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Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized!
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Subject: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Rick Fielding Date: 03 Jan 01 - 12:48 PM If this turns into a "Boys with Toys" discussion I'll understand, but I AM curious if some of our wonderful gals here have the same affliction. Bert mentioned Dremels in another thread, and boy, can I relate! I've owned about four and the last one blew up about two months ago. So....naturally I've gotta get another......with ALL THE NEW GADGETS AND ATTACHMENTS! I simply have not been able to pass ANY Dremel display in a hardware or craft shop for years without stopping to stare at the little suckers. Sure, they are INCREDIBLY practical for doing just about any repairs and setups on instruments. The REALLY tiny drill bit is great for mounting Fifth string capos on banjos, and the sanding drums and cutting wheels are invaluable for many little jobs.....but...I've never got one of the (whaddya call it?) "free range" pen-like attachments connected to a rubber cord. Seems too heavy and unweildy. However The "Right Angle" attachment looks great, so I guess when I get my new one (delayed for a bit 'cause our heat went off and the furnace guy charged 180 bucks!) I'll get ALL the new doohickies! Any other "Dremoholics"? Rick Apologies for using David Letterman's take on Stepin' Fetchit in the Header. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: katlaughing Date: 03 Jan 01 - 12:55 PM I met my first Dremel in metalsmithing class three years ago. I fell in love at first sight! Our teacher was making us craft everything by hand; my shoulders ached, my saw blades kept breaking; the sandpaper wore away my fingerprints; my chasing hammer kept slipping, but finally, FINALLY I got to attch the little buffing pad, put the polishing compound on and USE THE DREMEL!! Yes!!! Still don't have one at home; a kiln is top priority, but I can certainly understand the feelings you have, Rick, although as Bert said, it takes some kind of power-minded person to build a shed with just a Dremel; something I'd probably try, too! kat |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Bert Date: 03 Jan 01 - 12:56 PM Yup, just love the little beastie. Mine is a rechargeable, so I use Tree's full power version most of the time. When you mentioned that your's blew up while you were renovating your shed, I got this image in my mind of half a dozen 2x4s on sawhorses and you with your cutting off tool on the Dremel. So I'm not going to let you forget that Rick. BTW have you seen the cute line of miniature power tools that Sears has now. A little sander and a grinder and other such goodies. Oh, and Tree has moved upscale now, since she bought a RotoZip. I still get to borrow it though. Bert (who gets all the BIG tools, the bench saw and the air compressor etc.) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Lady McMoo Date: 03 Jan 01 - 01:01 PM Yes I'm a Dremelholic too. Bought one when I was repairing instruments for a living and used it all the time. Now, after some 20 years, it's almost worn out and I've been eyeing up the new models with flexible drives and other gizmos much to Lady McMoo's great annoyance! mcmoo |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Melani Date: 03 Jan 01 - 01:15 PM I just got my first one for Christmas, after drooling for many years. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but will be using it first for making antler buttons for belt pouches. After that, the possibilities are endless. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Midchuck Date: 03 Jan 01 - 01:22 PM I also got a rechargeable one for Xmas. Haven't tried it yet. I'm trying to read the instructions all the way through first, for once in my life. Peter. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Jan 01 - 02:40 PM I got curious about that word "Dremel" - sounds like something out of Star Trek. Probably a race of friendly aliens.
So I checked, and was pleased to find that it's the name of a real person, not some nasty acronym made up by combining the names of companies that have devoured each other...
Here is a potted biography of the man. He sounds OK. (I love the bit about the machine he invented for sharpening razor blades. I'm sure we used to have one of those in my parents home...) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 03:01 PM I got Dremel crap running out my ass. I was overjoyed to see the 90 adapter and my next two nickels will not be rubbed together, but will go for one of those. The router attachment is just the best!!! And ..... If you check with the boys at Stew-Mac, they have some great little adapters for it to cut binding and purfling channels and grooves JUST RIGHT!!! Plus they have a wonderful CLEAR base plate so you can see exactly what you're doing. Drop 50 clams and you can have it too....you'll love it. Even if you don't cut binding channels, the attchment will work for other similar uses. I cut the pin blocks along the edge to inset the soundboards on hammereds for instance. They also have a cute little router table, but I made one myself out of a heavy plastic step stoll and also use it as a small spindle sander, just the thing for cutting and finishing bridge rails. Ah, Dremel............Makes my mouth water just to say the word. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: paddymac Date: 03 Jan 01 - 03:41 PM It is indeed a marvelous creation which allows an amateur to do much better quality work in many areas. Both a fine tool and a cool toy. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:15 PM Thanks for the link, Kevin. I was very pleased to find that Dremel is still located on 21st Street in my home town, Racine, Wisconsin (on Lake Michigan, 25 miles south of Milwaukee). When I lived there in the 1950's and 1960's, Racine was a fairly prosperous little town of 90,000 inhabitants. For such a small town, it had a lot of well-known brand names - Johnson's Wax, J.I. Case Tractors and Massey-Harris-Ferguson, Walker jacks/mufflers, Horlick's Malted Milk, Hartmann-Wheary Luggage, Hamilton Beach, Whitman coloring books, Oster's "Raycine" hair clippers, Jacobson lawn mowers, Young Radiator, and Dremel. Many people from Racine worked ten miles south in Kenosha, home of American Motors and Jockey underwear. We also had a fishing industry that had the most interesting little boats (I tried to find a picture to link to, but couldn't - they looked kind of like wooden shoes). In the years since, many of the industries have shut down or moved south. Racine was down to a population of 70,000 at one time, but now it's back to 84,000. Anyhow, it's nice to see that Dremel is still there. Johnson's Wax seems to be doing well, too. -Joe Offer, in exile in California for 25 years- |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:18 PM Ever had a wax job Joe? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Rick Fielding Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:29 PM Don't answer that Joe....but bert, tell me about the "Rotozip" tool. I LOVE the advertising. Is it useful? For what? Catspaw, I've never tried the router attachment. Can you use it to put inlys in? How? Rick |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Kim C Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:43 PM Mister has a Dremel and I don't know that he's ever used it for anything. I, however, do make jewelry, and would like to use it for that. Never have got around to it though- mostly I have just stuck to bead stringing. :) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:43 PM I've never tried anything small Rick as I think you're better off with the old chisel stuff for accuracy, but I have yused it to "hollow out" a larger area after being outlined. You can remove material safely and accurately in depth, very smooth surface too. For purfling inlay, its great because you are basically cutting a channel. Stew-Mac has a handy-dandy little adjustable roller to move easily along whatever edge you're working. If you want to get that 45 series appearance, you can do it easily and get the soundhole too. You gotta' buy one man....you'll play with it for days and discover some really neat stuff. C'mon Joe......Ask about the wax job!!! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Clinton Hammond2 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 05:49 PM As well, I am a dremel junkie... and will be till the day I die... ;-) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Bert Date: 03 Jan 01 - 06:20 PM The Rotozip is a Dremel on steroids. It's quite a bit bigger and is used mainly for cutting holes in sheetrock. To do that it has what looks like a regular drill bit but it cuts on the side, not the end. It also has a right angle cutting off tool attachment that will take blades for metal, masonry and tile. A kit costs about US$100. Not nearly as versatile as the Dremel, but much more powerfull and makes a lot of dust. Here's their website |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Peter T. Date: 03 Jan 01 - 06:30 PM Spent a lovely day in Racine a couple of years ago at the Frank Lloyd Wright house (Wingspread), went through Johnsons Wax, and went to a fabulous restaurant in an old druggist store -- and what I remember is that it was the home of the INSINKERATOR!! Also that much of the downtown watefront area had been renewed badly like many another mediumscale American town. What a mess. yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Sorcha Date: 03 Jan 01 - 06:43 PM Excuse me, God, but just what the hell is a "Dremel"? Matt has instructed me on the SawsAll, but Dremel I don't know......do I need one of these for furniture refinishing? |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 06:54 PM Rotozip sounds like something you do to the guest who started Rick's thread. Or possibly a technique used by a hooker. Spaw |
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Subject: Racine, Belle City of the Great Lakes From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Jan 01 - 06:54 PM Ohmygosh, how could I have forgotten Insinkerator, the pride of Racine, the prince of garbage disposals? Peter, we used to sneak under the fence of the Johnson estate. Got chased off three times - once by a caretaker, once by a skunk, and once by a bull. We were allowed to skate on some ponds on the outskirts of the Johnson property. Many years ago, I discovered that the wife of my son's soccer coach also came from Racine, and had worked with my sister at Girl Scout Camp. Upon this discovery, we immediately broke into the Racine City Song:
OK, Spaw, I'll take the bait, what's this about the wax job? -Joe Offer-
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: SINSULL Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:00 PM Any of you guys ever hear of Lorena Bobbitt? Make sure to put your toys away when you're done. Imagine if Lorena had had an Insinkerator! |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: GUEST,Bigchuck Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:00 PM I have four of the little beasties. Couldn't live without them. Damn, I think my cookie has died or something. No wonder I can't see my PMs. Sandy |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:20 PM Sorcha, click on that blue clicky in the post I made further up the thread, and have a shifty round the site. It's got more about Dremels than you probably want to know.
I don't know what it is about men and gadgets. Not just men, but in my experience women seem to go in for more evidently functional gadgets, men go more for one's that seem like "neat", and then find out uses for them which can end up being useful. "I need somethingt that will do this job for me" versus "That thing looks really great - now what could I use it for?"
Or maybe that's just me? |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Peter T. Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:22 PM The Wax Plant was partly in use when I was there (the ground floor for sure). Wingspread is certainly a beautiful house (like most Wright houses, you couldn't live in it, but it is certainly beautiful). yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Sorcha Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:37 PM ahh, thanks, Kevin. I guess I should have clicked on that sooner.......looks a little small to me, I would rather have a Skil Saw and a single direction finsih sander....or something that gets umpteen layers of paint out of a corner or carved grapevine. I bet a Dremel could do that, Huh?
Next Question: I have a "dry sink" sitting on my patio waiting for me to finish "re finishing" it. It's just pine, but it will be beautiful if I ever finish it. It had 10 layers of paint on it; 6 shelves and 4 doors.......the underneath sides are killing me. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Little Neophyte Date: 03 Jan 01 - 07:57 PM I was going to buy myself a basic 9.6 volt drill. Either a Dewalt, Black & Deckor, Makita or Crafsman Cordless drill. Are you guys saying I should get a Dremel instead? Would it do all the same jobs and more? Bon |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Bill D Date: 03 Jan 01 - 08:31 PM nope, Bonnie...a regular drill oughta be first...Dremels use only pretty small drill bits..1/8" or smaller usually I use a Ryobi 'clone' of Dremel, as I got it cheap and don't need it every day..(do some inlay work and cleaning out of small areas in woodturning..)...and I DO have the flexible shaft, Rick, so I can use some exotic attachments in tight places... |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Sorcha Date: 03 Jan 01 - 09:03 PM "flexible shaft....exotic attachments in tight places".....hmmmmmmm, have to look into this...... |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: catspaw49 Date: 03 Jan 01 - 09:09 PM Unfortunately, Bill's shaft has gotten extremely flexible with age......limp, you might say.......very sad.......... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: BlueJay Date: 03 Jan 01 - 10:43 PM Cool thread. I've burned up three Dremels in my time. Absolutely a must have for my shop. I agree with Spaw et al that the 90 degree attachment looks worthwhile. I have one of the flexible shafts, and while handy, it generates quite a bit of heat, that is, the shaft itself gets quitewarm to the touch. So I wonder how hard it is on the little Dremel tool motor. Rick, I think if I were doing serious inlays, or anything requiring great precision, I would invest in a Foredom brand moto-tool. A lot more expensive, but more accurate and built with more precision. If I'd bought one thirty years ago, I would probably still be using the same one, and not burned up the three Dremels. All and all, though, the Dremel is a great value, with amazing versatility. BlueJay |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Gypsy Date: 03 Jan 01 - 11:04 PM Gotta have it! From repairs on the mando, and dulcimer, to sharpening up the chainsaw when you can't take it any more! Sorcha, don a mask, and use a heat gun on that sink Strips paint like nobodies business. Have helper scrape, while you heat, gotta move fast. creep...creep..creep. But it IS a tool thread, yes? |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Rick Fielding Date: 03 Jan 01 - 11:46 PM Sorcha...close your eyes and picture this....muscular young trim bodies, hands clasped around big throbbing JACKHAMMERS....sweat pouring off them....hmmmmmmmmmm Now picture several Mudcatters (I'm thinking mostly of Bert, Myself and Catspan).....flabby old outtashape lumpy bodies, three fingers clasped around their little Dremels..their flexible shafts wobbling....sweat pouring into their Depends......oyyyyyyyyy Hope that was good for you. Rick (my only X rated post of the year) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: mousethief Date: 04 Jan 01 - 12:12 AM Okay, so I built a box for my dremel, and wired it with a dimmer switch (the interrupting kind, not the resistor kind) so I can dremel at various speeds. I guess that makes me a dremelholic. There is a song about this on an early Fleetwood Mac album...
And it seems like a Dremel Alex |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 04 Jan 01 - 05:11 AM What's the betting Rick will be playing a Dremel on his next CD?(Call it "Not God, but up with the angels", Rick!) How does it sound unplugged? What tuning? I've only seen the adverts and assumed it was like the K-tel/Ronco rubbish (er, I mean useful gadgets).As a DIY klutz I think I'll pass. RtS |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Steve Parkes Date: 04 Jan 01 - 09:03 AM Personally, I'm a Minicraft lad. (Do they have Minicraft over there in the States?) The Dremel is a bit too big and powerful for the kind of delicate stuff like ships-in-bottles and doll's houses that Mrs P and I like to get up to on these long winter nights. We have the 40-Watt drill and stand, the 100-Watt drill and stand (these also double as vertical millers with the addition of one or two bits of wood and some G-cramps), the sander (I forget the name of the style; it's a sort of disc job with a table, rather than the orbital or belt style), and the variable power supply. That's not to mention all the small hand-tools and jigs and stuff. The Dremel is not ideally suited for 30-gauge drills, is it? Steve (not a hand-tool snob at all!) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Grab Date: 04 Jan 01 - 10:10 AM Use one for drilling and cutting the PCBs I make - actually a cheap copy, not a proper Dremel. I've found that standard cutoff wheels are a bit flimsy and don't work too well, so I've got some larger and tougher ones which work much better. Next up is building a cutting jig so I can cut nice straight lines with it - got to be cheaper building it than buying it. Latest toy is a B&D Scorpion saw - it's a reciprocating saw like a jigsaw but bigger. It's superb for large-scale hacking-about of bits of wood. Only downside to it is that it's a noisy beast, but then so are all good power-tools! Grab. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Murray MacLeod Date: 04 Jan 01 - 11:35 AM Sorcha, you ask why people paint over beautiful wood, and I guess that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Antique furniture made from softwood was ALWAYS designed to be painted, and the modern fad for stripping pine is relatively recent. Similarly, on the trim round my doorways ,and on my baseboards I don't particularly want to ordinary pine with filled nail holes (which always stick out like a sore thumb.) But if your trim is made from pitch pine say, or Douglas fir, or a nice cedar, then go for it. Otherwise, the painted finish looks better and is certainly more authentic. Murray (who doesn't have a flexible shaft yet, but expects to have one very soon) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Bill D Date: 04 Jan 01 - 03:39 PM "Unfortunately, Bill's shaft has gotten extremely flexible with age......limp, you might say.......very sad.........." 'spaw....you want testimonials otherwise? *grin* Is this perhaps projection from shafts YOU are concerned with? |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Little Hawk Date: 04 Jan 01 - 05:18 PM The Dremel is handy all right...but I have one problem with it...I CAN'T SLOW IT DOWN ENOUGH TO WORK ON PLASTIC...even at the slowest speed it still melts the plastic. How do I slow it down more? HELPPPP!!!! McGrath - Actually, there is one power tool or gadget that women are more generally interested in using than men are, but modesty prevents me from speaking further on the subject... :-) - LH |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Little Neophyte Date: 04 Jan 01 - 05:36 PM I might as well ask here...... which drill do you guys recommend I get? Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: mousethief Date: 04 Jan 01 - 05:57 PM LH, see my earliest post in this thread. You get a dimmer switch -- but it has to be one rated to use with electric motors (go to a real hardware store and ask the lighting person). Most dimmer switches are resistor-based, and will destroy motors. But some are designed especially for use with motors (e.g. ceiling fans) and that's the kind you want. Wire it up with a 39-cent power outlet, a cover plate, a cheap box (scrap wood will do) and a power supply cord (get a cheap outdoor-rated extension cord and cut off one end). (Wiring diagram available upon request for the electron-challenged.) Viola! Variable-speed Dremel. Alex |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: mousethief Date: 04 Jan 01 - 05:58 PM Bonnie, what will you be using it to do, and under what circumstances (i.e. WHERE)? That will determine what type of drill will work best for you. Alex |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:00 PM I think the principle of women tending to look for something that achieves the desired result rather than looking for a way of making use of something they like for itself still applies, Litte Hawk.
I think it applies to musical instruments too. The only people I've ever known to buy strange instruments they don't know anything about, and only then set about learning how to play them and what sort of sound they can get out of them, have been men. My impression is that women are much more likely to fall in love with a sound, and try to find an intrument they can use to make that sound. |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: DonMeixner Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:03 PM Roto-Zip..............Just a mica router with long shank spiral bit and a flush guide. No big deal. And messy like a hurricain in a flour bin. 9600 RPM Dremel tools have their place I suppose, Not a true variable speed because you have to dial up a speed in most models. Also Dremels tend to vibrate very significantly as they wear. For real material removal in smallish places a variable speed Fordham flex shaft is tops. Not as fast because its variable speed will a foot pedal but with infinately more control. A little thinner and not quite as long as a Dremel but a Fordham Flex shaft fits more places comfortably and with the right lubrication will operate for hours. Bonnie, buy the drill first. Dewalt would be my choice but which ever one you buy, get a second battery too. Don |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: GUEST,Bodger from Planet Bodge Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:05 PM Are there any books to give ideas as to what to do with all those little tool things. What does the one that looks like a rubber strawberry do? I've just got one of those electric alligator saws. Its great. Does floorboards, tree branches, logs. Heftier than a jigsaw but not as frightening as a chainsaw. Any ideas what I can do with two halves of a Black and Decker Workmate? |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Murray MacLeod Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:09 PM Don, that is a "Foredom" you mean, rather than "Fordham", I assume? Murray |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: DonMeixner Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:15 PM Yup, I run them every day. But right now my boys are talking colleges, Guess where my mind is at. Don |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Bill D Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:31 PM Bonnie, there are simple, battery-powered drills, or heavy-duty plug-in drills...if you can go to a major hardware store..(or Home Depot or such) you can try out several.... I have a Milwaukee ½" that is super, but that may be overkill...I also have a Makita 9.6 volt battery drill that will do LOTS of things...(you can get 12 volt drills now that are almost as versitile as plug models) but DO look for one with built in chuck...(just twist lock...no little key to lose, and they are a lot easier to work) |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: Little Neophyte Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:49 PM Thanks I'll keep all this in mind. I'll go to Home Depot and look at what you guys have recommended. Its just for basic household use. Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Dremel Fixation! I been Hyp-notized! From: mousethief Date: 04 Jan 01 - 06:53 PM Then I would suggest a 3/8" battery-powered job. Make sure it's not too heavy for your arm -- some of those things if you use them for more than 4 minutes, and aren't some sort of bone-crushing behemoth, really make your arm sag. Have fun! Alex |
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