What have you done to your car with a Dremel?

[Mordan]

Hello

I'm considering buying a Dremel. Do you have a Dremel and what have you done with it? Has it helped you with DIY jobs on your car? Cheers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Dremel.jpg

:)

[E34-520iSE]

Now that looks like a handy tool! Wish I had one when I cut the tow-cover hole in my M-tec rear bumper.......

Cheers,

Shaun M

[yaofeng]

Do it. It is one of the most convenient gadgets you'll be happy to own.

[repenttokyo]

i use mine to cut things like bolts, it works ok for that. make sure you buy safety glasses to go with it!

i would recommend this tool.

[bubba966]

A good Dremel (like one of the variable speed ones with the flex shaft attachment) comes in handy very frequently.

Mine's been used for all kinds of things.

As far as how I've used it on the car, I used it to cut slots in the anti-tamper bolts on my steering lock to get the bolts out. Used it on the ignition cylinder to modify it for easier removal. Used it to cut the old ignition cylinder out of the steering lock since it didn't want to come out on it's own. Used it to repair my lower portion of my front bumper. Might've used it for something else as well.

And a word of advice. when getting cutoff wheels for it, go for the reinforced fiberglass type, and don't bother with the cheaper ones. I know that the reinforced ones cost a good deal more than the cheaper ones. But the cheaper ones break easily, and wear down very quickly. So there's no savings if the reinforced ones cost 2-3x as much as the cheap ones if you break or wear out 5-10 or more of the cheap ones for every one of the reinforced ones you go through.

[Mordan]

thx for the ideas.

has anyone used the Dremel for polishing metal and rooting out rust?

could it be used to wax or as scratch remover (along with paste) ?

[gpljrrr]

Hello

I'm considering buying a Dremel. Do you have a Dremel and what have you done with it? Has it helped you with DIY jobs on your car? Cheers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Dremel.jpg

:)
i have used one a couple of time to cut the bearing races of a spindle after a bearing failed

[Scott C]

Burned out a cordless dremel cleaning out the rust on the truck lid (boot) edge.

[bubba966]

thx for the ideas.

has anyone used the Dremel for polishing metal and rooting out rust?

could it be used to wax or as scratch remover (along with paste) ?

Yeah, I've used mine for some of that kind of stuff. If you're doing small things or very small areas it works fine. But it takes a while and the sanding drums and polishing bits don't last very long. Makes doing those sorts of tasks tedious and spendy if the area you're trying to polish/de-rust isn't small.

And I've never been impressed with the cordless Dremels. I've got a corded one and used it hard plenty of times over the last decade or so (maybe longer). Still works great. But the cordless ones I've used at other people's houses lack the power of the corded ones. Not to mention I've heard of people burning the cordless models out during heavy use.

So I'm no longer disappointed that I don't have a cordless Dremel as I've found them to be inferior to the corded variety.

[DaveVoorhis]

One of my top ten most useful tools. Perfect for all sorts of light cutting, grinding, drilling, polishing of all sorts, rooting out rust, cleaning, etc.

Wear eye protection and hand protection, though. In my younger and more careless days, I zinged a broken cut-off wheel into a finger on one occasion and nearly got an eyeful of sparks on a few others.

Practice on some scrap before you do anything real so you can get good feel for the tool. Depending on what you're doing, the high RPM and small bits can make it walk, bounce, kick back or chatter all over the work before you know it.

[Russell]

+1 Great tool. Look for a kit with the case that holds lots of bits and the like. I use it all the time for small scale cutting and drilling around the house. Not on the car so much. i would not use it anywhere near your car's paint as it is a very high rpm tool and will burn paint quickly.

[nirvana19]

Better question might be what HAVEN'T I used my dremel for.

Okay, well there are a lot of things I haven't done with it but I end up needing it so often its definitely one of my most critical tools. Great for cutting through metal and small polishing applications.

[Rick L]

GREAT TOOL! I use it for everything... But the carbon-fiber cutting wheel is bit weak as it breaks easy.


Hello

I'm considering buying a Dremel. Do you have a Dremel and what have you done with it? Has it helped you with DIY jobs on your car? Cheers

:)

[Bill R.]

be extremely lame... I've had a number of them over the years and they just didn't cut the mustard. I've had much better results with a flex shaft Dumore and a flex shaft foredom grinder. Also have an old craftsmen industrial die grinder....Any of these three are light years above the dremel and the foredom and the dumore don't cost that much more than a dremel.. Kind of like comparing snap on to harbor freight on wrenches. If your going to use it a lot get a tool that will do the job while your still young.

[Ross]

Nothing on a real car. Good tool for modeling perhaps but really a toy. A sawzall or cutoff wheel prove it.

[Mr._Graybeard]

They're great for exhaust work -- a lot more maneuverable in close quarters than a cut-off tool. Dremel has also brought out an improved cut-off wheel design recently using their new spring-loaded mandrel. The wheels seem to last a lot longer than the old ones.

I bought one of the newer cordless models with lithium-ion battery recently to trim the dog's claws! I'd had a cordless Dremel before and was disappointed with the battery life. After awhile they wouldn't take a charge anymore. The lithium-ion battery is a big improvement. It delivers more power and stays charged longer than the older design. I used it to clean up a litttle surface rust on my E34 this spring (the sanding spool had seen prior service doing a dog manicure). Still, I'd agree that the corded model delivers more bang for the buck.

As for buffing paint, a seasoned hand could probably do it -- there are several buffing accessories available. But you'd want a variable-speed model so you could keep the motor speed way down. At full speed they turn something like 20K rpm. You could be down to bare metal in an eyeblink.

[Mordan]

be extremely lame... I've had a number of them over the years and they just didn't cut the mustard. I've had much better results with a flex shaft Dumore and a flex shaft foredom grinder. Also have an old craftsmen industrial die grinder....Any of these three are light years above the dremel and the foredom and the dumore don't cost that much more than a dremel.. Kind of like comparing snap on to harbor freight on wrenches. If your going to use it a lot get a tool that will do the job while your still young.

Does your Dumore or other tool support Dremel accessories?

ty

[Bill R.]

multiple chucks ranging from 1/8 inch collets and larger up to small drill chucks that you use a key to tighten depending on what your using it for.I have the drill chuck and 1/8 and 1/4 inch collets for my foredom flexible shaft tool, A lot of jewelry makers use them as well as glass artist's. Its kind of like comparing a dustbuster to a shop vacum, with the right attachments the shop vac will do anything the dustbuster will but the dustbuster will not reciprocate.




Does your Dumore or other tool support Dremel accessories?

ty

[winfred]

used a dremmel to shape and cut out the aluminum sheet my gauges are mounted on in my shark's cluster
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/633csi/day%20cluster.JPG
also used one to clearance the inside of the valve covers on my truck when i went with head studs over the bolts, use dremmels all of the time to build guns too :D

[Tcdoe]

Very convenient tool. However I wouldn't recommend the battery version. Although it's easier not having any cords around the battery life seems kinda short, and a looong time charging time. I don't use mine that often, and whenever I need it, the battery always seems to be empty. Then I have to wait for like 12 hours to charge it. In retrospect I would buy the cheaper regular one and a long extension cord.

[Mordan]

also used one to clearance the inside of the valve covers on my truck when i went with head studs over the bolts, use dremmels all of the time to build guns too :D

do you happen to work in the gun business?:)

[winfred]

a couple nights a week i work here http://www.redstick-firearms.com/


do you happen to work in the gun business?:)

[Jon K]

I prefer a bigger version of a dremel called an angle grinder :)

[nizmainiac]

i've only used mine once or twice, but the last time i used it was to notch a gearbox bellhousing so i could put a fiat twin cam in a lada niva

[attack eagle]

Hello

I'm considering buying a Dremel. Do you have a Dremel and what have you done with it? Has it helped you with DIY jobs on your car? Cheers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Dremel.jpg

:)
no
and nothing.
I do have a fullsize grinder

used it to slot the antitamper bolt on the column
other than that Nothing I need one for.

[whiskychaser]

Never used one. Dont think I'd have the touch. My tool of choice for getting rid of layers of paint and down to clean bare metal is a fan grinder:)

[xaviervp]

Ill ditto the dremel is one of the most usefull tools ever invented, I have been using them for more than 30 years.

Here is a great example of how to use a dremel.
Ever had a bearing frozen on a spindal and when you remove it the inner race
is frozen solid in place.
you can do one of three things:

1- buy a new spindle
2- remove and try to remove the frozen bearing race in a press (good luck)
3 - with the spindle in place just cut a slit on the race with those magical disks dremel ( yes you might use a few) has and once your about 3/4 or more through just hit it solid with a sharp chisel and the wring will snap open.

This technique can be applied to any bearing that has come apart and the inner race is frozen to the shaft.

It can also be applied to the outer race when mounted inside a hub by cutting a slit at an angle, except here you have to try and cut all the way through, if you make a small mark on the hub dont worry as long as it is not too deep.

A few decades ago I even made an adapter tool for the dremel to hold emery cloth at the end to port and polish the ports on a cyl head.

Like this Dremel has a thousand uses which at first seams it will take for ever but in reality it takes less time and effort.