Dremel vs Bench Grinder for Burnishing?

[LeatherLyfe]

Apologies if this has been asked before, I read some good discussions on this topic a while ago but can't seem to find them anymore!

 

I am looking for a way to upgrade my burnishing technique. I work mostly with belts and straps and burnishing the edges by hand is becoming time consuming and quite hard on my arm. I want to upgrade to a burnishing machine to reduce the amount of stress on my body. Leather is only a part time gig for me but I work out of my bachelor apartment so space is a majorly limiting factor. I am wondering if I can get away with using a dremel burnisher instead of a modified bench grinder as it would take up a lot less space. I previously came across some threads that were very positive about dremel burnishers and offered helpful advice on the best burnisher attachments and speeds to use but I oddly cannot find them anymore. If you can direct me towards any of those threads, that would be great! Otherwise, what is your own advice/experience with dremel burnishers? They appeal to me both for their size and simplicity, I don't have any experience with rotary tools and find it difficult to follow any of the guides to modifying a bench grinder for burnishing. I'd much rather invest in a high end dremel than try to diy anything, but I'm open to the possibility if y'all seriously discourage the dremel idea.

 

My current burnishing technique is using gum tragacanth on beveled vegtan or oil tan before airbrushing with acrylic dye (vegtan only).

 

Any advice, opinions, or words of caution?

[mike02130]

I bought a burnisher and drum sander for use on my battery drill.  It works great on belts and handbags.  I also have a 1725 RPM motor with a wood burnisher I turned on a lathe and drilled a hole into the end and attached it directly to the shaft.  I've never used a Dremel but I believe they spin at a very high speed; I don't know if that is good or bad.

[TargetRockLeather]

Another option might be a drill press with a burnishing tool inserted into the chuck. You can get an inexpensive bench top drill press for $50 - $150 range. The burnishing tool is very inexpensive. The advantage of having the drill press is that it can be used for many other purposes including drilling stitching holes in thicker leather. You haven't said where you are in the world but in the US you can find a drill press at Harbor Freight.

I think this is the one I have: https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/drills-drivers/drill-presses/10-in-12-speed-bench-drill-press-63471.html

1 minute ago, mike02130 said:

I bought a burnisher and drum sander for use on my battery drill.  It works great on belts and handbags.  I also have a 1725 RPM motor with a wood burnisher I turned on a lathe and drilled a hole into the end and attached it directly to the shaft.  I've never used a Dremel but I believe they spin at a very high speed; I don't know if that is good or bad.

The Dremel I have is variable speed. I'm not sure if all of them are that way but they are surely available.

[LatigoAmigo]

2 hours ago, LeatherLyfe said:

I'd much rather invest in a high end dremel than try to diy anything, but I'm open to the possibility if y'all seriously discourage the dremel idea.

I favor the variable-speed cordless Dremel, model 8220, and use burnishing tips I found on Amazon. I use it in conjunction with Tokonole burnishing gum, and am very happy with the results.

[Brooks125]

I got a bench top drill press from HF and a friend of mine works in a facility with CNC operators, one of which owed him a favor and made a burnishing tool.  Actually he made 2 because it only takes one more push of a button once you've made one.  I gave him the design I wanted and they took it from there.  I have an extra I'll most likely never need.  I'm told it's the highest quality aluminum money can buy.

[dikman]

Brooks, they are beautiful!

In answer to the OP's question, no reason you can't use a Dremel, but make sure it's a variable speed as the fixed speed version would be too fast. I normally do my burnishing on a bench unit but I use a Dremel for small and odd-shaped areas. I made a couple of wooden attachments for this.

[Spyros]

I made my own wooden tips for my rotary tool, then I made more for my drill press because the dremel was running too fast.   I haven't tried a burnishing machine because I prefer the vertical orientation of the drill press.

But in the end my favourite machine for this task is the electric edge creaser with a heated brass tip (about the same shape as the aluminium ones above).   I found it to be the fastest and most convenient once you find the right temperature for the job.   

[Frodo]

Very nice Brooks

I use a cheap 9 dollar Dremel from HF,  I use a felt polishing tip, that is completely wore out and has turned hard from the [stain]  abuse. It is PERFECT

and a hand wood burnisher from amazon, I adapted to fit a drillpress

 

[Spyros]

42 minutes ago, Frodo said:

Very nice Brooks

I use a cheap 9 dollar Dremel from HF,  I use a felt polishing tip, that is completely wore out and has turned hard from the [stain]  abuse. It is PERFECT

and a hand wood burnisher from amazon, I adapted to fit a drillpress

 

Frodo, you know you HAVE to build yourself a wood lathe, right?  Buying wood burnishers, come on now...

Edited November 6, 2020 by Spyros

[Frodo]

2 hours ago, Spyros said:

Frodo, you know you HAVE to build yourself a wood lathe, right?  Buying wood burnishers, come on now...

LOL,   It came with the kit, 

Here is the one I currently working on,  

I got the idea from Chuck,   3 in 1  burnish, awl and creasing tool 

I need to cut another grove in the burnish part

 

 

[toxo]

On 11/5/2020 at 5:20 PM, LeatherLyfe said:

Apologies if this has been asked before, I read some good discussions on this topic a while ago but can't seem to find them anymore!

 

I am looking for a way to upgrade my burnishing technique. I work mostly with belts and straps and burnishing the edges by hand is becoming time consuming and quite hard on my arm. I want to upgrade to a burnishing machine to reduce the amount of stress on my body. Leather is only a part time gig for me but I work out of my bachelor apartment so space is a majorly limiting factor. I am wondering if I can get away with using a dremel burnisher instead of a modified bench grinder as it would take up a lot less space. I previously came across some threads that were very positive about dremel burnishers and offered helpful advice on the best burnisher attachments and speeds to use but I oddly cannot find them anymore. If you can direct me towards any of those threads, that would be great! Otherwise, what is your own advice/experience with dremel burnishers? They appeal to me both for their size and simplicity, I don't have any experience with rotary tools and find it difficult to follow any of the guides to modifying a bench grinder for burnishing. I'd much rather invest in a high end dremel than try to diy anything, but I'm open to the possibility if y'all seriously discourage the dremel idea.

 

My current burnishing technique is using gum tragacanth on beveled vegtan or oil tan before airbrushing with acrylic dye (vegtan only).

 

Any advice, opinions, or words of caution?

I found a bigger drum does a quicker job plus different profiles for different jobs. The emery paper was cut on the slant, skived and glued. the elastic bands just help to keep it there but I've never known it to slip.

 

[Spyros]

10 hours ago, Frodo said:

LOL,   It came with the kit, 

Here is the one I currently working on,  

I got the idea from Chuck,   3 in 1  burnish, awl and creasing tool 

I need to cut another grove in the burnish part

 

 

nice, nice

[richA25]

I have a couple of options. 

1) I use a few dremel tools. One is a plug-in, and has several speeds. The other is cordless, which only has two speeds. As others have mentioned- way too fast. 
 

2) I do have a drill press with burnisher attachment. It’s in my garage due to limited space in the workshop, and I barely use it. 
 

3) My current preferred method is my Rocky Mountain Leather Supply Creasing machine- Summit X2. It is a filleteuse, but it come with a burnisher attachment that is awesome!! You can really dial up or down the speeds to a slow crawl. It is SUPER quiet (compared to the above machines) as well which is a huge plus. it is expensive but it serves many other purposes (edge creasing, edge finishing, embossing w/ foil and plain heat) and is compact. Really suggest this!

HTH!

[Arturomex]

8 hours ago, richA25 said:

3) My current preferred method is my Rocky Mountain Leather Supply Creasing machine- Summit X2. It is a filleteuse, but it come with a burnisher attachment that is awesome!! You can really dial up or down the speeds to a slow crawl. It is SUPER quiet (compared to the above machines) as well which is a huge plus. it is expensive but it serves many other purposes (edge creasing, edge finishing, embossing w/ foil and plain heat) and is compact. Really suggest this!

HTH!

I can't seem to find a burnisher attachment for this machine. Could you point me in the right direction?

Thanks

[richA25]

The drill press attachment is:

http://proedgeburnishers.com/index.html

The Rocky Mountain Summit attachment is:

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/machines/products/rocky-mountain-summit-edge-sanding-and-burnishing-attachment?variant=29972344209517
 

HTH!

 

 

[Arturomex]

Thanks! Appreciate it.

Arturo