Dremel too fast

i just bought a new dremel, 5000rpm as lowest, and i tried to build a “variable speed controller” using a dimmer switch as many have suggested on related posts…but i found that the dimmer doesnt provide enough juice for my dremel to function![}:)][:(!][:(!]
Does anyone have any webpages or any detailed instructions/suggestions on how to build a dimmer speed controller for my dremel?
must know asap…
btw, i have a corded dremel 5000 - 15000rpm (as is standard with any dremel)
~thank you.

Actually, my dremel is 15,000 low & 28,000 high.

As you may have read in the other posts, Dremel used to make a variable speed controller a while back, and you can generally find them on e-bay from time to time. The biggest problem with variable speed controllers is that they probably won’t work with a Dremel that is already variable speed. I have a Dremel control box here, but you can’t have it. [:D]

Don’t know of any instructions to build one - sorry.

The newer Dremels have such low torque (as compared to the ancient ones from many years ago) that the best way I’ve found to slow one down to “Modeling Speed” is the flexible attachment. It puts some drag on the motor and will slow it down to creeping speed.

I do a lot of scratchbuilding in styrene and I swear by my three Dremels. I never could understand why everyone has so much problem with the speed. I do most of my shaping on high speed with no problem. The secret is coarse teeth and “light” pressure. Melting is not caused by speed specifically but rather by friction. For delicate and final shaping I switch to 5000rpm’s. Try course teeth or grit tooling and light pressure. It might work for you.

i’ll try buying the speed controller @ walmart and see what happends…about the pressure thing, even when i put it @ 5000 rpms and 1mm over the surface, it rips thru the paint and melts the surface (even with the felt tips)
I AM STILL looking for some schematics on how to build a speed controller myself, as so many ppl here on finescale have made…
dremel control box? GIMMIE more info on it please (i’ll look it up myself but still . . .;p u can have ures)
lookin for some more answers here ppl…

Doom_Giver,
With you problrm with the speed controller that you have built for you dremal can you answer a few questions? What is the power rating of the dremal and of the light dimmer? Also i found when i made my speed controler for my dremal equivalent that i have to adjust both the built in speed controller and my additional one. Hope this helps?[:D]

Cheers Trev

Here is what i was referring to:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29528&item=4324251636&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

The dremel power is @ 120v, 1.15 amps, 50-60 hz AC (MultiPro 3961-02)
The dimmer is @ 600 watts, single pole, and it says here that it works with 120v halogens…
hope this helps…i am beginning to see a problem with the dimmer being single pole, as the dremel isnt…hmmm…wonder if they make multi-pole dimmers…
please help…thanx

Doom_Giver,

It sounds like it all should work. It maybe worth connecting the dimmer up to a light to see if the dimmer works. The only other reason i can think of is that you have wired it up incorrectly?

Cheers Trev

can you draw some kind of diagram showing how to wire this junk up?
i tried one method, (btw, the dimmer only has 2 wires and 1 grounding wire)…i split the powercord and connected only one wire of the 2 wire powercord to the dimmer, as if i connect both it will short circuit…the other wire in the powercord is untouched…i tried this on a light, and it worked fine…what am i doing wrong???
the dimmer isn’t polarized…guessing that isnt right…
please help!

Are you saying that the dimmer has a total of 2 or 3 wires?

total of 3 wires, 1 input, 1 output, and 1 grounding wire

I have a fixed speed Dremel that I picked up on Ebay. You can’t use a variable speed tool and then put a speed reducer on it. You will fry your motor/brushes. Find a fixed speed dremel or moto tool and then buy a foot pedal from micro mark. Or you can spend the bucks and get a foredom. I think they sell them at lowe’s now for under $200. Seems high, but once you have one, you are set for life. The handpiece alone is a life saver. really smooth.

if you own a variable speed drill u can get a flexible shaft for that, safer too.

heh, look at a dremel in the scale of the model that you are working on, its HUGE and it spins at near “sonic” speeds compared to scale, you use it for BIG jobs mostly to cut and file down, if you use it the proper way you will be able to cut sprue like a mad man… hah! most times I use a dremel for jobs that are completely unrelated to modeling…

will the flex shaft reduce speed enough to say, sand putty and seam corrections on my 1/48 f-14b?

actually flex shafts wont reduce speed by that much. these days they are so efficient that they have hardly any drag. besides, causing drag aint fantastic for your drill. i suggest getting a vari speed drill that you can lock the speed in, and not have to hold the trigger. you know the kind that has a little knob… that would be a worthwhile investment for the house too. but, i reckon for all but the most gargantuan, rough then smooth grades of sanding paper oughtta do it…

i already have a variable speed dremel…btw, dremels made nowadays are all mostly variable speed, and none of them have a “trigger” but rather have a lever that clicks to the speed wanted…oh well, i suppose the verdict of this forum is that no-one wants to share how in the world they got their dimmer switch to work with their dremels…i have found a few schematics, and we shall see if they work/if the foot petal works…

I made a speed control for my Dremel over 30 years ago and it still works. I took an old sewing machine foot pedel and wired it into a outlet box. With just a light foot pressure you can regulate the speed of a Dremel tool. I haven’t tried it with the multi speed Dremels. I only use it with a two speed Dremel and keep my other multi speed Dremels for other uses.

You might also try the battery powered Dremels. The RPM and torque is lower than the corded type.

The “Ancient” Dremel I had/have (Crapped the bed the other day while I was shaping bills for some diving plugs) actually has a Dremel(Brand) Foot Pedal to control the speed.
Don’t know what I’ll do now that it’s broke…Hopefully it’s something just as simple as replacing the brushes…maybe putting the comm on the lathe(Thank GOD for all my electric R/C experience![^])