Dremels

[gramacarver]

Hey everybody! I'm a newbie at this so hopefully I don't screw up the website and make it only available to Mars and beyond. My question is: for all projects and purposes, what is the best Dremel to purchase? Size etc.? Thanks for any help you all might give me.

[susieq]

the one that has a flex shaft with it..... you want the control a flex shaft offers. Hang the motor at your work station, so that when you hold the business end of the shaft (the handpiece) the shaft is only curved slightly. You'll have to play with the height you need it to hang to accomplish that but if you leave it hang once you have it where you need it, you should not have to adjust it again unless you change your seating and it's higher or lower than the old seat.

The reason for hanging the Dremel and using the shaft is for much better control over your fine detail. The unit in question runs about 30,000 RPMs and will have collets for both 3/32 bits and 1/8 bits.

I have always loved the Dremel tools. I currently have 4 of them at my work station, even though I also now have the larger, more powerful Foredom as well. Anytime I am using a bit smaller than a 1/4" shaft, it's in a dremel....unless I am doing really fine detail and using my micro motor. But micro motors are a bit pricey, even for a cheap one. Until you have carved a while and are ready to spring the $300+ for a micro motor, the Dremel will do what ever you want it to do.

I got by with nothing but a Dremel for several years before I got a larger Foredom shaft tool and a couple more years after that until I bought a micro motor. Dremel is a really good all round tool. Fast enough to do fine detail work but also strong enough to so some roughing out. Just remember that when you are bearing down on the wood, if the motor changes to a high whine...you are using too much pressure and you need to back off a bit.
Let the RPMs do the work for you.

A couple of tips for shaft tools..... store them hanging. Never coil up the shaft and stick it in a drawer...it causes the outer shaft cover to develop permanent curves which in turn, causes excess friction and shaft breakage.
A leather apron is recommended, just to avoid the rotary bit getting caught in your clothing...which will ruin your garment and snap the shaft...bummer.
Start out slowly until you get a feel for the tool and the bits. And I will repeat....let the RPMs do the work for you. We're always anxious to make progress but carving takes patience. Don't get in a hurry. Relax and enjoy the process.......

[bethc]

Susieq gave you great advice. You also need to get a plug-in model. Though the flex shaft fits on and works with my lithium ion 10.8 volt Dremel, it pulls down the battery much faster than using the unit without the flexshaft. I use the flexshaft attached to my old 395 series Dremel. It works great, and I even prefer it to my Mastercarver for most of the work I do.

You also need to get a selection of carving bits that will fit your Dremel. The bits that come with any of the Dremel sets are not what you need for carving. The sanding drums are quite useful and can remove a lot of wood pretty quickly, but you need to get some Kutzal or Typhoon or such bits for roughing out. You will also need some finer bits such as stump cutters or ruby and diamond stones for working detail.

Have fun with your carving. The Dremel is a great tool for starting out.

Beth

[susieq]

Beth is dead on about getting the plug in types. Stopping to charge a battery would be so annoying. I didn't even realize Dremel made a battery unit that you could put a shaft on..... all of mine are plug ins..... Also, the bits. Dremel bits are not woodcarving bits. Visit places like
woodcarverssupply.com to see what you need. Remember, nothing larger than a 1/8 inch shaft for these tools...

[rickm]

if your going to carve forget dreml they break spend the money on a foredom

[gramacarver]

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to give me the fantastic advice. Like I said, I am such a novice that I'm still studying about the art of carving. My husband owns a construction company and I raid his shop for scraps almost every day; he is quite the encourager in this new interest of mine. I have only done a couple of faces in some wood scraps but I'm eager to get started into something more detailed than my novice beginnings. As a retired teacher, I take my own advice of "start slow" and "practice, practice, practice"! Thanks again for ALL advice. Maybe one day I will be good enough to post a picture......NOT!!!

[susieq]

Maybe women have better luck with Dremels than the guys, because we don't treat them like Foredoms.... LOL ......they're not Foredoms. They are a smaller, less powerful shaft tool than a Foredom. They have much higher RPMS though, and if you let the RPMS do the work, it makes up for the lack of power to a great degree. I have had a lot of Dremels over the last 18 years. I have never had one break on me. I use them hard, but I don't abuse them.

Even though I currently have 2 Foredoms, I still keep 4 Dremels hanging at my work station. When I'm using 1/8 bits, they're in a Dremel. I can tell you that a kutzal is way more impressive at 30,000 RPMs than it is at 18,000 or 20,000 RPMs.

It's a good, entry level tool for Power carving. It won't break the bank and you will get a feel for power carving and decide if you want to continue and expand your tool arsenal...or not. When you finally move up to a Foredom, I bet you will keep the Dremel around just because it does some things better than the slower, larger tools...... I keep 2 with 1/8 collets in them and 2 with 3/32 collets in them.....

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by rickm

if your going to carve forget dreml they break spend the money on a foredom

....Ah No! Get a couple of the corded Dremels. They're handy to have, and besides the Foredom's are for the heavy carvings.

[mrugenus]

You definitely need a flex shaft. I think it would be impossible to carve any kind of detail with just the dremel. I also purchased the chuck. Changing bits with the collets was a real pain especially with only one dremel and going from a 1/8 bit to a 3/32 bit. The chuck allows me to change bits quickly and without a wrench.

[flyfisherman_53]

I like my model 3000 it has a dial down for rpm's so you can adjust speeds to what fits the type of job your doing.