Bamboo Tips - Tips Area
Machines - General

< Home < Tips Area < Machines < General

If in need of flat drive belts, get in touch with John.  Great service

http://www.leatherdrivebelts.com/

No financial interest ........ (David Van Burgel)

Several years ago I posted on what a good company Dremel is to do business with. They did it again.

I let someone borrow my Dremel. It is not a good idea but sometimes a lapse of judgement happens, I guess. I didn't look at it when I got it back, I was just happy to see it again. When I went to use it I noticed the nut to tighten the collett was missing as was the screw-on nose piece. Of course the person who borrowed it didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about the missing parts.

The other day I had time to go to Racine Wisconsin and visit the Dremel service center. I showed the woman at the service desk my Dremel, she took it and returned a few minutes later with the missing parts installed. The cost, nothing! It did take a couple of gallons of gas but I got to stop at a couple of other places while in Racine. (Rich Jezioro)

So Rich, why did you need your Dremel?  Was it rodmaking related?  I recently saw the article on scalloping using a Dremel.  Saw another article on carving out cork rings using a Dremel. Pretty versatile tool.

Just wondering how others use their Dremel in the course of rodmaking...  (Mike Biondo)

I use mine for hollowing on a jig setup and cutting off the boo strips once marked to length...clean cuts, way better than a saw for me. (Lee Slikkers)

I use mine to clean out and shape the reel seat cork to accept the metal components of the seat. Just as important I use mine to prep guide feet. There is a flying saucer shaped bit available made of diamond chips that does an excellent job of tapering and shaping guide feet quickly and easily. I only need a quick pass over with 400 grit sand paper to smooth up after using the bit.  I don't use it for Snake Brand guides, but I do for all others.  (Steve Shelton)

I use mine to hollow using Poratelli's "Sharktooth" method, to prepare guide feet, and to polish NS caps and rings. I tried using it to inlet a cork ring but it got away from me pretty quickly and I ruined the ring.  (JW Healy)

I was using it to polish the guide feet before I started using Snake Brand Guides. (Tony Spezio)

Hollowing rods, slitting ferrules, grinding down node ridges, shaping guide feet, debarbing flies etc. (Mike McGuire)

Add hollowing behind the nodes before pressing. (Dan Zimmerlin)

I use mine for grinding the feet on snake guides, for cutting sections to length and for cleaning up the edges of hardware that have varnish residue or glue squeeze out on them. (Bill Walters)

A Dremel tool was the first “power tool” I owned.  Back many years ago when I was a kid, my parents gave me one and I used it for everything.  Was a train and plane model builder in those days, so it was most handy.  After so many years of using one, it is still my “Go-to” tool.  It works perfectly for thinning down guide feet.  Plus, dozens of other things around the house!   It took me almost fifty years to wear out the first one.  I doubt that I will live long enough to wear out the second.   (Jim Holmes)

Years ago I found some small rubber abrasive bits (?) where the abrasive is about 600 grit.  Fantastic for polishing guide feet.  Have 1 left and don’t know if I can find more – anybody have an idea? (Carey Mitchell)

Look up Cratex abrasives.  Quite useful, and in dozens of shapes and sizes.   (Harry Boyd)

I think I use mine for all of the above, and wouldn't be without it. For cutting to length, especially on the fine tips tips held very firmly and close to the cut using my left hand, and cutting slowly) it is really good. I use a fine cut-off disc for this job.I also make a tool by wrapping OOOO steel wool over a rough cutting tool, drill or piece of cut-off rod section and use it to polish out the inside of the female ferrule when fitting ferrules with a little drop of Brasso.A couple of years ago I bought a chuck-type fitting for the Dremel and I now use it instead of collets nearly all the time - quicker and more convenient. (Peter McKean)

I got them from a Dentist friend that closed his practice. They work great for shaping the guide feet. Used them on my Dremel Tool when I was using Pac Bay guides. I still have two of them but want to keep them if I need them again. (Tony Spezio)

Dremel sells sanding disks, two or three dollars for a pack of 36. The are great for debarbing hooks, shaping guide feet, crowning ferrules. While eye protection is always recommended, they aren't the hazard that the ceramic cutoff disks are. (Mike McGuire)

I would look at the Cratex line of rubber abrasives; they have been around for years.

MSC, Travers, Enco, etc all carry their products. You should find something that will work for you in their product lines.  (Jed Dempsey)

Although I am not familiar with the rubber abrasive bits you mention, for final dressing of guide feet etc., I save all of my used sanding drums and glue strips of 320 or finer grit to them using a contact cement. As the drum is 1/2" wide, I take a piece of fresh sandpaper of the desire grit and cut several strips of this width, coil them up, and store in properly labeled empty plastic pill bottles.

When I wear the grit off of the sandpaper, I simply take out a new strip, measure and cut to fit over the old strip, and simply glue it on. I kicked the slats out of my cradle when I first learned this trick.

One should be able to make small sanding 'rods' by similarly gluing sandpaper to the appropriate size rods. (Frank Schlicht)

Many uses but mostly used on ferrules and guides - Drilling pinning holes, crowning tabs, slitting, shaping guide feet. (Stephen Dugmore)

I use my dremel with a cutting burr to rough out cork grips.  I got the idea from Jack Howell's book, except that he describes a pro-grade setup and mine is more Rube Goldberg.The rod handle is spinning slowly in a homemade lathe, the dremel has a short piece of dowel attached with a band clamp.  The dowel acts as a follower, rides along a template and the burr shapes the grip.  I've got a couple templates for my favorite grips cut out of a sheet of plastic about 1/16 inch thick.  It leaves a rough surface so then you move to sandpaper. The dust from the cutting burr is coarse and doesn't fly all over the basement. (Frank Stetzer, Hexrod, Taper Archive, Rodmakers Archive)

I use mine for guide feet and hollowing as well as a cut off tool for tips. For guide feet it's mounted in a Dremel drill press stand. (Graham Foxman)

Like many of you, I love my Dremel.  My first was purchased in 1977 and lasted 30+ years.  My "new" one is 4-5 years old and seems like a serviceable enough tool.Dremel has a "new" system of affixing various bits and tools to the motor known as "EZ-Lok" or something like that.  It's supposedly an improvement over the collet/mandrel system they have used for years.  Have any of you tried the new system?  If so, is it an improvement?  A setback?  Neutral? (Harry Boyd)