In another thread regarding using a Dremel tool with a burr to core brass headlight castings I mentioned that I had to take frequent breaks when holding the Dremel tool because my hands would start to shake. The suggestion was made to purchase a Dremel Rotary Tool Workstation (which is essentially a drill press designed to hold a Dremel tool) so that I would only have to hold the workpiece instead of having to hold both the Dremel tool and the piece being worked on.
I reviewed a number of revues about the Workstation and there was one common complaint. That is that the Workstation does not hold the Dremel tool securely with the result that the bit will wobble around on some materials thereby eliminating the ability to drill an accurate hole.
Do any of you who have used the Dremel Work station have any comments on this apparent problem? I don’t want to spend $77.00 on a tool that is no better than my hands.
I have that tool. While it’s great for many things it’s not so great for drilling a precisely centered hole. Here’s why. It’s mostly plastic. No matter how well you have it locked in position the bit WILL drift slightly off center when it bites into the work piece. Try as I might I haven’t found a way to prevent it. Granted all I’ve used it for so far is drilling vent holes in Apple computer power supply casings I still get a bit irked when I see the bit float off center. And it’ll float off center every time!
I have one of the ‘old’ Dremel workstation/drill press units(1970) and they are not very stable for precision drilling. They are better than doing it hand’held. I do have a nice Micro-Mark(Micro-Lux) precision drill press with an X-Y table - Over $200 of tool when I bought it. But it has served me well, and do I precision drilling as needed. It’s one of those tools that really works nice. If you want a precision drill press ‘on the cheap’, go to you local big box store or Harbor Freight and look at the small table top drill presses. Grab the chuck and see if it has a lot of ‘slop’ - When you find a nice tight one, buy it! Micro-Mark and others have some nice miniature 4 jaw checks that will fit right into the drill press chuck. I bought one at a Menards here and it worked well for over 20 years. A tax refund burning a hole in my pocket resulted in the nice Micro-Lux model and the X-Y table!
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s too bad that Dremel has chosen to market a tool that is inferior to their main line of products.
I will wait to see what others have to say but the evidence so far is not in favour of the workstation. If all I really need to do is clamp my Dremel down securely I’m sure I can do it for less than $77.00 (CDN, including tax, if you are wondering where I got the price from) and not have it wobble. Actually, what the solution is called is a ‘bench vise’ and I’ve already got one of those. I will just need better lighting around it for the detailed work.
Thanks Jeffery
Does anyone have any redeeming comments about the Workstation?
You, SIR, are trying to spend my money![swg][(-D][(-D][(-D] Just kidding!
I am very tempted to follow your lead but right now I can’t see too many projects where I will really need that sort of accuracy. The original problem was how to deal with shakey hands and the Dremel Workstation seemed to be an affordable option, but as I have said, the evidence is building against it. I can hold the Dremel with a vise just fine so if I am going to opt for a tool that offers more options those options need to work properly. However, when I look at the price for a decent drill press vs what else I could do with the money, unfortunately a $200.00 drill press falls to the bottom part of the list of priorities.
However, if I understand you correctly you are attempting to hold the Dremel and the casting by hand. Is that correct? If so, sounds mighty dangerous to me.
My dremel drillpress/workstation sits under my workbench collecting dust. I find it pretty much useless unless you don’t care about the accuracy of the hole you are drilling. As others have said “it ain’t for accurate drilling”. Too bad the MicroMark items are so expensive. There was another precision drill press made by Dumore I believe that was what everyone is looking for (I think it was called a ‘jewelers’ drill press?). Just my thoughts.
I hold the work piece in a pair of pliers with the jaws covered in masking tape sticky side out to allow a firm grip without squashing the casting. I brace both bands against the work bench. And yes, I wear safety glasses.
Can you suggest a better way? Should I be holding the work piece in a vise? If so, how do I control the pressure exerted by the vise so the part doesn’t get squashed?
For the most part, I’m very hesitant to knock products, but I can’t honestly recommend Dremel tools. I’ve used them in the past for small touch up work in mold making and while they work JUST ok, they feel as if they’re going to explode in your hand. I have an old Black and Decker tool that is similar but beefier but it would be pure chance to find one on the used market. Small drill presses marketed by Harbor Freight are mostly cheaply built but the main limiting factor is the inability to spin fast enough. That can be overcome by patience in drilling the hole and not feeding the drill too fast. That causes the resulting chip to be too big, overstressing the drill and breaking it. One thing you might want to try is to use a “combination center drill” to start the hole. They are available at McMaster-Carr online as well as other sources of machinists tools. They are short stiff drills intended to either “spot” a starting hole for subsequent drilling or provide a center in the end of a shaft for support by a center on the tailstock of a lathe. They are available in many sizes, down to .015" or so for the drill part. The body of the drill, in that size, is 1/8" and the drills are typically double ended and about 1" long. They do not tend to “drift” and once they have been used to start the spot where you intend to drill, you can switch to the drill size you want and not worry about the hole being off center.
I don’t know if You have or have tried a flex shaft attachment for Your Dremel, it’s a lot easier to control and hold for a lot of work, compared to the bulky tool itself. I have a Dremel, but I use my Black & Decker ‘‘Wizard’’ which is a version of Dremel but slimmer in design. It has a flex shaft on it and I leave it attached all the time, with thumb wheel adjustable speed. I hang it from a hook on my extended arm light fixture, there’s a u-shaped wire on the back of tool to do so. I at one time spoke to my Dentist about it and showed it to Him, He admittingly said that his high priced Dental drilling tools were junk compared to them and bought the Wizard.
The accuracy that I usually need isn’t quite as precise as what you are talking about. I know of the bits that you describe and I will keep them in mind.
Frank:
The idea of a flex shaft is interesting because the tool itself is a bit large to hold comfortably when doing fine work. I’m a bit suprized that the motor doesn’t jump around under load when it is just hanging there but I will take your word for it.
The tool is designed to hang upside down, the shaft is about two feet long, with about a seven inch long little larger than fat pen like contoured to fit your hand type end with changeable coulets. The actual motor does not move or jump at all guaranteed when hanging.
Frank
EDIT: Here is a pic. of the one I have:
On the back were the cord is, you’ll see a black wire u-shape that swings out to hang it, right above that is the thumb wheel to change speeds.
I can’t specifically comment on the tool, but my advice is always: use the correct tool for the job. Dremels and other rotary tools are great for cutting, polishing, buffing, routing, sanding, etching, and more. But if it’s a precision hole you need, it’s a drill press or nothing. Also, if you’re using a Dremel, you do NOT want to be holding your workpiece in your other hand unless it is large enough to keep your hand well away from the Dremel. Otherwise, sooner or later, you will find out the hard way how much a tool --even a soft felt pad – hurts when it’s spinning at 6000 rpm.
Not my intent to hijack this thread. As some of you all know, although I enjoy metalizng HO classic streamlined cars…my “achilles heel” has always been drilling accurate holes for hand rails. I was going to purchase a Dremel Station, but received feedback from modelers recommending against it.
If anyone owns or has operated a mini-drill press with a chuck that doesn’t wobble and was impressed with it, I’d appreciate knowing about it as I’ve got about 100 handrails to install! I’ll be using #79 drill bits.
Just speaking from My own experience, I have yet to find any Electric tool that can be used for hand rail holes/side ladders. I use the Old fashion way pin vise, but I make a jig, out of .020’’ sheet Styrene that has the correct size hole that I want drilled, that way it will always be the same size and not travel, when attempting to start a hole. I tape the jig on the car with Blue painters tape. Works for me.
