time for a Dremel?

[esantoro]

Whinewine: Could you show us some pictures of that burnisher? By the way how loud is the Dremel 400? I stopped using my handheld drill for burnishing because the noise was just too much. Now I use, at the recommendation of others, a drill press....very good move.

[whinewine]

Whinewine: Could you show us some pictures of that burnisher? By the way how loud is the Dremel 400? I stopped using my handheld drill for burnishing because the noise was just too much. Now I use, at the recommendation of others, a drill press....very good move.

[/quote

Ed: I'm a computer dunce. I'd have to wait for my son to come in from out of town to take pics & post them. They're actually a set of 3 burnishers, each with a different sized groove.

I don't know how loud the 400 is, mine is the 395. And it's pretty quiet, except at top speed (35000rpm). You rarely run it at top speed, though, especially for leather. I usually run it at the low end & that's very quiet. Suggestion is to try out the 400 & see what you think (gosh, have someone at a store run one for you over the phone at various speeds if you can't listen to one locally). I couldn't do without one. I've used an older model to drill holes for sewing when I was making leathergoods on a production line basis back in the '70s (things like goatskin knapsacks, tomahawk covers & frizzen covers).

Weaver leather has 2 different styles of burnisher (each with a series of different sized grooves) that chuck into a standard drill press. One is plastic, the other is wood. I've heard that they break (as per some earlier posts on this forum). I don't know, I've never used them.

russ

[whinewine]

Lee Valley Tools [ www.leevalley.com ] has a 75th anniversary dremel special: a 400 XPR 75 piece tool kit, including an engraver in addition to the xpr 400 for $109. That is a pretty good deal from what I can determine. I just got this in my email bin.

russ

[esantoro]

thanks for the help in persuedung me to get a dremel. It's a great little tool.

Does anyone happen to know if there is an attachment that would let me use the Dremel to trim my 1/8" thick aluminum templates, or maybe some other tool that would allow me to saw sheet aluminum precisely?

ed

[Jordan]

There is an attachment that is like a mini circular saw that would work for straight cuts with a metal cutting blade, also an attachment that is like a router base that may be good for curves.

[JohnD]

Just a word about the dremel, if you're planning to use it daily you may want to find something else. I have gone through 3 dremels over the years. I used them for cutting and shaping aluminum and brass and they could not handle it. I didn't use them everyday either mostly weekend use. after burning out the third one I bought an extension that I can attach to my drill press or buffer or any variable speed tool with a chuck. It has lasted through much more use than the dremel ever could.

just my .02

John

[whinewine]

Just a word about the dremel, if you're planning to use it daily you may want to find something else. I have gone through 3 dremels over the years. I used them for cutting and shaping aluminum and brass and they could not handle it. I didn't use them everyday either mostly weekend use. after burning out the third one I bought an extension that I can attach to my drill press or buffer or any variable speed tool with a chuck. It has lasted through much more use than the dremel ever could.

just my .02

John

There's also the foredom. It's used by many engravers & is also used by those who engrave gemstones.

[whinewine]

Lee Valley Tools [ www.leevalley.com ] has a 75th anniversary dremel special: a 400 XPR 75 piece tool kit, including an engraver in addition to the xpr 400 for $109. That is a pretty good deal from what I can determine. I just got this in my email bin.

russ

I just saw the same setup at Lowes yesterday for $89.