Dremel: Uses?

[Onomea]

I bought a dremel a year or so ago. ~ $50. Reason I did was I had this screw, pointy side sticking out of a sliding door, in my cottage in Hawaii. Nasty screw. Rusty. Could not figure out how it got imbedded in the door that way, but wanted to remove it. I worried that someone could get a nasty cut or puncture. Used the cutting disk and cut it flush to the door.

Kinda an expensive solution for one screw, but a hacksaw would have messed the door up.

Used it a coupla weeks ago again, at my Japan place, to remove some unneeded metal supports from a lamp shade.

So I think it is a pretty handy tool for cutting small pieces of metal, but I wonder what else folks use them for....

Anybody?

 

[Jim1392]

I use it to cut my dog's nails. She would really fight me and I was also afraid to cut them and make them bleed when I used a clipper. Now my wife holds her in her lap and I tap each one until I get them at the length I want them. At first the noise bothered her a little but now it's no problem.

 

[Salty RI]

I use mine for carving fishing lures.

 

[Faulkner]

I've used mine for polishing feed ramps on M1 carbines, on my Walther PPKS, and on a Colt 1903.

I also used it recently to modify recoil spring guide on all my Ruger MK .22 pistols. A little modification I learned from Majestic Arms to help the re-assembling them a little easier.

 

[6518John]

My gunsmith says they are the greatest firearm tool ever invented and they result in about half his yearly business! He says a dremmel would have turned even John Browning into a BUBBA!

 

[Bozz10mm]

I have one of the battery powered Dremels. Probably at least 20 years old. It came with NiCad rechargeable batteries. Those went bad after about 5 years, but I never throw anything any. So about 4 years ago, I got the idea to fix it. Nothing to lose. Took the battery case apart and replaced the NiCads with Eneloop NiMh. Runs great and holds a charge for months.

I use it mostly for polishing stuff. With the soft cotton wheels and the red jewelers rouge, it works great on pistol feed ramps. Also, it polishes up scratched watch crystals pretty good. I have used it with some Flitz, to polish a small area on a car headlight lens that was starting to get a little foggy. It doesn't really have enough torque to do anything else tho. I keep saying one of these days I'm going to get the more powerful corded model.

 

[chaparrito]

Nose and ear hair.

 

[Tinhack]

I use the cutoff disk the most but sanding drums and polishing pads come in a close second followed by grinding stones. I also use a few wire drill sizes for carburetor jets. I suppose it depends on what YOU do for work or hobby. I'm into everything from reproducing antique car parts to tool and die making. I use mine so often that it has a permanent hanging spot on a work bench and stays plugged in.

 

[cmort666]

At various times, I have used mine to:

• Cut the bayonet lug off of an AR front sight assembly.
• Smooth the edges of holsters prior to applying gum tragicanth.
• Smoothing the ends of PVC pipes.
• Cut bolts to length.

I've got one of the medium sized kits, along with a flexible extension shaft.

A useful addition is a speed control rheostat for a router. It makes it VERY easy to fine tune the speed of the Dremel.

 

[Qball]

Dremel...

 

[4barrel]

You need to be good with a Dremel. You seldom get a second chance. They are handy in my carburetor repair service. They are handy as bead blasters -- cordless drills--power washers--air compressors--cutting torch--parts washers--A good lift --and a cold frig for the beer and a good ac unit. They make life easier. I would hate to be without one. Like a pocket an a shirt.

 

[DumpStick]

Well, I'm fixin' to find out how I'll use it.

Santa brought one this year. I can't believe I don't have one already, and Santa was even more mystified.

She thought I already had every power tool there is.

 

[Old TexMex]

I use mine as a memory exercise. Where'd I leave the damn thing?

 

[Chuck24]

Home dentistry.

 

[Targets Guy]

Still trying to figure out why I got one. This thread helps.

 

[swsig]

Still trying to figure out why I got one. This thread helps.

It certainly does. I've always confused my Dremel with my RotoZip.

 

[steelslaver]

The little cut off wheels are great. The little grinding wheels can be used to shape things, I even use little carbide burrs. I have a bunch of dremels in my shop and one is mounted in a tiny drill press frame. When I make knive sheaths I hand stitch and use the little dremel drill press to drill the holes for stitching.

Yes an idiot can ruin stuff with a dremel
OR a drill press, or a hammer or a screwdriver or a cutting torch or just about anything else. Not the tool, its the guy using it.

 

[Watchdog]

Once I bought my Dremel, I had no further need for my electric toothbrush.

 

[Big Cholla]

Skill Means Everything

My gunsmith says they are the greatest firearm tool ever invented and they result in about half his yearly business! He says a dremmel would have turned even John Browning into a BUBBA!

IMHO, the skill level required to make the Dremel come into its own while being used in the gunsmithing trade is high and therefore not achieved by a lot of users. And from those who fail to achieve that skill level comes the bad reputation that the use of Dremel Tools in gunsmithing gets from some.

I have developed a saying, "There are three things that if didn't exist, I wouldn't have bothered in becoming a practicing gunsmith; compressed air, Q-Tips and Dremel Tools." I have both a Dremel and a Foredom Tool. The Foredom hangs in a permanent place over my workbench accessible to use around the vise. The Dremel is put away until it is needed for a job the Foredom Tool won't reach.

I agree that almost everything that can be done with the Dremel/Foredom can be done by hand. But, that takes time. I feel that after the tools and books are bought, the gunsmithing skills acquired, the workbench built....a gunsmith is in the business of selling time. Any tool that uses less time to give the same job results that hand work will should be used. Obviously, it takes some real judgement as to when it is appropriate to use the Dremel/Foredom vs. hand work.

IMHO, for any Gunsmith to condemn any use of a Dremel or Foredom out of hand is pure arrogance. And, I will bet $ to doughnuts that the gunsmith saying that has a Dremel or its equivalent stashed someplace in his/her shop.

Dremel/Foredom uses are limited only by imagination and skill.

"Bubba" has certainly created multiple gunsmithing repair jobs by misuse and lack of skill. I had a customer that imagined himself as a budding pistolsmith. The third time he brought a bubba job to me for correction. I told him that I would do the job for one consideration....that he bring his Dremel to me and to never purchase another. Darned, if that wasn't exactly what he did. I still have that Dremel today. It is my backup to my main Dremel. .......

 

[2tall79]

As a carpenter, I use it a lot. I use the sanding drums for a lot of detail work and final fitting. You can buy roto-zip bits for it and use it for cutting out outlets and other plunge cuts. I have a router attachment for mine and router bits that I use to dap hinges and door hardware. A very useful tool.