Hey guys,
I have a Dremel Multi-Pro Model 395 moto-tool. It’s a variable speed (5,000 to 35,000 rpm), but the slowest speed is still too fast for a lot of my projects. Sanding at 5,000 rpm tends to melt the plastic rather than sand it. I need a speed control but don’t know what type I should get or where to get it. Any recommendations and experiences??
Thanks!
Vic 
The tool you have is designed more towards those working with wood or metal fabrication. You’ll need to find a way to slow it down further. I don’t know if another speed controller would be suitable for it or not, as the decrease in voltage might damage the motor controller in the unit.
I use a cordless one, which allows me to have a gentle and slow enough speed to stir paint in a jar without splatter yet possess enough snorts to really grind away when necessary.
!(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t320/hawkeyes_bucket/Modeling Tools/Dremel.jpg)
What’s the minimum speed on your cordless model, Hawk ?
Vic
As far as RPM? Hard to say, since it is cordless the battery’s level of charge is a variable. Needless to say, I don’t have problems with it melting plastic if I use the proper techniques. I tend to use it for plastic removal when I have a lot of plastic to discard and some melting is acceptable. I just make sure I don’t load up the tool I am using with it, I hate cleaning it off them.
You can make your own speed control device with a light dimmer swtich. I’ve made a few of these and use them with other power tools as well as my dremel. I take a extension cord and wire a dimmer swicth into the cord. I’ve also built myswith a small wooden box with a dimmer switch and outlet with ends of cord comming out on sides of box so I can set it on a workbench or table.
We’ve discussed this topic several times here in the Forum. The fundamental problem is that Dremel has never made a rotary tool that’s really designed with the modeler uppermost in mind.
Every time Dremel releases a new tool, the emphasis in the advertising is on how powerful it is and how fast it turns. The truth of the matter is that for the model builder power and high speed are just about irrelevant most of the time. In many circumstances a rotation rate of a few hundred rpm is plenty. The slowest-turning Dremels are indeed the battery-operated models, but even they will melt plastic and singe wood if the drill bit isn’t absolutely sharp and the battery is fully-charged.
I’m lucky enough to have a couple of Dremel “Tabletop Speed Controls,” which, unfortunately, the company quit making quite a few years ago. But I don’t recommend plugging a variable-speed Moto-Tool into a separate speed control. I tried it a few times. The result, when I dialed down the speed on the separate control, was that the motor ran in jerks and the tool started to get hot.
My current favorite rotary tool is a little gadget sold by a German company called We-Cheer, available in the U.S. through Woodcraft woodworking supply: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003736/330/Micro-Motor-Detail-Carver.aspx . It’s small (slightly larger than a fat pencil), it’s reasonably priced, and (though neither Woodcraft nor We-Cheer advertises this point) it accepts Dremel collets. That means it will run any drill bit, grinding tip, or other tool that a Dremel will.
It doesn’t have a built-in speed control, and its normal operating speed is far too high for work on plastic (and too high for drilling small holes in wood - though I’m sure it’s fine for the rotary carving bits that it’s primarily intended for). So I keep it plugged into one of my old Dremel speed controls (both of which, though over thirty-five years old, still work fine). In lots of modeling applications I’ll set the knob on the speed control at zero, turn on the tool, put the tip of the drill bit exactly where I want it, and gradually ramp up the speed enough to drill the hole without melting the plastic or burning the wood. That’s a great way to drill holes.
I also have - or did have - a standard, variable-speed Dremel Moto-Tool (it actually had a Sears Craftsman label, but it was identical to a Dremel tool of the same vintage) for heavier-duty work, such as grinding, polishing, and routing. A couple of weeks ago it gave out, at about age twenty-five. (Believe it or not the main shaft busted; the motor runs fine but the chuck doesn’t turn.) The last time I was in Wal-Mart I discovered a Dremel Model 100 kit for about $25.00. This is Dremel’s bottom-of-the-line model, with no built-in speed control (though it does, unlike the cheapest Dremel tools in the Goode Olde Dayes, have a ball-bearing motor): http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=100+Series . It’s on my shopping list for next payday. (Later edit: my old Craftsman tool is in the process of being resurrected. See below.)
Here’s a thread about how to make a speed control out of a dimmer switch for $6.00 - or buy a ready-made one at Wal-Mart for $9.00: /forums/p/112586/1120247.aspx#1120247 . It should be noted that, in at least one other Forum thread, a participant said that running a Dremel tool via a dimmer switch isn’t a good idea; that it can lead to damaging the motor. I don’t know enough about electrical theory to comment on that point. It’s certainly true that the circuitry in a genuine, old-fashioned Dremel speed control is fancier than what’s inside a dimmer switch, but just what practical effect that has I don’t know.
Thanks guys! After I read Hawkeye’s last post I did something brilliant…(duh, I are a moron…!! ) …I checked on Dremel’s website under Customer Service and found my answer. The Model 100 (single-speed) is the only moto-tool they recommend for use with a speed control device.
I’ve never heard of the tool Prof. Tilley mentioned but it sounds like just what I need. I’ll be checking it out!
Thanks again for your patience and help!
Vic
Or you could get a Dremel Stylus which has a built-in speed control, although the slowest speed it can be dialed down to is 5k RPM. It costs about twice as much as that detail carver though, but I’ve found mine to work well for my needs. It’s easier to handle than the standard Dremels too due to its pistol-grip design.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=1100
I had checked on this sometime back. You cannot use a speed controller on the variable speed models because it will eventually destroy the motor. You can on the 2 speed and single speed models. Go to Micro Mark, they sell some foot pedal speed controllers. I bought one, use it with my 2 speed model (the Dremel is set on low speed) and it works like a charm.
I bought the 100 just last month and a foot speed pedal. I’ve only used it a few times, but it does work great. I need to practice using the foot pedal, to keep the speed constant. A dimmer-switch set-up would be easier to set a specific speed and leave it, although it might be harder to adjust while working on something (one hand for the tool, one for the piece, one for the dimmer…). A tool stand, or a stand to hold the piece would make things easier.
And I used the tool full power to cut the bolts off a toilet - first toilet, by hand, 20 minutes - second toilet with the Dremel, 5 minutes. I can’t believe I got along without one for so long.
Paul
I no a guy who tried to make his own dimmer switch on a dremel and got badly burned when he turned it on for the first time.It not only burned him it also started a fire on his wok bench and spread very fast ruining some other tools.I myself stay away from electricity cause I no it can bite you on the ass!!!
Electricity is nothing to fool around with! If you’re going to do the dimmer-switch hookups, I hope you know what you’re doing. I sure wouldn’t know what I’m doing and I won’t even try.
I know a man in Las Vegas who was horribly burned when he was 12 by high-voltage power lines, so I know what electricity is capable of.
Why not use either a cordless or electric drill with variable speed? I have a cordless 18v drill that I attach the dremmel accesories to work with plastic and it does the job.
The big problem with using a full-size drill for such purposes is, obviously, that it’s so BIG. Depending on the particular situation, that may or may not make much difference. Regular drills don’t turn as fast as Dremel Moto-Tools - but, as we’ve established, in most modeling applications that doesn’t make much difference.
There’s another option. At least one dealer, Micro-Mark, sells a chuck attached to a hexagonal shaft that can be chucked up in either an ordinary drill or an electric screwdriver. Most electric screwdrivers I’ve seen offer only one or two speeds, but they’re plenty slow enough for work in wood and plastic. And they aren’t much bigger than a Moto-Tool - and they cost considerably less.
I suspect, though, that most modelers who’ve invested in Moto-Tools are glad they did. If you can work out a way around the “too-high speed” problem, the versatility and handiness of the “real thing” are hard to beat.
I can now add what I think is a rather interesting postscript to my own experiences with Dremel tools. I think I mentioned earlier in this thread that my twenty-year-old Moto-Tool (actually it has a Sears Craftsman label on it, but it’s quite obviously made by Dremel) had given up the ghost. The chuck had suddenly stopped turning - though the motor was still running. I concluded that the drive shaft had busted, and that it was time for a new Dremel.
Fortunately I didn’t throw the old one in the trash. When I’d had time to think about it a little, I realized that a broken main shaft was highly unlikely. I took the thing apart (by unscrewing the nosepiece and removing six Torx-headed screws) and the problem became obvious: a small plastic (Delrin?) coupling, between the chuck and the motor shaft, had shattered (probably due to simple old age). I jotted down the model number (Sears Craftsman #572.610030), and the next morning I typed that number into my computer’s search engine. That got me a link to the discussion section of the Dremel website, where, lo and behold, another customer had related an identical story. He even included the replacement part number. So I phoned Dremel customer service (the phone number is on the website), and talked to a nice lady who put a new coupling in the mail (along with a metal spline that, she said, Dremel recommended replacing along with the coupling). Total cost, including coupling, spline, shipping, and sales tax: less than $5.00. Bravo Dremel!
But I stil wish the company would make a small, battery-operated rotary tool with a speed range of, say, 0 to 2,000 rpm. Until it does, I’ll continue using my old Sears beast for heavy duty jobs (like grinding and routing), and my little We-Cheer “compact power carver” for most drilling and similar work on models.
jtilley
Funny that you mentioned the Sears brand. My brother bought a Sears Craftsman drill in 1968. Big, heavy and very bright chrome finish and made in the USA. The darn thing finally went to tool heaven about 4-5 years ago! I also have a single speed Dremmel tool I bought in the late 70’s or early 80’s and it’s still working.