Judaeus Apella
02-08-2006, 12:52 PM
I just started getting into case surgery, and I'm having fun with it. :)
I got me a Dremel 400 XPR and I love it! It’s comfortable to use, and it’s just like using a sketching pencil. So far I’m doing pretty damn well with it, considering I’m new, but I have some questions about bits.
For example, I’ll use a simple project. The first project I attempted was cutting away the metal from an existing fan vent, size is 120mm. The stock grill cut into the stock case is just a bunch of holes, drilled out to form the shape a circle, which severely decreases the amount of airflow and increases the dBa.
Keep in mind I favor steel cases for their durability, so the case I’m using is constructed from 0.8mm SECC.
1. Cut out the large portion of metal using the small cut off wheels, the ones that come in a pack of 20, and was happy with the cut I made. I’m not used to the flex shaft, so it got away from me a few times until I became comfortable with it. A couple of times, it jerked from my grip and scratched the immediate area around the hole. Luckily this is the intake vent, behind the front door of the case which is under lock and key about 99% of the time, so it’s not in plain view. You can only see it when I open the door for maintenance. Towards the end of the project, I had much more control over it and slipping became almost non-existent.
2. Shaping the circle and touching up the edges using light to moderate pressure, on higher settings. The first bit I tried for shaping the circle this was the 8175 Aluminum Oxide Grinding Stone, which I found to be very unproductive and annoying. It's progress was agonizingly slow, so I tried the 85602 Silicon Carbide Grinding Stone, which was described as a bit for grinding non-ferrous metals, among other things. I gave it a try with the same results. The kit didn't really offer anything else for this task, so I tried stacking four of the cut off wheels together to form a thicker grinding bit, and sure enough it worked great! I was able to very precisely shape the circle using light touches, like sketching with a pencil. After shaping the entire circle, the cut off wheels had only lost about 1/4 of their circumference.
3. Smoothing the edges to get rid of razor sharp edges, splinters, and overhangs. I really haven't done much in this area, accept remove some of the splinters and what look like "lips", you know where the metal starts to widen at the edge, where it was ground.
What should I use for the final step? Is this what I should use?
Abrasive Buffs (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-group.htm?H=188569&G=66429)
I thought about using the sanding wheels/bands, but I was afraid they'd have a mind of their own and rather grind away the perfect cuts I made.
Sanding Bands (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-group.htm?H=188569&G=66408)
As for grinding and shaping, is there anything better than that 20 count tube of cut off wheels? They wear down to quickly, which can get costly. Would any of these last longer? What about their effectiveness? Do they cut as well? Better?
Dremel Accessory Directory (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-category.htm?H=188532)
Perhaps just a fine sanding sponge?
I got me a Dremel 400 XPR and I love it! It’s comfortable to use, and it’s just like using a sketching pencil. So far I’m doing pretty damn well with it, considering I’m new, but I have some questions about bits.
For example, I’ll use a simple project. The first project I attempted was cutting away the metal from an existing fan vent, size is 120mm. The stock grill cut into the stock case is just a bunch of holes, drilled out to form the shape a circle, which severely decreases the amount of airflow and increases the dBa.
Keep in mind I favor steel cases for their durability, so the case I’m using is constructed from 0.8mm SECC.
1. Cut out the large portion of metal using the small cut off wheels, the ones that come in a pack of 20, and was happy with the cut I made. I’m not used to the flex shaft, so it got away from me a few times until I became comfortable with it. A couple of times, it jerked from my grip and scratched the immediate area around the hole. Luckily this is the intake vent, behind the front door of the case which is under lock and key about 99% of the time, so it’s not in plain view. You can only see it when I open the door for maintenance. Towards the end of the project, I had much more control over it and slipping became almost non-existent.
2. Shaping the circle and touching up the edges using light to moderate pressure, on higher settings. The first bit I tried for shaping the circle this was the 8175 Aluminum Oxide Grinding Stone, which I found to be very unproductive and annoying. It's progress was agonizingly slow, so I tried the 85602 Silicon Carbide Grinding Stone, which was described as a bit for grinding non-ferrous metals, among other things. I gave it a try with the same results. The kit didn't really offer anything else for this task, so I tried stacking four of the cut off wheels together to form a thicker grinding bit, and sure enough it worked great! I was able to very precisely shape the circle using light touches, like sketching with a pencil. After shaping the entire circle, the cut off wheels had only lost about 1/4 of their circumference.
3. Smoothing the edges to get rid of razor sharp edges, splinters, and overhangs. I really haven't done much in this area, accept remove some of the splinters and what look like "lips", you know where the metal starts to widen at the edge, where it was ground.
What should I use for the final step? Is this what I should use?
Abrasive Buffs (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-group.htm?H=188569&G=66429)
I thought about using the sanding wheels/bands, but I was afraid they'd have a mind of their own and rather grind away the perfect cuts I made.
Sanding Bands (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-group.htm?H=188569&G=66408)
As for grinding and shaping, is there anything better than that 20 count tube of cut off wheels? They wear down to quickly, which can get costly. Would any of these last longer? What about their effectiveness? Do they cut as well? Better?
Dremel Accessory Directory (http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-category.htm?H=188532)
Perhaps just a fine sanding sponge?