Dremel type of thing

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

How powerful are they? Will any of them go through, for example, a 10mm steel bolt in less than an hour? Any specific recommendations other than "angle grinder"?

Si

[Adam Aglionby]

Should do, use a mini fibre cutting disc, use Aldi one routinlley for panel cutting and bolt cropping, does eat the discs though.

Cheers Adam

[ericp]

The smallest ones rely on high speed with fairly decent torque.

Any of the common ones, dremel,aldi or lidl are fine for diy use, the problem lies in the area of the tool used more than what you use it in.

A bolt like you specify would present no problem, I have cut loads of rusty ones off cars and lent mine out to friends for similar purposes. A sanding barrel will also make short work on a window frame.

As said the tools used are the problem. All those boxes of grinders you see seem to have the grindstone fixed to the shaft with the equivalent of the glue gun stuff and drop off as soon as they get warm.

If you buy the premium dremel tools they do work. You get what you pay for.

So for sanding and cutting, particularly in confined spaces they are brilliant, forget all the grinders unless you pay a lot for the grinder.

[The Medway Handyman]

I've got a Dremel sitting in a box somewhere in the back of the workshop. Chocolate teapot. Actually I doubt it would cut through a chocolate teapot.

[Bob Minchin]

Agreed. An angle grinder is just the right tool for a 10mm bolt surely?

Bob

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Not when it's two inches from your nose or if you have to use it one-handed. Then there's the matter of other uses such as polishing/de-rusting etc. The

10mm bolt was just an measure of how powerful the things are as I've got a couple of these tools that run off mains transformers and they'd struggle to grind a sugar lump.

Si

[NT]

No problem for a dremel to cut a 10mm bolt. But the cutting discs are wafer thin and extremely fragile, expect to break a few rapidly until you realise just how steady it has to be held.

I've used one of the low voltage cheap brands too, pretty useless.

NT

[Harry Bloomfield]

Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot pretended :

Less than an hour certainly, but the right tool for job would do it in seconds and they are much cheaper - get a £12 angle grinder.

[The Medway Handyman]

Not to mention being far more manly...

[Adam Aglionby]

I use mini fibre reinforced discs that come round in accessory packs at Aldidl, 2.99 for whole pile of stuff , Dremel cutting discs about

11 quid for 5 , just like angle grinder disc but size of 2 p piece, work extremely well, using flexi drive gives a nice pencil like grip.

Its a bacon saver in some instances

Still not worked out what similar size pink discs are for, they shatter pretty much on contact with anything.

Sold my old Minicrafts to a collector in US , Aldi item is 240V 160W motor, power to weight ratio pretty good.

Cheers Adam

[Bruce]

How long would a pressure washer take?

[Harry Bloomfield]

Bruce formulated the question :

What, to rust the 12mm steel bolts through - it might be stainless :-)

[Bruce]

I've seen high pressure water jets (with added grit) cut through thick steel plates in a very short time. But I don't think there's an attachment available for the usual domestic Karcher ...

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Are you following me around, suggesting an angle grinder for every question I ask?? ;o)

Si

[Harry Bloomfield]

Bruce wrote on 09/03/2010 :

Perhaps a DIY opportunity :-)

[Harry Bloomfield]

Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot expressed precisely :

What in life cannot be solved by the use of an angle grinder :-)

[Bruce]

Gordon Brown?

[Bob Eager]

(all together...) "Oh, yes it could!"

[The Medway Handyman]

Don't think B&Q sell anything working at 4,000 bar :-)

[Bruce]