Dremel type tools

[Woodturnerjosh]

Hi Ribot,
The micro motors are a hand-piece with the motor in it but the power supply and speed control are a separate unit (electric). The one that I have would be about an inch thick at the motor and tapers down to about 5/8 near the nose and it runs at 45,000rpm. Check out http://www.carvertools.com/

The biggest bur I would use in one would be maybe a 1/4" (they have less torque than a Dremel) but I only use mine for fine detailing and texturing as it is easier on the hands than the foredom.
So when I said small work I meant things around netsuke size, if you're working around 5" and larger I would go the Foredom (this does most of my work). If you want to try them out and you need to come down to the Geelong area for some reason, just let me know.
Cheers

[ribot]

Thanks heaps Woodturner josh, all handy info. If I get to confused I may take you up on the invite next time we go through to Colac.

[grainspeaks]

have you ever had the dremel bit catch in your shirt, wrap it up in a ball then wind the flex shaft around itself a few times ? , no?

Last month I had a blue pinky when I got a little casual with a die grinder with a 1/4" carbide bur bit.. really tiny little things caught my glove like velcro. Guess it dislocated the pinky. Hurt like nothing else, still aches a bit.

Anyway, I have a lot of experience dealing with repetitive motion ailments and the best advice I can give is to have a little timer that tells you to take a five minute break every fifteen or twenty minutes. During this break practice a few aikido-like stretches of the hands, palms, shoulders, and neck. Keeps you going, honestly.

It can be hard to get used to at first, but once you have the pain you have to learn it. Best learn it before all that drama, I'd say. You know, soon you get into the pattern and you can even incorporate the breaks into a workflow where you organize your things, cleanup, look at your work in a new way, stuff like that.

Seriously, take care of your hands.

And thanks to the others for the mention of the nice gloves... going to have to try that.

[clare]

Last month I had a blue pinky when I got a little casual with a die grinder with a 1/4" carbide bur bit.. really tiny little things caught my glove like velcro. Guess it dislocated the pinky. Hurt like nothing else, still aches a bit.


And thanks to the others for the mention of the nice gloves... going to have to try that.

That sounds soooo sore!! Hope your finger's alright now. Talking of gloves.....what I find works best is a pair of my suede palmed, fingerless cycling gloves. They don't interfer with the grip, and allow the fine dexterity of fingers, whilst still giving a bit of protection to the hands. Mine even have a small gel pad towards the inside back edge which helps reduce vibration from some of my tools. Just an idea, but it seems to work well for me.

[movay_2008]

Hi all,
I have a rotary Dremel type tool, it's a Ryobi actually and whenever I use it for an hour at a time I end up with pins and needles in my hand and arm.
I was wondering if all of these types of tools give you pins and needles or do the more expensive ones not do this.
The one I use is a Ryobi, it came with 20 or so attachments including a flexible chord tool which I use extensively and the whole thing cost $40 or so.
What do you think?

Yep, get a better tool if you spend a lot of time with it. A good posture, breathing and awareness of what is happening in your body can make a lot of difference. I do some movements basically come from ancient Mexico that help me a lot physically. Here is one that may be of use:

[ame="http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=YZVPeK3WLbI&feature=related"]YouTube - Carlos Castaneda's Tensegrity Volume One[/ame]

[grainspeaks]

Hi Ribot,
The micro motors are a hand-piece with the motor in it but the power supply and speed control are a separate unit (electric). The one that I have would be about an inch thick at the motor and tapers down to about 5/8 near the nose and it runs at 45,000rpm. Check out http://www.carvertools.com/

I see that it has abuse protection. Hm. How is your experience with it? I've broken one dremel and have another one whining at me. I replaced the bearing on the broken 400digital, so it works after a fashion, but the thing is housed in a crappy plastic that had only point friction heating/damage. So, it isn't like I stall it out or force the motor... I just use it for a long time and admittedly mainly use the side of the bit, which is hard on the tool for obvious reasons.

I've been thinking about making a post somewhere on here asking for advice to my problem... probably will... but just wondered if you feel like you have experience putting that little micro-tool under continuous use? How robust is it? I've been looking at foredoms... but I'm just perplexed because I love having freedom in my hand.... using a light touch for hours on end. Is this thread hijacking? If so, my apologies... not sure how rigid the custom is, here, yet.

[Frank&Earnest]

All the previous answers suggest ways to hold the tool. The OP mentioned doing mostly small work held with the other hand. Has anybody tried keeping the tool fixed on a stand and moving the piece with both hands? Would this work?

[clare]

Hi Ribot,
I'd seriously get yourself a better tool-the extra money will probably be soon forgetten-possible ongoing pain, permanent damage, limited dexterity and creating a doorway for arthritis to set in is just not worth it. Any sort of pain or pins and needles is your body's way of letting you know somethings getting damaged afterall. I use a Foredom and break up it's use with other work so I'm not using the same repetitive motion over and over. So far it seems ok.

Morvay-Thanks for the film clip-I'm going to put that into practice. Great practical help, so thanks.