I had to trip half-dozen (#12?) sheet-metal screws.
In Xmas ads, thes show the Dreml making short work of the job. So this was a good chance to check it out.
I clamped each screw in the vise. And proceeded to go through a dozen cut-off wheels before I quit in disgust.
Each disk shattered after 15 or 20 seconds of use. I tried like hell to hold the tool straight and parallel.....
Is this a case of practice practice practice ?
Or are these ads like the airless sprayer ads ?
It takes a light touch and a firm grip on the tool. I cut stuff off all the time with a dremel tool. They make a reinforced disk which is more resistant to shattering and cuts a wider kerf.
But you should be using an angle grinder for this job, not the dremel. Save the dremel tool for close quarters.
The wheels they include with the machine are useless.
Get some fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheels. They're about $1.25 a copy, but they last and last.
No, you're missing two simple but vitally important things.
See the end of my page here about cutting metal with Dremel disks and the vital need for coolant:
I haven't tried the cheap disks with coolant; it may be that they will work too.
I had to trip half-dozen (#12?) sheet-metal screws.
yes, the cut off wheels do break pretty easy.. gotta have it held just right... need lots of practice.... i had a rounded off bolt head that i was trying to cut into a square about 20 yrs. ago and got 12 pieces of fragment in the eye... i sure learned a lesson and will never use the dremel tool without safety glasses again.....
I have NEVER used any coolant and I have cut LOTS of stuff off with the thin fragile disks. Yes, I break a few, but they do work. I really think it is a question of feel.
"donald girod" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
I agree.Some people are "ham-handed",or force the tool into the work,or just have unsteady hands.Some people I've worked with,I'd never loan any of my personal tools.They'd be junk when I got them back.
It isn't that they won't work without coolant. They just perform much better with it when cutting metal.
I've found that holding the dremel like a fat pencil, especially if you can brace the tool with a couple of fingers so it doesn't move is best.
The tool must also be on its highest speed.
Does it have another setting ?
:-)
I use many Dremels and Ryobi rotary tools. For control I have connected a foot speed control from a sewing machine. I leave the Dremel set to high speed and control it with my foot. It's much safer this way, less chance of the material grabbing and pulling the tool in. Instead of a mist of constant coolant I just keep a container of water on the bench. Mostly I use the coolant to prevent loss of heat treating in metal that I am cutting or sharpening. For cutting screws like the OP was doing, I use a hack saw blade which is much quicker.
'nuther Bob wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Dremel is a DC motor with a rectifier for AC line use.That's how the newer variable speed Dremels control the speed,with a triac control just like a lamp dimmer.
Most small AC motors are the synchronous type,which a dimmer will NOT work with.
Anyways,it works on my model 270.
Very few small AC motors used in hand powertools are synchronus.
99% or so (including the dremel) are field wound motors. I can say this with complete certainty at least for the dremel, where I've had it apart to repair a break in the field winding (inadequate resin impregnation of the coils leading to a wire working loose and snagging on the rotor)) There is no need for rectification with these, they work just fine on AC.
That's right ... no need for rectification. That why they use a Triac for speed control rather than an SCR.
snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (WasteNotWantNot) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:
You can also use a incandescent lamp dimmer as a speed control for the earlier Dremels.I built one into a box with a duplex outlet,one side full voltage,the other variable.
It seems there are many modification Dremel tips. Another one I use is to take a small push button switch and install it in-line fairly close to the tool. I can use that to control the on-off with one hand and even use the tool in the same hand if needed.
Isn't that the wrong way to control an A/C motor ? I confess to not knowing much about A/C motors but I thought there was more to the process.
Bob
So, for us non A/C motor people... does that mean that a simple lamp dimmer is a good idea for speed control ?
Bob
'nuther Bob wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
It may not perform as well as a Dremel with integral speed control,but it's cheaper than buying a new Dremel,or a separate speed control.
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