Carol writes:
>
>
>
> I wish I'd known about Dremel tools when the Dremel King, Ray Gibbons, was
> here to advise me, but... I defer my question to the rest of the info pool
> on this list...
>
> I am going to get a MotoTool (aka Dremel). Period. I'm getting one. You
> can't talk me out of it! ;-)
I have two Dremels- a cordless and a fixed-speed flex-shaft one.
The cordless doesn't turn all that fast for a Dremel so it doesn't
work as fast. Sometimes thats good, sometimes not. The battery lasts
a couple hours of intermittent use (i.e. stopping to reposition
the work) on one charge.
The flex-shaft Dremel turns faster and works faster. I prefer it
for most work now. Problems are that you need to plug it in, and
that the flex shaft needs to be fairly straight or at least run
with no sharp bends, or it becomes very unhappy. So you need to
rig a hanger above your work and you need to plan your work a bit to
ensure that you'll have enough reach to get it while not kinking
the flex shaft. I have a couple stations where I can plug in
the Dremel and hang it from a bent coathanger.
I also have an air-powered Dremel-like tool. It's significantly cheaper
than a real Dremel, but it, combined with the air compressor, is loud.
The handle gets really cold from the air expansion too. My current
garage has lots of electrical outlets and no built-in air outlets, I have
to drag the air hose over to the work and turn on the compressor. When
I move into my new house with builtin air lines and a compressor cabinet
to muffle the compressor I'll probably use it more often and the
flex-shaft Dremel less.
Note that you can get different hand-pieces for the flex Dremel, so
you can have a fat handle for crude work and a thin one
for fine work, or whatever fits your fingers. I'd recommend
an adjustable-speed flex-shaft Dremel as being
the most versatile for the money.
Get a set of tools and stones, and a cutting wheel. It's
best to buy a set so you have at least one of each type of tool.
Get some eye protection too, most of the stones ans cutters
spray chips/grit all over. The cutting wheels are particularly
bad for this.
Have fun, Dremels are really useful. Last week
my girlfriend used mine to cut tile for the bathroom.
--
Eric Murray Chief Security Scientist N*Able Technologies www.nabletech.com
(email: ericm at lne.com or nabletech.com) PGP keyid:E03F65E5
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