Rotary Tool

[John King]

Looking for recommendations on a rotary tool - Dremel or similar. Would like to have thoughts supporting recommendation. Thanks. - John

 

[Raul McCai]

I had the dremel. Hated trying to hold it. Got one of those Foredom shaft type tools at a show. It's got a little three jaw chuck. Like that much better. Still not much of a carver.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

What are you planning to do with the tool ?

 

[Bill Boehme]

I have air tools which are loud and use a lot of air, Dremel which is OK for detail work, and Foredom with a couple handpieces. The Foredom is great for removing a lot of wood fast, but it all flies right at your face so you need respiratory protection and a face shield. It is my favorite. I also have some carving tools, a Proxxon and an air tool that is similar. Also, an air saw tool.

 

[john lucas]

We need to know more about what your going to do. I love my Dremels. I probably have 7 or 8. I pick them up at yard sales and sometimes pawn shops if they are cheap enough. Occasionally I get a dog but not real often. I pass up the really crappy looking ones. The Foredom is a wonderful tool. It has a lot more power and will handle up to 1/4" shank which lets you use bigger tools. For really fine carving I find the flex shaft gets in my way. I have flex shaft for the Dremel and it has the same problem. I like the Dremel for fine work and the Foredom for heavier work. I don't have one of the micro motor carvers. They run at considerably faster speeds than the dremel and doesn't follow the grain quite as bad. You can't take very big cuts with them but they are wonderful for very fine detail. I want one and have used them just can't fit it in my budget right now. The really high speed turbines that run 300K RPM don't follow the grain at all and are really easy to carve details with and for piercing. Not so good for removing larger quantities of wood. They are also quite expensive. I don't have one of those either but have been looking.

 

[John Torchick]

I have a Dremel. I ran a piece of 2x4 throught the tablesaw and cut a V groove in it. I put the Dremel in the V groove upside down to allow for air circulation. I then use a HF orange/black clamp to hold it on the edge of my work bench. I'll check to see if I have a photo.
No photo, sorry. It works great for a small grinder when the big one isn't necessary. FWIW, I got a rechargeable Dremel a few years ago- had no power and finally tossed it and went back to a corded one.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I forgot to mention that I also have a couple dental handpieces that run at about 400,000 RPM. They are used for piercing thin pieces and other fine detail decorations.

 

[John King]

What are you planning to do with the tool ?

General light sanding/grinding/metal polishing. Sharpening bandsaw blade. Cutting peppermill shafts. Nothing severe - piercing, heavy carving, etc. - John

 

[Bill Boehme]

General light sanding/grinding/metal polishing. Sharpening bandsaw blade. Cutting peppermill shafts. Nothing severe - piercing, heavy carving, etc. - John

Sounds like you will need a whole arsenal of tools.

 

[Raul McCai]

Sharpening bandsaw blade

Oh gosh. BS blades are so cheap.

 

[John Torchick]

Bill, I need some dental work.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I have a loaded Dremel kit that does all that and more. Don't get cordless.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Bill, I need some dental work.

I can work you in between a couple of my wood piercing projects. I can even sharpen your teeth if you wish. It will enable you to gnaw right through the toughest steak with ease. I have some wood bleach that is also great for whitening antler and teeth, but the taste isn't too great ... very sour.

 

[John Torchick]

Thanks for the offer, Bill. I'll call you for an appointment........sometime this century. I'll call collect.

 

[Pete Blair]

We need to know more about what your going to do. I love my Dremels. I probably have 7 or 8. I pick them up at yard sales and sometimes pawn shops if they are cheap enough. Occasionally I get a dog but not real often. I pass up the really crappy looking ones. The Foredom is a wonderful tool. It has a lot more power and will handle up to 1/4" shank which lets you use bigger tools. For really fine carving I find the flex shaft gets in my way. I have flex shaft for the Dremel and it has the same problem. I like the Dremel for fine work and the Foredom for heavier work. I don't have one of the micro motor carvers. They run at considerably faster speeds than the dremel and doesn't follow the grain quite as bad. You can't take very big cuts with them but they are wonderful for very fine detail. I want one and have used them just can't fit it in my budget right now. The really high speed turbines that run 300K RPM don't follow the grain at all and are really easy to carve details with and for piercing. Not so good for removing larger quantities of wood. They are also quite expensive. I don't have one of those either but have been looking.

John just to be sure you know, I have as you say, one of the more expensive, very High speed tools but I also put one together for a lot less off amazon and eBay. Not as good a tool but every bit as good as a started to see if it is what a carver wants to do. If you are interested I could point you in the same direction.

 

[Gretch Flo]

I have flex shaft for the Dremel and it has the same problem. I like the Dremel for fine work and the Foredom for heavier work. I don't have one of the micro motor carvers. They run at considerably faster speeds than the dremel and doesn't follow the grain quite as bad. You can't take very big cuts with them but they are wonderful for very fine detail. I want one and have used them just can't fit it in my budget right now

John-have you checked good will or V of america??. Your suggestion several years ago led me to 4 nylon jackets for shedding shavings for $17, including one goretex!!!!. Go shopping

 

[Bill Boehme]

John, you can put together a piercing system on the cheap using a dental handpiece. I bought a couple of them on eBay. I would recommend the high-speed 2-hole kind with a 45° head, and ceramic bearings. Also, getting one with an LED light is nice.

 

[Ron Rutter]

I have a dremel that i use for various little jobs. Problem i have is that the bit generally comes loose very quickly. Anyone have the same experience?
Bandsaw blades aren't necessarily cheap!! There are 7/32" cylindrical stones used for sharpening chainsaw blades that work well for sharpening 3 tooth blades that work well in a dremel.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I have a dremel that i use for various little jobs. Problem i have is that the bit generally comes loose very quickly. Anyone have the same experience?
Bandsaw blades aren't necessarily cheap!! There are 7/32" cylindrical stones used for sharpening chainsaw blades that work well for sharpening 3 tooth blades that work well in a dremel.

I don't have that loose bit problem with my Dremels.
I'd like to see how you sharpen a bandsaw blade. Got any photos?

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I don't have that loose bit problem with my Dremels.video
I'd like to see how you sharpen a bandsaw blade. Got any photos?

Tom I do not have a pic but there are videos.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_akVVJo3G0M

It is not perfect but makes the blade near as sharp as a fairly new one.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I'll give it a try, thanks!

 

[Ron Rutter]

Tom I do not have a pic but there are videos.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_akVVJo3G0M

It is not perfect but makes the blade near as sharp as a fairly new one.

Thanks Gerald. I don't have any pictures. Also, I should have said 5/32" as well as 7/32. I think it also works fairly well if you just do a down stroke on top of the tooth.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Thanks for the tip about re sharpening...

 

[john lucas]

I tried resharpening works pretty well but I can get my blades so inexpensive it isn't worth the hassle. for a blade for my 14" saw it was $9 I think. for my new saw that takes 152" it's $12. It's a local guy who cuts and welds them. He will sell out of state if you contact him. I usually but 3 or 4. Mine are 1/2" 3 TPI. I have also purchased 1/4" 6TPI. don't know if he has anything else because that's all I need. If anyone wants to try him send me a private e-mail and I'll give you his number. He is an excellent guy. Also does a fantastic job of sharpening saw blades. I sent my table saw blades off to some pretty expensive places and they weren't any better than what Raymond does.

 

[Pete Blair]

Here is a real cool link to a wooden DIY band saw sharpener.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a23646/diy-bandsaw-sharpening-rig/

 

[Bill Boehme]

Here is a real cool link to a wooden DIY band saw sharpener.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a23646/diy-bandsaw-sharpening-rig/

It looks like a cute Rube Goldberg gizmo, but it's grinding the wrong side of the tooth. It's the gullet side that needs to be sharpened.

 

[hockenbery]

It looks like a cute Rube Goldberg gizmo, but it's grinding the wrong side of the tooth. It's the gullet side that needs to be sharpened.

Not absolutely so! I have sharpened a lot of bandsaw blades on the grinder using a technique Johannese Michelson showed me. Grind the outside edge of every other tooth on the corner of the wheel.
Then use the other corner of the wheel an grind every other tooth( the ones not sharpened) This balances the set.

Sharpening gullets or tops or both will work.

A little like sharpening a scraper.

 

[Dave Delo]

That's pretty much the way I do it and works quite well.

 

[Pete Blair]

Bill

It looks like a cute Rube Goldberg gizmo, but it's grinding the wrong side of the tooth. It's the gullet side that needs to be sharpened.

I have sharpened both the gullet and the face of the tooth. both seem to work depending on how many times I sharpen.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Not absolutely so! I have sharpened a lot of bandsaw blades on the grinder using a technique Johannese Michelson showed me. Grind the outside edge of every other tooth on the corner of the wheel.
Then use the other corner of the wheel an grind every other tooth( the ones not sharpened) This balances the set.

Sharpening gullets or tops or both will work.

A little like sharpening a scraper.

I should clarify what I meant when I said to sharpen the gullet. It's actually the front or underneath side of the tip as shown in the figure below since it's the leading edge where the cutting takes place. By sharpening the front side, you also sharpen the intersection of the front and cheek of the tooth.

If you only sharpen back (top) of the tooth, then only the edge between the front and back gets sharpened. While that's a lot better than a dull blade, there are a couple disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the side of the tooth (where the front of the gullet and the cheek intersect) is still dull so the blade can't cut quite as cleanly or deep. The more significant disadvantage of only sharpening the tops by hand is changing the geometry. To cut efficiently, all of the tips need to be exactly the same height from the back of the blade. If the grinding leaves some tips higher than the others as in the figure below then only the higher tips will be cutting meaning less efficient cutting. Further, when the higher teeth get dull, they will still be sticking proud and preventing the shorter sharp teeth from cutting.

Ideally, the tops should only get a very light grinding ... just enough to expose clean metal. sharpening the front (underside) usually takes care of sharpening the top and side edges. A more thorough sharpening would include a light pass to clean up crud in the gullet as well as side grinding on the cheek because resin builds up on the relief angle of the cheek preventing the most efficient cutting.