Macadoo

I've been using my Dremel for those hard to reach places for my engine bay resto but the bits (steel wire wheel, brass wire wheel, scotchbright-like buffers) don't last but a minute. Anyone know of a bit that will last for a reasonable amount of time/work?

costpenn

I have the same question. Hope someone knows an alternative on this.

brown7373

I think they have a maximum rpm. Are you exceeding the max?

RonFX

Guys:
I've been using a Dremel for many years in another hobby I am part of, the bits and attachments are designed for light duty hobby type work. They work fine in the RPM range of a Dremel, you might try one w/ a variable speed switch. I contacted the Dremel guys several years ago about this same issue and was told the tool bits were not designed for restoration and heavy duty cleaning / degreasing work, only for hobby work. I go thru numerous packs of the cutoff wheels on any given car, the Dremel is a good tool if you use it and accept it for
what it is.
Thanks Ron

MDchanic

My expensive, variable speed, battery powered one had a failure of the expensive battery after only a few months, then had a failure of the speed control (only runs on High now), and now the bearings are going (growls and rattles), and I've barely used it over the several years that I've had it.

I accept that it's a piece of Chinese crap.

- Eric

Octania

I have found that it's a good very light duty tool.

Diamond bits work great for removing metal such as casting ID's, and are now dirt cheap.

for cutoffs, don't bother with the thin "glass" ones- they break as soon as you look at them; use the fiber reinforced ones.

Scruffy pads just don't last long no matter what.

Wire brushes- ditto- the wire flexes and breaks. The less you press against the work, the longer they last... but the less effective they are.

Macadoo

I'm not sure I understand the difference between hobby work and resto work, unless you're referring to short busts as opposed to continuous operation. In which case I'd refer back to my original post; the wire wheels last for maybe a minute, two if I turn the speed down. The wire wheel on my bench grinder is still going strong with maybe 85% of it's wire left. And that's after years of use and 8 months of hard use during my resto. I also have one on my cordless (18v) drill that cleaned my engine block and most of my undercarriage. I just wanted to know if I was missing something or getting lower quality dremel product.

Macadoo

I agree to a point. I'm done using them at school. One short drop to the floor and it's toast. Run one for more than thirty continuous minutes and it overheats. I finally bought flex-shaft tools. The students can't drop those (in theory). I'll tell ya, one thing I loved was the dremel detail sander. Best one on the market. And then they discontinued them! Geez!

NHolds

Hobby Work - Pinewood derby car

Resto Work - Real car

Try to find a smaller wire wheel that is designed for a drill, not a dremel. I've never had any luck with any of the dremel tools on 'real car' work.

cadillac kevin

dremels arent intended for real work. I hate to say it, but theyre not. the dremel I bought a couple years ago lasted for maybe 6 months of light hobby use. speed switch went out and for what dremel wanted for it, I could have almost bought another dremel. total piece of junk and waste of money.
my 20+ year old dremel thats been passed through the family still works great (although the connecting shaft has been removed in favor of a piece of heat shrunk plastic tubing because the original connecting shaft shattered and to change bits, I have to jam a tiny screwdriver into where the "lock" slider went).

76olds

There are many types of carbide deburring bits you can buy, from roughing to fine and they stand up to just about anything even up to 58-60 rc. They will be aggressive so you will have to go lightly. other than that stones will be the next best. Coarse and fine as well. Hope this helps you .
Eric

Macadoo

I carved out the continents on this globe using a dremel with the router kit. Not the entire oceans but it took a couple of hours to trace around the land masses.

[IMG][/IMG]

My issue isn't really with the dremel itself but with the little wire brushes.
I have plenty of carbide and stone bits, cut off wheels, etc. I was just hoping there was a wire wheel out there somewhere that might last long enough to clean, say, a hood hinge spring. Just to remove the dirt and maybe a little rust.
I think NHolds hot it on the head; I need to look for a small wire wheel for a drill. The one I have on my drill right now is maybe 4" in diameter and that's too big for nooks and crannies.

Professur

I'm gonna get trouble for this, but have you looked into making your own? The problem is usually that the wires, fibres, etc are glued into the ferrule, not crimped. You can take the bristles from an old denture brush, coat one end in your favorite epoxy and stuff it into one end of a short piece of steel brake line, stuff it full, then stuff it into a swaging block to tighten it up. A piece of welding rod epoxied into the hollow keeps the tube from collapsing in the drill chuck. You can pretty much make any size you like, the key being getting an uber-solid crimp at the brush end. I wouldn't use any I've made at more than cordless drill speeds, but at that, they're more than sufficient. I can't see why you couldn't do the same with the bristles from a steel or brass brush from a dollar store set. I've got an old cordless drill that's no bigger than my Dremel so size isn't an issue.

For anything that doesn't work on, I've got one of these http://www.harborfreight.com/gravity...gun-93221.html It's crap, you go through a 'fill' in a minute, but for small awkward spots, it does get the job done. Just wear a ski mask with goggles on and hold your breath. And if you're using sand from the kid's play box, sift out the cat crap first.

76olds

Jack of all trades rite ther. Wow you do awesome work. I would really like on of those globes. My wife loves it as well. Again great job !!!

Macadoo

Not into that "earthy" look (and smell)? Thanks for the tip Prof, I hadn't thought about making one.

20k shipped. It only took about 14 months to build ;-)

RROLDSX

Those flap sanding discs work well. They last a long time and are also great for prepping welds.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=...99418698845618

Macadoo

Thanks for the link. I'll look into these.

Macadoo

I wonder if carefully adding some epoxy to the base of the bristles on the dremel wire brush would help. Spray it first with brakleen and then work it in with a toothpick maybe? Worth a try.

RROLDSX

You're gonna need a 90 degree air die grinder. Also, the Roloc pads work well.

Good luck!