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I see a lot of people coming here asking questions about what to get to do their conversions or modifications, where to buy tools and supplies, etc.

 

This thread will be for anyone to add any special dremel (or other rotory tool) advice, or tricks they have learned along the way. I'll start off with a cool tip I got from a polishing guru on a bike and parts restoration forum. I used it on my rotory tools and it really is cool.

 

If you take one of those rubber tips they use to cap off vacuum lines, and sometimes come shipped on the end of pointed items (I think I got these yellow ones from the tips of some small plastic electric fence posts, with pointed steel tips you stick in the ground)... then cut a 1/ 4" hole in the end so your bits will fit through it, you can slide it over the chuck so it's there to protect your work from getting scratched if you accidentally get too close with it. I've done that before and had to go back and start over again with sanding, polishing, etc. You can see from the rub marks on a couple of these, they have done their job well before. They will add just a little thickness, maybe making it harder to get close sometimes, but to me that's better than marring up my work.

 

It also doubles as a convenient keyless chuck after that. Easy to just grab with your hand and tighten / loosen to change bits. I use three different tools so I don't have to keep changing back and forth much on a particular job requiring multiple drums, cutters, or polishing bits, but still have to do a quick change once in awhile. This makes it really quick and easy.

 

post-1293-001323600 1285171413_thumb.jpg

 

post-1293-064971900 1285171667_thumb.jpg

 

A few pieces of bent wire hooks let them hang out of the way under the workbench.

post-1293-053505500 1285171377_thumb.jpg

 

 

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If you take one of those rubber tips they use to cap off vacuum lines, and sometimes come shipped on the end of pointed items (I think I got these yellow ones from the tips of some small plastic electric fence posts, with pointed steel tips you stick in the ground)... then cut a 1/ 4" hole in the end so your bits will fit through it, you can slide it over the chuck so it's there to protect your work from getting scratched if you accidentally get too close with it. I've done that before and had to go back and start over again with sanding, polishing, etc. You can see from the rub marks on a couple of these, they have done their job well before. They will add just a little thickness, maybe making it harder to get close sometimes, but to me that's better than marring up my work.

 

 

 

Damn! That one was worth the price of admission right there! Falls very strongly into the "why didn't I think of that" category. :super:

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Another good tip, get away from the Dremel name brand when searching for accessories and bits. Don't go to Lowes / Home Depot to buy them. Order online. There are many suppliers who sell a much wider variety of cutters, sanders, and polishing tools, etc, if you just do some searching online. Here are a few sites to look at. I get much better deals on a better selection of tooling this way. You can get cratex polishing tips in many shapes and sizes, and all kinds of sanding drums, flap wheels, diamond dust impregnated wheels for larger mandrels, grinding stones, all sorts of stuff. It's way cheaper than buying from Lowes too.

 

One other tip about grinding stones and cratex polishing bits, actually cutoff wheels as well....while you use them they get worn down into different oddball sizes and shapes. When I get one worn into a certain shape and / or size that makes doing a specialized job easier (like perhaps fitting the exact curve and size of a common part I work on a lot), I will often stop using it for anything else, before it gets worn down into a different shape. The set it aside to use again when I'm doing another job just like that. After awhile I have an assortment of perfect sized and shaped parts for every stage of a particular job.

 

One example of this is keeping some cutoff wheels that have worn down to about 1/2" diam. They are perfect for cutting out the square hole in a receiver for a PG nut.

Or when a polishing tip that started out drum or barrel shaped, gets worn into a cone or perhaps a round ball, save it for jobs requiring that shape of tool. They do come in several different shapes like these however if you look around...

 

http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/CTGY/dremel-polish

 

http://www.pjtool.com/rotaryanddremeltoolaccessories.aspx

 

http://www.hobbyplace.com/tools/drebits.php

 

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Cutoff wheels.... they come in different thicknesses in the dremel kits. You normally get some of the 420 size, which are thicker and don't break as easy, and also a thinner one that is better for making a quick cut without as much curf coming out.

Well if you run out of the 420 discs and only have the thin ones left, but need something right then with some meat to it, you can always stack them and get a stronger disc that way.

 

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Learn to use polishing compounds to remove small scratches in metal and produce a much better finish. A good quality buffing wheel is also a big step up from those little brushes and cotton dremel thingies...

 

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