Dremels: I couldn't live without my Dremel. I bought the flexible shaft for my Dremel, it makes it much easier to use, it's like holding a pen and it's much easier to control. I saw that someone else is having a problem with scorching, I think that your rotary tool may be too fast. My Dremel has 5 speeds and if I am shaping or sanding a piece with the speed too high the wood scorches.

Kathy

The Dremel: This is a high speed low torque motor. By that expression of "low torque" means that it has not got brute power and if you apply too much pressure to the accessory in the tool you can stall the motor. The Dremel is made to get its work done by the use of the high speed capabilities. Light touch and high speed gets the job done. Caress the work with the drill functioning at the best speed for the job being done. Sanding can be high speed and light touch. Drilling if too slow a speed will stall the motor, too high a speed and you may burn the wood and lose the temper of the steel in the drill bit. Just like driving a car or cooking, the more experience the better you get, hopefully.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Dremel: I recently bought an accessories kit for my Dremel (I have everything, but you can never have too many bits!). I had a list of each bit along with the usual use for each one. I shall try to describe them here, for those of you who asked.

Grinding wheel - aluminum oxide ~ used for cleaning, deburring, grinding and polishing of most metals, castings, welded joints, rivets, rust.

Grinding wheel - silicon carbide ~ stone, glass, ceramics, porcelain, non-ferrous metals Sanding bands (barrel-shaped), flap wheel, sanding disks ~ different grits - obvious use for sanding. Different shapes get into different places more easily.

Diamond cutters ~ fine detail work on jade, ceramic, glass, wood (I would not use these on wood). There are hundreds of shapes and sizes. American Scientific and Surplus has some very inexpensive sets similar to what I have and they are most useful). They need to be cooled when used. I keep a sponge handy and periodically cool the bit and the work piece. Light touch is mandatory.

Carbide cutter ~ hardened steel, cast-iron, stainless steel, ceramics HSS cutter (not sure what that means - high something steel) ~ soft steel, soft metals, plastics, fiber glass, wood (Last two are metal file type bits)

Fiber glass cut off wheel, general purpose cut off wheels heavy duty and regular ~ slicing and cutting metals, wood, plastics (and I also carefully use the flat areas to sand with - they break easily though)

Rubber emery wheel (Cratex) ~ light deburring (metals, jewelry work, plastics)

Bristle brushes ~ cleaning and polishing silverware, jewelry. Also nice for getting into corners to clean.

Axial or Radial stainless steel brushes ~ removing rust, corrosion, polish metals (also texturing wood)

Brass brushes ~ clean electrical components

Felt wheels ~ used with various polishes on metals and plastics (can also be used on stone). For high polished objects, do not mix different polishes on same wheel. Store used wheel in plastic bag and label what polish is on it. Tiny grit can contaminate these and ruin a piece.

Cloth layered wheel ~ also for polishing

Twist drills - obvious

Mandrels ~ hold various types of grinding and sanding disks and saws

Screw point mandrel ~ hold pointed felt and cratex bits

Collet ~ various sizes to hold various shanks in Dremel tool

I finally bought an adjustable adaptor for the dremel that avoids a lot of switching. See MicroMark

Dressing stone ~ cleans grinding wheels.

Other things I use and find handy ~ router attachment with router bits to make mini moldings, chanels, etc.

Right angle head helps me get to places I can't with the straight tool.

Flex shaft

Metal saw blades ~ best if you set the dremel in a clamp base and make a table to fit over it so it can be used like a table saw. Can be quite dangerous.

1/4" shank mini chain saw bit ~ very dangerous - use with shield (which I shall soon purchase) for wood carving.

I am sure I am leaving something out, but this is such a versatile tool that I could do most of my work with just this one tool and all of the attachments.

Jacqui in Hilo

Dremel accessories: Jacqui in Hilo made some very good postings regarding the use of Dremel accessories. I feel I should put in my 2 cents.

I have used the Dremel metal circular saw blade and it has a problem in that it is so thin that it meanders all over the place and follows the wood grain instead of the cut line. Dremel has two new wood cutting circular blades. One is thin and rigid with diamond dust on it. It does a good job. The other is a much thicker kerf but rips and cross cuts like a gem The wide kerf mandates cutting on the waste side of the cut line.

For cleaning out sanding drums and files. I use the metal wire wheel that is a metal brush. I hold it in my fat little hand while the sanding drum is rotated and it does a fairly good unclogging job. Same for files. I use the wire brush in the Dremel for files. I have yet in all my years used the dressing stone. Maybe it's just old habits die hard.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL.

Dremel: I haven't figured out why those people haven't even tried to use their Dremel tool. I am on my second one and this one is cordless. I dearly love it. I use it to drill holes to start screws, to lightly sand the "feathers" from my Dremel jig-saw. I have been making the 1/4" Debbie Young stores and use the cutting wheel to cut out the doors and windows. Much easier than trying to use an X-Acto knife. I buy the sanding discs from MicroMark because I can buy the peel and stick.  In fact, you had better move when I have the little Dremel in my hand because you either get sanded, or holed. I couldn't live without it. Just start using it, you'll love it.

Mary Ann

Dremel: For ease and safer way of using a Dremel rotary tool. I have used the flex shaft offered by Dremel for many years. Using Flex Shaft handpiece I don't have to hold the awkward tool itself instead I hold a 1" diameter handpiece with choice of bit in chuck.

MicroMark`s Page: http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/60889.html  (If you choose a flex shaft choose "Dremel" made)

With the stand (on this page) holding Dremel, flex shaft.

MicroMark`s Page: http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/50352.html

and using a speed control (on this page) it allows you to give a lighter touch and better control.

With my work piece in a vise:

http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/81314.html   

http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/21123.html or ???

The Dremel drill stand; It is a low cost entry level accessory for the Dremel rotary drill, but with lots of patience it will achieve marvels.

http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/50288.html Somewhere Dremel offers a table top holder for the Moto Tool with a swivel, sorry I lost source.

Some of your project pieces you can hold in your hand while using handpiece.

Note; Just like brushing your hair, if you brush against grain hair will stand up..... therefore if you push tool against grain the tool will kick back. Try to go with grain, however there are times you have no choice, so use lighter pressure.

NOTE ! Using the circular saw chucked in Dremel "Freehand" is a VERY Dangerous way to use it. Only use in drill press or some other controlled set up

When using any power tools ..... listen to them, after using them over time you will hear when they are running correctly or straining and when straining. trouble is coming either a jamb, kickback or a bad finished product

=== Curious George; Just what kind of things are people trying to accomplish with a Dremel tool?

I see that at the Tom Bishop Show in Chicago they offer workshops (unfortunately my try this AM would not open site). If you check offerings it would offer new tool users a great opportunity to get some hands on basics from the workshops.

Most of the woodworking classes offered at the IGMA Guild School use other type tools than Dremel rotary. Tools such as "Overhead Shapers, Cameron drill press’s, wood and metal lathes, table saws etc. 

You can with patience make something with a hammer and screw driver, but a tool designated for a specific purpose does it so much easier, faster more accurately and far better quality of finish.

George Hoffman ~ IGMA Fellow

Tip: to make a marking gauge and have 2 tools in 1 here is what I did. I took an angle gauge. One of those inexpensive tool that has a wing nut and a sliding metal arm so you can duplicate angles. Using the open channel that permits you to move the arm to the angle being duplicated; take a small bolt and put a nut onto it (with a washer if needed between the nut and the open end of the bolt). Slip the bolt thru the channel of the arm. Thread on another nut with a washer. (The washer facing the head of the bolt). Clamp the metal arm of the gauge between the two nuts and washers. Sharpen the free end of the bolt to a point. By sliding the metal angle arm so that the bolt gets closer to the wing nut, and measuring the distance from the point of the bolt to the body of the angle gauge, you can set the distance from the point of the bolt and the main arm of the device so that you now have a marking gauge and an angle gauge at the same time.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Splintering of wood on the scroll saw. If you want to prevent splintering of the wood you are cutting; clamp it between two pieces of scrap wood. that way all the splintering will be on the scrap wood.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Spools for thread: Someone was asking recently about what to use for spools for thread in a Sewing Room.   I think the best thing is the smaller sections of the #2000 Tiny Turnings.     I have a one inch scale "Quilt and Crosstitch Shop" in which I made 190 spools of thread in a cabinet. I wound embroidery floss of different colors on the pieces of Tiny Turnings then measured the thread cabinet at my local store and built one like it to hold the thread.  There are pictures of the scene on my website: http://www.mybizz.net/~wncoffey/

Jane Coffey

Mini Needlework/Fabric Shop: I have one in progress, almost finished except for all the really little details.  I made the usual fabric bolts until I realized that I could use mini wall paper wrapped around a bolt also.  I cut out pictures from the huge 800 page catalog of the wall paper samples and wrapped them around my bolt.   I make my bolts by folding index cards to size.   As the bolts are in a shelving unit it doesn't matter if the "fabric" wraps all the way around.   So I have tons of fabric bolts in lots of colors.

I made regular bolts of ribbon also.  But them I decided to make mini printed   ribbon on my computer.  I used clip art to make a line of little pumpkins and it worked.  I've made all kinds of printed ribbon.  The ribbon rack is an inexpensive hutch from the craft store.  I took off the doors, stained it with brown shoe polish, cut white cocktail straws to fit the shelves and wrapped the ribbons around the straws.   They fit right in the shelves (across).   I also did some solid colored ribbon with my computer.

I am using cuts outs from magazines for sewing and needle work books.   The book of the month type ads have just the right size.  I am also using catalog pictures downsized for the sewing notion packages. I also wrapped cocktail straws with fabric cut 4 1/2 inches wide to be the decorator fabric.   I made racks to hang on the wall.   I cut 2 strips of 1/4" wide x 1/8" wood to fit vertically on the wall.  I put in little eye screws evenly spaced in each and fit the "bolts" in the eye bolts.

Since I have two front windows and a glass door, I made signs on my computer with all the shop information:  name, proprietor, hours, etc.  I am going to print it out to fit the appropriate windows on over head transparency film made for ink jet printers.

I also made two large tables using little wooden spools found at the craft stores for the legs.   It seemed appropriate for a fabric store.   I made notion stands using the spools and wooden wheels.  I used large needle to make the holes to put wire in to hold the notions. I'm thinking about scanning real lace and reducing the pictures, though I do have some mini lace.  I am going to use dowels for thread, but I am not making individual spools.  I am going to build a rack similar to the ones in real fabric stores and fit the dowels across.   I am going to use paint pens to color them for the thread.

Lee Ann