alternative to dremel

No problem Madda i am a painter/blaster whilst earning "kit tokens" ie money.LoL but unfortunatly the blasters at work would rip a die-cast apart one is glass bead the other is chilled iron grit, i hate to think what it would do to a plastic kit . both blasters are big enough to park a small truck in and we have to suit up and get airfed masks on to work inside and do the blasting....Greg

It's actually aluminum oxide or sometimes glass beads that we use in the sand blaster at work. It doesn't really matter though, because it's got rubber sleeves that fit over your hands, so you don't actually get any on your skin. The aluminum is small enoug in diameter, 25 microns i think, that it gives bombs a perfect, slightly textured look. Thanks for your concern though :)

madda

Hi Maddafinga. I hope you dont actualy use sand in that blaster because when this is used as a blast medium it disintergrates on impact and releases silicone into the atmosphere and this will soak into any exposed parts of your body and cause sillacosis ( not healthy ). I am sure with you being a medico you'll know this already but i just thought i would check....Greg

I use a lot of them all the time as well. They are terribly handy and just about perfect for modeling. I use the sandblaster sometimes to texture ordinance before painting.

madda

Maddafinga, I used to be a dental technician and I still use my tools and bits from that period. I would certainly advise everybody to have a look around for dental labs and ask there.

I am a dental technician and do an incredible amount of grinding and cutting at work. I've got a handpiece with a foot operated rheostat and can run anywhere from very very slowly, to extremely fast and takes up very little room. It's lightweight and comfortable in your hand and will run literally for years without breaking down. New they cost a couple of thousand dollard, but, you might be able to find one used for a few hundred if it's an older model. They have sort of an auto chuck type of feature, you twist the end left 45 degrees, put in disc or bit or stone that you want in, then twist it back, it takes about 2 seconds to change bits. It really really beats a dremel up and down. If a person was to call around to dental labs in the area, he might be able to get a working used one for not too much money, but on the other hand, a few hundred bucks might be way too much to spend for a modeling tool. Luckily, when I need to use a dremel, I just take the model to work, and use it on my own time. It might be worth looking into anyway, just an idea.

madda

Sounds neat! Hope it works out for you!!

As an alternative, I've found that most of those tools are a little too 'aggressive' for what I'm looking for. I ended up finding a 'manicure' rotary tool in a discount store that really works great. It takes two AA batteries and works well for anything I've ever needed. It came with a few files and other attachments like buffers that do a pretty good job.

The downside is that the bits actuall screw into the collett. That makes Dremel bits unusable without some sort of adapter. I actually did have another version of the same unit where the bits just slid into place and the dremel bits would work fine... however it had an *accident* that we're not talking about anymore...

I'm planning to 'modify' my current tool to accept Dremel bits. Hopefully I won't have another *accident*...

Murray

HEY,
Although the drill attachment may work, it wont work as well as a dremel. For one, all of the reasons above. For two, the dremel has tons and tons of attachments that i am not sure you can get for a drill. Sorry reggiethedorf.

Randy

How do you regulate the speed? All drills I have seen have a trigger lock, but lock only at high speed. How do you lock the trigger at low speed and handle the flex shaft at the same time?

The only problem with that reggie is that normal household drill motors will burn up if used at low speed too much. They are designed for using the low speed to start a bit or screw but then should be used at as high a speed as you can. I don't know that you'll use yours enough to ruin it, but take it into consideration.

Eric

but most drills have variable speed control. mine does......anyway, to each his own !

ok good idea......but... the thing about rotary tools is that the better ones like the dremel have a variable speed control.....plastic melts at very low temp.......