What do You guys do with your Dremel tool?

Hi;

 I thought I had posted a reply, Guess I didn't! Anyway, my Dremel is the first edition Variable Speed model. Now equipped with a Sewing machine Pedal control it is awesome. I use it as well as a drill press using the remains of an old Small benchtop Drill Press.

 I think it is one of the REAL Quality tools I have ever purchased. The only thing, Maintenance wise, I have had to do is change the Brushes. And I found another well known tool uses the same ones.The Early Oster Hair Clippers!

Mine is old with the separate speed control box. But the box blew up so I haven't used it in 25 years or so. At that I mostly used the drum sanders and carbide cut off wheels most. Now and then a deburr tool. Honestly I've learned to work without it so don't think about it much.

I have one that I use mostly for cutting metal tubes and sometimes to cut away a section of a large kit that I'm modifying into something different, like a warship into a space warship.  My latest is taking the battleship Prince of Wales and turning it into a space battlecruiser.  

But mostly it just hangs there not far from a more powerful unit that my Mother used to use that has a foot pedal and long drive cable.

Actually it's not nesessary to use it. I think some people work without it. But in my opinion, like any tool, Dremel can be used for some small addition tasks.

You can go without it when creating the models from the box (milling, fitting parts, drilling holes).
But during the creation of a model, it may be necessary to make some devices.

It can be used as a small lathe, circular saw and even a router. Dremel makes it possible to make additional parts that are not in the set

I use mine for stirring paint.  Works great!

I have three,but this is my favorite.

https://us.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/2050-stylo-versatile-craft-tool

I has less torque than the other two and allows me to use it for shaping and sanding without melting the plastic.

Dave

I still use a Dremel.  I got my first one as a kid for a Christmas present, when I was still doing more wood models than plastic.  I currently have two Dremels, an AC model for heavy work and a battery version with good speed control so it will work with plastic.

I also have a smaller hand grinder that I bought at Michaels that is smaller and much lighter than the Dremels.  although it is AC powered it is pretty wimpy, and will work nicely for plastic for very light work.

One of the frequent things I do with a hand grinder is trim off width of cockpits when fuselage sides will not close.

I recently used my Dremel with a rotary file bit to make the major cuts for removing the main gear well interiors for the Su-25 I'm currently building.  After that, I was able to use light, quick touches to file the plastic so it was close enough to the edges of the gear well for me to make the final, clean cuts with a #11 Xacto blade.  So, its still good for the brute force, stone axe kind of work.  When I need something faster than my hands for finishing work, I just chuck things up in my Dewalt cordless drill.  It works fast, but not so fast that it melts things.

I use them for rough cutting big Frankenstein projects in plastic and a fair amount on wood.

They aren't a power tool I much associate with plastic modeling. 

A recent really good use I found was putting together a railing around a deck using those sst aircradt cables with tightener hardware. I tried all kinds of ways to cut the cable but kept botching up the ends.

Dremel with cut off wheels does a nice clean job.

A trick someone taught me was to double up the thin abrasive disks. It really helps to keep them from shattering.

Bill

Drilling, sanding and cutting. Not just models, but all kinds of household maintenance stuff.

Yes it is a cordless model exactly as you show

I have found the dremel and plastic don't get along.  I have used it to remove resin pour stubs etc. 

Cafguy, is it cordless?

https://www.amazon.ca/Dremel-1100-01-7-2-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless/dp/B000E64WKO

I have a DRemel stylus model probably 10 years old . IT runs from5.000 rpms to 25,000

Cafguy, does your dremel have an external or internal speed controller? how old is the dremel? my dremel that i have had since the late 70's uses an external controller that i have used to grind/sand to shape the sterns & torpedo bulges of the models in this link. http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=165105

I have an old Dremel Multi-Pro that I run through an equally old Dremel Solid State Speed Controller that has been doing a fine job for years. I have the speed controller set to just about on and it works great. I use it for thinning down plastic, cutting, drilling and sanding. Have done the lathe trick with good results until the wife got me a small lathe several years ago.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

I have multiple dremels, including the battery operated 750.

I usually use them for sanding, cutting with a cut off wheel, and grinding metal...

But mostly, I just manage to injure myself.

SAFTY GOGGLES PEOPLE !!!

You can also mount them to your workbench and use them as a mini drill press.

That lathe Idea is not bad might have to think up a mini table

I was lucky in finding a pair of Dremel 750s on clearance in the early 80s. They are an early rechargeable model that is comparitively weak, the reason they aren't as melty as my old plug ins. I've read that running the Dremel through a speed control, like the foot pedal can take the RPMs down to a more plastic friendly speed. As for what to do with them, I recently discovered that you chuck a short length of sprue into a large diameter collet and carve it like it's on a lathe.