise for drilling small holes.

[EL PARRo]

I have a Dremel rotary tool that I got last Christmas. I use it for cutting, sanding, drilling small holes, and a lot of other stuff. As for having bandaids nearby, I usually just use electrical tape.

[BRAKIE]

There isn't a add on tool I don't use at one time or the other..The Dremel tool is my all round tool and I use it for just about every project..I would be lost without it.

[Anonymous]

Hello Dav,

QUOTE: Is there a cradle or something available for cutting long straight cuts?
What technique do you use to cut a long straight cut in sytrene, wood, etc.?

I don't know about wood and plastic but I often use my rotary for precision cuts in gems (work) for jewellery purposes. I have a few jigs and frames that I have made that allows me repeatability. I would think that a small table and adjustable fence could be made easily that would clamp to the body of the tool.

[ReadingBob]

I don't know if they make one that fits the cordless model but I have the drill press stand for my corded Dremel. I don't use it often but it does come in handy at times. Otherwise, the reinforced cut off disks seem to live in my Dremel most of the time.

[Anonymous]

I have a small hand-crank drill that is about 25 years old and a mini-handsaw that I've had for many years. Guess it's 'bout time for them to retire. [:D]

Looks like my next tool order will include fiber reinforced cut-off blades, a couple saw blades and brass wire brushs. As a woodworker, the other attachment that intreges me is the one to convert it to a router. Another adapter that I think would come in handy is the 3-Jaw Keyless Chuck for holding drill bits.

Is there a craddle or something available for cutting long straight cuts?
What tecnique do you use to cut a long straight cut in sytrene, wood, etc.?

[PistolPete]

the saw blades work well, but watch for kick back. The thicker cut off wheels last longer and do not explode like the thinner ones. Happy New Years.

[Anonymous]

con grats. I could not live with out mine. But watch it i have had several cut off wheels blow up in my face. son of B!*#%[censored][B)]

[Anonymous]

I never really used a dremel on my tracks much, but a brass wire brush sounds Ideal for removing the corrosion off of tracks.

I find the dremel very good for woodworking. A little dremel can hold drill bits, and will be less bulky for use on the train board compared to a regular power drill.

[Anonymous]

Thers not a problem in the world that dremel cant fix or so it seems i got two myself corded and cordless use the hell out of them from polishing firearm chambers to cutting off crusty bolt on 78 toyota celica and all usual applications on the layout
what i use the most is the rienforced fiber cutoff wheels not those thin flaky suckers

WARNING WEAR EYE PROTECTION

I have been there done that!!! iwas working on a project one night wasnt paying real close attention to what i was doing and POW the cutoff wheel EXPLODED in my face!!
bits of wheel goin so fast you cant see needless to say went straight into my eyes!!
OOWWWW!!! F***K!! #^%#^$%^$^!!! $^%$&$^ !! talk about pain!! took me two hours to wash it all out

LARRY

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

The wire brush is also a must for cleaning and rough polishing.

Watch those wire brushes! they slowly disintegrate when using them, and the stray wires that come out of them can wreak havoc if they get drawn up in the magnet of an engines electric motor! [:(] Polish away from track and motors, or if you must poli***rack, use the brass brushes!

[Anonymous]

I use the fiber cut off disc a lot as well as two small saw blades that I have.

[Anonymous]

I've owned one of these since 81' and would not be able to function without them. I go through alot of the thin cut off blades as they are my prefered mechanism of alteration, renovation and destruction. The wire brush is also a must for cleaning and rough polishing. Again be careful when a cut off disk explodes which in my case is all to often. The shrapnel can travel a good 15 + feet. I cut alone and away from others.

[Anonymous]

Hello Dave,

I must echo steveii and snake, safety glasses are a must. Regular spectacles aren't sufficient, get a pair that fits over specs if you need correction. I use a rotary tool(Foredom) as a regular part of my occupation and have found that holding the tool in a natural 'pencil' grip will put your face in a direct firing line for thrown debris.

Try to hold the tool so that the bit is rotating across your line of sight rather than with it. This allows you to more easily see what you are doing and reduces the chance of getting hit.

A hard felt buff and some polish will make track polishing a trivial task.

[Anonymous]

Hey Steve II, I agree with the bandaids, I keep a good supply of 'em in my shop/layout area. [:D] I also have and use faithfully, saftey glasses in both my woodworking shop and while working on my layout. Both are very good suggestions.

Nigel, I saw the router base it looks like it would be very useful. The new Dremels come with keyless chucks so guess that saves me some $$.

[nfmisso]

router base, fiber reinforced cut off discs, keyless chuck, titanium-nitride (TiN) coated drills.

[Anonymous]

HI there.. yeah sure!! that Dremel tool is real fine tool! I use mine to cut the track, drill hole in bord for wires and do some small sanding around things.

yeah be sure to wear safey over your eyes...! it can throw things that you cannot see it coming [B)]... and ! watch your fingers!! be sure to have some bandaid beside too. dont want red drops all over your lay out [:D]

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Now Armed with a cordless Dremel rotary tool which will most likely make me Dangerous to my layout, I would like to know from those that use a Dremel rotary tool "what is the most useful add-on(s)/attachment(s) you use with your Dremel tool"?