Benifits would be unlike the dremels they wouldn’t need collets that constantly go missing(they use a chuck connection! 2 it wouldn’t ever be able to wander off as if be secured to the hanging post, and 3 Itd allow member, who btob( bring their own bits) to have a nice powerful rotary tool over by the sanding table that’s really easy to control vs hand held dremels, or even better if jewelry is needing or wanting a new one we could buy the used one from them to cut down out cost and foot some of their cost for a new one. I think Itd be a pretty cool addition that a lot of member would enjoy for relatively small price tag and plus it could possibly be a win for 2 departments
That’s a Foredom rotary tool; intended for light use. If you’re seriously considering it, you might consider the Model TX which is for heavier usage. That flex shaft, with the foot control, is about $300.
EDIT: FWIW, Dremel makes a Flex shaft attachment for about $30. That could be secured to a hanging post. You can replace a whole lot of collets for the $300 that a new Foredom would cost.
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Not to mention getting plenty of spare bearings for the retainer of the flex shaft to hand piece.
the fordems are pretty good. I was using mine 360 days a year to polish the embossing stamps I used to do. It’s the brushes that go. At this level of use, I usually had to replace them once a year so definately get some spares. Mine is a 1/3hp. You mostly only see a 1/6hp available these days but they probably sell the bigger one.
The Model TX is the 1/3HP one.
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I can see the advantage of a more powerful, flexshaft detail sander. This sounds like a good discussion for a Woodshop Committee meeting.
This feels like a specialized tool to me… Can you convince me that this is something more than 5 (300/$60 = 5) members of woodshop would use?
Im not saying that’s the only reason to buy it, that’s just an easy way to justify another tool we will have to spend money to repair every year.
What use cases do you see for woodshop members using it?
What consumables does it need, monthly? Annually?
What’s it’s maintenance look like?
Dremels can be treated as consumables. This, not so much. Is there a justification for a permanent vs consumable tool?
Another consideration is that the Foredom uses a foot pedal. It’s convenient for a (seated) bench jeweler but might or might not be a good thing for the Wood Shop usage.
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Is this something that would do better having a dedicated table / work area? What other tools go in this family: If I setup a bench for this tool, what other tools should be on / near this bench? What kind of projects does it support?
To be clear, I’m not against purchasing this product. I just don’t understand why it fits in woodshop, or what kinds of projects it would be used on. I don’t want to purchase a product that fits 1 person’s specific needs.
If this is something that lots of people would use, and serves a project type that we haven’t supported before; Great! What does that look like, and how can we best support it?
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The fact we have a box full of dremels, which have no collects means they’re being very heavily unused the only reason I suggested this is because it’s 1 can’t be taken and moved around and 2 the collets can’t be lost, so it’ll always be usable given whoever it is bring the their own bits, but we have tons of people who use dremels but they’ve all lost their collets and are now unusable, and nobody should use jewelry’s cause those need to be left alone for anything but metal and precious metal, this would just allow everybody’s who uses the dremels to actually be able to use it and also solve the issue of a box full of unusable dremels and them wondering off
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Right up against the wall near the band saw on the sanding table where there’s always a stool and is and area accustom to the amount of dust this would make
Plus the un mobility of it and the chuck based connection system so no collets will go missing
I like this idea; for detail sanding and engraving it’s nice to have a Dremel, but the current kit’s parts constantly disappear. I once brought in a pack of collets and they were gone within the two weeks between putting them in the drawer and when I used it next.
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i’ve been considering doing textured turned bowls, etc. Dremels are OK for that but more HP would be ideal.
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That’s why this is nice cause it solves that issue cause it doesn’t use collets it uses a drill like chuck setup so make it byob then you’ll never not be able to use the tool cause someone misplaced the collets which is the situation we’re at now cause I’m with you everytime I go to use a dremel there’s not a collet to be found lol
And since it’s a flex shaft it’s night and day easier to control. So something like that with a dremel not a chance but a flex shaft it’s be extremely achievable
nope. Dremel is not the right tool. Basically they are high torque with a max speed of 20k RPM. trying to do this type of piercing work tends to lead to shattered vessels. What works best for this is a dental type handpiece which spins 100K RPM with little torque. You can detail an eggshell with it but not a dremel. But don’t believe me, try doing pierced work on an eggshell and see. I myself helped to innovate pierced work some 25 years ago.
But to the original post - Dremel/Fordoms are good tools for countour carving and finishing work. Cheers!
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My pierced egg work mostly consists of a quick smack on a flat surface in order to get the squishy bits away from the crunchy bits for early eats.
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