Are you tired of your wimpy drill? Would you like to have one of those drills you see on American Chopper and Monster Garage; the kind that has the large cutoff wheel that cuts steel? Tired of those little cutoff wheels on your Dremel breaking off all the time and cutting rail at an angle?
Now, for 35 cents, you too can convert your drill into a monster, I discovered Saturday during a visit to Home Depot, while eyeballing the tool section.
I noticed all of these monster cutoff wheels, 3 inches in diameter and up. Trouble is, they were made for a special drill.
Why not convert one of these bad bears, I thought.
So, I grabbed a 6-pak of 3 inch Husky wheels and went to the screw section. Picked up a hex bolt, 2 washers and a bolt, all for 35 cents (6-pak of Husky wheels was just a couple bucks extra).
Took 2 crescent wrenches and fixed the wheel to the bolt securely.
But the bolt was too thick for the drill, by just a hair. So got the old bench grinder out and shaped it to fit.
One more problem. My new battery drill didn’t have enough RPMs and the wheel just tickled the steel.
So I pulled the 40-year old electric drill out of the cobwebs. It might be old but it sure turns out those RPMs!
Took some old rail out on the brick patio and watched the sparks fly as the cutoff wheel made short work of the rail. Be forewarned, however, that the wheel is a lot thicker than your typical dremel wheels and your cut will be about an eighth inch wide. Also, get a good grip on the drill or the wheel will literally get away from you. Be sure also to clamp down your work and of course eye protection.
I also used the cutoff wheel to reshape a point rail on a turnout that needed adjusting.
All in all, a good deal for 35 cents.