Advice on Using a Dremel

[Wolfs16]

Okay Doc, I need some advice.

I have recently begun using my Dremel 300 series for more modeling projects, and I can see the immense advantage. However, I feel like I could be doing more with it, but I simply don't know enough. So I turn to the medical community to ask:

What are some necessary bits to have for my Dremel?
Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

I plan on using it mostly on my Tau projects, so that means panel lines, squared and rounded edges/corners. I want to improve with this tool, so any help would be appreciated!

[Warhound]

Thank you for your question patient X,

This is not an exhaustive list, by any stretch, but these are the key tools that I use. Bizarrely, some of them are not 'Dremel' products and so I only know of one online source to get them (in the UK), but they are absolutely invaluable for everyday use!

You will need the 2 sizes of mandrel for attaching the components.
Cutting:
Saw blades
http://www.squirestools.com/10-07.pdf (page 11- the circular saw blades)

Sanding
http://www.minicrafttools.com/sanding.html (the sanding set with rubber mandrel)

Shaping
http://www.dremeleurope.com/dremelocs-u ... at_id=1147
The engraving cutters and high speed cutters.

I mainly use the sanding disk for grinding excess resin/ tabs etc away in the blink of an eye (DON'T forget your breathing masks for this kids!), the ball and inverse trapezium routers/ engravers for removing more delicate features and the saw for limbs!

As you have a variable speed model you have an advantage over me, but tbh, it is one of those things that practice makes perfect. The speed that they go at means that you can get rid of unwanted material very quickly, but REMEMBER, make more smaller passes, rather than fewer deep ones. The circular saw blade in particular has a habit of 'jamming' in the model that you are cutting, resulting in one of 2 things:
The model gets whipped out of your fingers and spins round really fast until it flies off into orbit.
OR
The blade is deflected off and around the model- I have had my thumb and knee heavily sliced by this happening and so, where possible, I would recommend holding the model/ piece in a vice to prevent blood shed.

Try on some unwanted models/ sprue until you are happy with the control that you have.

Let us know how you get on?

cheers
WARHOUND

[paulson games]

I primarily use the engraving bits for 90% of my work, for fine cutting I use a jewelry saw and a razor saw for larger cuts. The saws take a bit longer but give way more control than the dremmel does.

Outside of that the dremmel is awesome for removing excess material. I primarily use the engraving bits that look like a ball with little ridges on them they are great for removing material and working in details. I picked up most of my extra bits at home depot there's a couple differant sizes of bits so paw through the display and find the smallest ones. You may also need to get a chuck adaptor for the super small bits. The dremmel I got came with around 70 or so attachments but didn't have the small size ones or the little silver bit gripper. Most of the bits are around $3-7

The little ball engravers will handle both resin and pewter just fine. I use the little ball engraver to clean up my xv-9 air intakes.

I also have found the cone shaped masonry grinder works well on metal miniatures for smoothing out surfaces.

There's also a really good bit that's shaped like a cylinder with cutting edges it's about a 1/16 of an inch wide which makes it perfect for adding rare earth magnets to models. Also works well for cutting into metal or even flattening surfaces.


Also whatever you do make sure you have glasses on when using your dremmel. My brother-in-law basically lost one of his eyes because he was messing around with his dremmel and it shot plastic fragments into his eye lid and eye ball and he's had 8 seperate surgeries since then trying to save some of his vision, and he only has about 40% vision in that eye now. Always wear some sort of glasses when working with a dremmel even resin dust propelled at that speed can be very dangerous to your eyes.

[mangozac]

I've never been a big fan of using my Dremel knockoff for anything other than basic cutting out and material removal using mainly the cutoff disc. I just find it too hard to use for any really fine work. But that said, Mark gets some fantastic fine results from his so maybe I just need some more practice

[Wolfs16]

Warhound:
Thank you very much for the list! Upon looking through my bits, I see that I have most of what you described here. I have already started to use the sanding pads and I really like how quick the results are. Of course, I have to learn a little more control with it because it was very hard to keep steady and not sand too much.I will start testing on a few pieces of sprue and see how it turns out. And your safety tips will be kept in mind.

Paulson:
Thank you for the tips! I think I'm going to be using it mostly for cleaning up big hunks of resin off of models. My XV9's have a little bit on the air intake as well that I will have to clean up, so your advice will come in handy. Also, thank you for scaring the crap out of me. I have a big eye phobia and am terrified of getting stuff in my eye. I have worn eye protection each time I used the dremel, but now I will do so with the knowledge that those little pieces of resin are just waiting for their moment to strike at my soft, fleshy eyes.

[Xeones]

I'm a little late to the discussion, but here are my thoughts:

For finer control, I purchased a flexible drive shaft like the ones that appear in the PDF that Warhound linked to earlier. It's nice to have because it's lighter than holding the Dremel itself in your hand when doing finer work.

I'd also recommend that you get a vice. I suggest this because it's often easier to immobilize the Dremel and manipulate the piece you are working on than to hold the Dremel in one hand and the model in the other. Just be careful because this method can place your fingers closer to the bit if you are working on a particularly small piece.

Other than that, I've never been able to achieve extremely fine detail with a Dremel. It's been my experience that it's better overall at removing large amounts of material quickly and I still prefer to make finer details like panel lines by hand.