Beginner stuff

[susieq]

Ok, while I was out carving in the shop today, I took the new Dremel shaft and put it on one of my old Dremel motor units...no problem. So you can use your dad's old unit with a new shaft.

Also, I think any foot pedal will work, it doesn't need to be a Dremel brand....could be something you buy at Harbor Freight or at a yard sale. Now I do have both on/off pedals and variable speed pedals in use in my shop. For sanding, I like the variable speed pedal but for full speed on most bits, I prefer the on/off pedal. You just click it and go....click it and stop. Hope this helps.

[Dwhitt1981]

Yes it helps a ton. I've got a $25 gift card for lowes so I guess I know where it's going . I may try and order my knife set from little shavers today to. Thanks for the info on the shaft.

[susieq]

I think the flexshaft attachment is in the neighborhood of $29. Before you leave the store with it, open it and make sure that the little adapter nut is in there with the shaft. You will unscrew the end piece off of your dad's unit...the piece that holds the collet. The new adapter nut has a square opening in it for the square end of the shaft to fit into. Then the shaft screws right onto the end of the motor unit. It's simple as long as you have that adapter nut and it should come with the shaft when you buy it.

Once you have the shaft on the unit and you have it hung up beside your work space....from a string attached to a beam in the ceiling if that's what it takes....LOL.... remember that you should not work with a curve or a kink in the shaft. That creates a lot of friction/heat and is not good for the shaft. Ditto for "S" curves. Try to work with only a slight curve in the shaft. Also, train yourself to turn the wood when trying to reach a new spot. It's easy to start contorting yourself/bending the shaft to reach a different place on the wood and you don't even realize your doing it. Learning good habits to start with can save you some frustration and equipment damage.

Listen to the motor while you work....you can hear it start to drag/whine if you are applying too much pressure or bearing down too hard with your bit. Dremel runs at 30,000 rpms....let the rpms do the work for you. You can "hog" with it but not as much or as hard as you can "hog" with a big Foredom. But an aggressive bit is a lot more aggressive in a Dremel because of the higher rpms so it kind of evens out. The big shaft units don't run half as fast as the Dremel.
I sure hope you enjoy your foray into power carving. After 15 years of power carving, I have a bunch of nice toys to work with...I still have 3 of the Dremels hanging at my work station. Saves me having to change collets for a different size...LOL. They are a great tool and no matter how many more expensive tools you get, I believe you will always have a Dremel on hand because they fill a certain niche that the other tools just don't address.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by susieq

...
Once you have the shaft on the unit and you have it hung up beside your work space....from a string attached to a beam in the ceiling if that's what it takes....LOL.... remember that you should not work with a curve or a kink in the shaft. That creates a lot of friction/heat and is not good for the shaft. Ditto for "S" curves. Try to work with only a slight curve in the shaft. Also, train yourself to turn the wood when trying to reach a new spot. It's easy to start contorting yourself/bending the shaft to reach a different place on the wood and you don't even realize your doing it. Learning good habits to start with can save you some frustration and equipment damage....

When you finish using your Dremel, make sure the flex shaft hangs straight up and down, or lays flat on a shelf for storage. I hang mine from the ceiling joist in my basement workshop. The reason is that the shaft will develop a "memory" of a coiled position and want to always take that position. Leads to excessive heat and wear on the shaft.

Claude

[susieq]

Thanks Claude, I forgot to mention that one..... never coil up your shaft and stick it in a drawer... several folks have found out the hard way that the shaft has a memory and coiling it to store it will put permanent curves into it, resulting in shafts that break easily. Hanging is always best. If you can just leave it hang over your work area, that's ideal.

[sashadoc]

Originally Posted by Dwhitt1981

I think I will give a friend a call for the leather. They have a shoe shop and do a ton of boot repairs. So I should be able to get some. What type compound do I use?

I'm pretty cheap but what works for me is this:

I went to a thrift shop and picked up a "real" leather belt. I cut it into the desired length and secured it to a piece of flat wood so that the edge of the belt is flush with the edge of the wood. I then scuffed up the leather a little bit with 80 grit sandpaper. Next I bought a stick of red jewelers rouge from the hardware store (about $2.95 for a good size stick). See, I told you I was cheap! Rub the rouge into the leather and stop away. Works for me and it keeps my tools razor sharp. You don't even know you've been cut til the blood starts flowing lol.

Hope this helps?
Tim

[Sharon Dell]

Hi Dwhitt1981. I'm late getting into this discussion. I agree that the flexible shaft on the dremel is a little awkward, but if you practice a whole lot you can achieve good results. Even without the shaft you can. I have a dremel 395 with the flexible shaft. I have to remember to keep my fingers back far enough from the tip of it so I don't get bit. I also have a dremel 400 (which a lot of people have had problems with, but I haven't. I like the shaft on it better, plus the 400 has 2 amps, were as the 395 only has like 1.2 or so amps. Then I just picked up a new black and decker rotary tool (the basic) 3 speed model on sale for $20 at wally world. I really like it and it has 2 amps also. I haven't tried the dremel flexible shafts on it yet, but it looks like at least one of them will work. As far as projects, I would just get a hunk of wood and start testing out the different burrs and bits to get the feel of it and see what you can do with all of them. Just have fun with it for now!

[susieq]

Hi Sharon, glad to see you posting again.... what was the trouble or did we ever find out? Right after you told me about what was happening, I had an email from another member who also had the same problem.....sounded like the social network in question, was causing the problems for him... Anyhow, good to see things worked out and you are posting again.

[Kerba]

G'day! I'm just a newbie at this too. I've found some of the Youtube videos to be great value and very helpful. We bought a Ryobi Scroll Saw because my husband I want to have a go at Intarsia etc, and it has a flex-shaft with dremel-like attachments. It's not terribly fast revolution-wise, but I will play around with it a bit to see how I go. I've also got something similar to a Dremel, which is faster than the Ryobi attachment, and will play with that too. I'm keen to do Woodspirits and walking sticks for starters.
There is such a lot of great info available on this forum. Many thanks to those of you who are willing to assist those of us just starting out :-)

[susieq]

Hello Kerba,
Welcome. Be sure to post some of your work when you can. We'd all like to have a look.