Dremel question...

[GekigangarV]

I recently cut my first window for my case. The thing is, I used up a bunch of cut-off wheels (around 10). I bought this accessory kit and it had one of those larger sized reinforced wheels and it was gone in 5 mins. Is this normal or is there some secret to it?

 

[palee72]

Very normal

Those dremmal disks were meant for small jobs (cutting nails, basic grinding and small cuts) I have found that using a jig saw to cut the basic shape out, then use the dremal to help round out and smooth the cuts.

The dremal is best suted for smaller cuts and finer detail work.. Although it is perfectly fine to cut out the entire window with the dremal..

hint.. I sometimes use 2 disks at a time.. seemes to help keep them from shattering and cutting goes a little better.. but.. if you do the math, you still use about as many disks...

 

[Taylor]

I'm glad I'm not alone; I cut my first window using a dremel w/ the same procedure you've described.

I went through the first wheel fastest, with a little care I was able to get a bit more cut per wheel. But no doubt you'll eat a few up to get any work done. Upside is, it's an effective method and you're allowed a good measure of control over the cut. I've tried it with a sabre-saw, which is faster (and louder too, ouch!) but the quality of the cut was much more difficult to control. It took a lot more work afterward to pretty up the finished edge. Bottom line: for me, the dremel/cut-off wheel is the only way to fly.

 

[CrystalMethod]

The trick to not using up too many wheels is to not try to cut straight through the metal. Use light pressure, and just cut a groove along your pattern. Then keep going over the groove till you finally cut through.

 

[GekigangarV]

Thanks for the help! Since I'm going to cut some holes for home fans, I'll be sure to keep these tips in mind. Cut-off wheel graveyard, here I come.

 

[DaveSauce]

so my question is which cut off wheel? The fiberglass reinforced? Or are the other really heavy ones good? Or should you just use whatever wheels you have lying about? I bought the cutting set, and I've already worn out 4 fiberglass, worn out 1 1.25" heavy, and shattered 1 1.25" heavy. I have like 4 1.25" heavy left, and the rest of the pack...I might try the "heavy-duty 15/16"" cutters, but I dunno how long they'll last. On the plus side, I have 22 of those...lol.

My biggest concern is how easily they will shatter. Scared the hell out of me when I experienced my first shatter (and that was the 1.25" cut-off)....I decided that I was done for the evening, heh. thankfully, no damage to me....mebbe i'll wear gloves next time, and maybe find some safety goggles to fit over my glasses....i = unsafe. Oh yea, definately gotta get me some dust masks...ack, i saw what I left on the floor, and I'm afraid of what I left in my lungs...

Question....what do you all use for deburring? I have a few of the Aluminum oxide grinders....2 of the 8175, and 1 of the 8193....I also have a 9901 tungsten carbide cutter. Should I use the tungsten carbide for deburring?

Oh yea, I have an antec case....that steel is hard ****.

 

[Taylor]

hold on I'll have a look-

ok I've used:
cut-off wheel #409
heavy-duty cut-off wheel #420
and this guy, which I don't know the number, but it's heavier-duty stiil (also thicker so keep that in mind):

They all will cut the metal in your case. You have to go slower with the finer wheel. You may have better looking results with the finer wheel.

I wear earplugs, a paper mask and safety glasses. It's not so loud that it would do damage, but I don't like metal dust in my ears.

 

[Daemonfly]

The FG reinforced wheels usually work best. Just go light and let the Dremel do the work - don't force it. You will just wear down the wheel a hell of a lot quicker, and heat up & stress the Dremel leading to a shorter life.

I only used three FG wheels to cut a roughly 12"x 12" window.

 

[Lord Moreira]

I just got a brand new dremmel but it's going to be used for only finishes or cut's in plastic like the 12mm hole i intend to make soon on my 3 white plastic 5.25 front covers super glued togheter to create 1 single cover, after that a fan grill and i'm done with my hdd cooling process. (Vantec stealth of course)
I might use it on acrillic to to shape the windows
I'll post my pics when i'm done should be all done by the end of the year
Next buy will be the Lian-Li PC30 for Lanparty's only, that will also suffer some modding

 

[GekigangarV]

beans, how long did it take for you to cut the 12" x 12" window?

 

[DaveSauce]

btw, i'll make sure to post pics of my finished case.....the pencil lines look awesome....heh....but I dont have a light for inside the case just yet....so the window etching prolly wont show up so well...

 

[Mike K]

Well you are definately doing something wrong. I cut out my window, which is pretty big, using only 2 fiberglass reinforced cut-off wheels.

 

[Docta_Z]

Can you take a picture of the inside of the door, I want to see how you mounted the glass like that

 

[Turando]

i just use an angle grinder, and im only 15! , what are ear plugs?

Turando

 

[DaveSauce]

Ow my freaking back....

Know what sucks? Having a workbench that's about half as tall as you.....freaking bending over to work on this damn thing...takes its toll, I can tell you that.

But on the plus side, I'm making my FG cut-out wheels last longer. I discovered the secret....w00t.....bought a pack of 5 today, did about half the amount of cutting I used yesterday, yet what I did yesterday took about 4 discs....yay.

And that damn tungsten carbide cutter is hard to use....it likes to grab on and shoot off...guess I'll just use my orange dealies. Heh, actually the cut-off wheels make excellent grinders when used carefully...heh...heh...

 

[Taylor]

Hey Mike that is one beautiful job. Wow! I like how you painted the exposed inner frame, great colors man. So how did you mount that window?

 

[Daemonfly]

Dave - I'm 6'6" and I temporarily gave up on a very intricate cutout I was doing until I can find a more suitable workspace.

I'm thinking large Drafting table(or build similar) the ones that angle, etc... mounted with pressure clamps to hold everything in place.
--------------------------------------
Forcing it will make you go faster, BUT at the cost of many discs and wear & tear of the Dremel. I used 3 discs cutting a big window out of my friend's full 11-bay tower case. It was a while ago, but I'd say it took me somewhere near 45 min.

 

[DaveSauce]

yea, see, some of you have the advantage of knowing what your doing. I'm a complete dremel newbie.....but I have managed to do I think a fine job, not knowing what i'm doing at all.....heh, the guy at home depot scowled at me when I told him that i'm trying to cut a 1/16" thick sheet of steel with a dremel, lol.

And yea, a drafting table sounds like a fine idea....i gotta get something, cuz my back is gonna die tomorrow when I get back to cutting...heh....

oh yea, being tall sucks.....i'm not uber tall, but i'm 6'1".....tall enough to encounter problems....everything is too damn small.

 

[Xevuhtess7]

are the cutting wheel thingies expensive? im worried about making myself broke trying to cut a window. what kind of wheel should i use to cut this pic (size,material)? ( the black sections are what im gonna cut out)

also, when im done with the dremel i expect it look very messy and jagged, so i just take any old file and file it down, then sand the edges?

 

[DaveSauce]

You could use a file....the dremel does have bits that are good for deburring...and thats quite the detail there,....heh, I thought my mod was ambitious for a first-time dremel user.

I suppose for that level of detail, the dremel is the best tool to use, heh.

Anyway, I would suggest using the Fiberglass Reinforced Cut-Off wheels, which are like $7 for a pack of 5.....or you can buy the cut-off set that is like $13, and comes with 4 fiberglass reinforced, as well as a ton of other cut-off wheels.

Also, keep in mind that you CANNOT make sharp curves with the dremel cut-off wheels. They are meant to cut off at the edge, not the side. Too much pressure from the side will shatter the disc, and that's not a good thing. I would advise doing all the straight lines first, and if you have some curves, make a straight cut and then smooth it out later.

The best deburring bit would be one of the aluminum oxide bits; the orange ones. Pick whichever you want, all the orange bits are the same composition, just different shape. After you get all the edges neat, THEN you sand it. Dremel also has sanding drums that you can use for this. But keep in mind that the sanding will not reshape the metal, merely polish it up a bit.

I would not recommend using a metal file for deburring, if only because of the detail on your piece. One stroke with a metal file might warp or bend some of those finer lines....i.e. the really thin pieces. You could use it on the outer edges, where there is plenty of material to hold shape....but on the inside where its barely 5mm in width, dont even try, you might even snap it, heh.

Well, good luck, and be very careful. Thats quite a bit of detail there...and also, when using the dremel at top speed (nescessary for cutting metal) HOLD ON TIGHT....that thing has a habit of biting on to whatever it can and jumping. If you have any scrap metal around, practice a bit on that. If not, cut the larger parts first. When I get some pics of my case mod up, you can really tell where my first cuts were....heh....the dremel takes a bit of practice to get a good handle on.