Caution - Wet Paint

Dremel Use
Posted to egroups mini-painter
From: William Nitsche
Date: Tue Oct 17, 2000 8:51pm
Subject: Re: Dremel drilling

I use my smaller bits (60-80) in my Dremel with far fewer breakages than I ever had with a pin vise. You need a collet where the clamping area completely closes off. My technique is (pardon me if this is old news):

1. Make sure the bit is perfectly centered in the collet. After it's clamped in, turn on your Dremel at a decent speed (5000rpm or so). If you notice even the slightest wobble, or the bit looks larger while spinning than stationary, turn off the Dremel and re-seat the bit.
2. Use a speed that is as slow as possible but still cuts without binding.
3. Back-out your bit often. Don't try to drill the hole in one go. Almost every break I've had was when I tried to hurry through it.
4. Be sure your threads don't get clogged. Generally I look for the cut metal to come out of the hole is neat threads. If flakes start coming instead, it usually means that the thread has clogged. Then I just stop the drill and use a pine to peel the metal out of the threads. I also feel for light grabbing while I'm drilling.

-- Billiam