Dremel question

[swurlgurl]

Hi!
I want to buy a dremel. I put it in my shopping cart at walmart and at home depot but always end up putting it back bc i am sooo confused about all of the little bits that go with it. I just want to drill holes in my fused glass and clean the bead release out of beads...maybe polish them if dremels do that. what do i need to get??? My husband is freaking out about ordering online bc we recently had a very very bad experience with one of our cards being charged repeatedly so i have to go to home depot or walmart to buy the dremel but when i explain the the macho guys at home depot what i need it for, i get a glazed over expression and a shrug of the shoulders. when i explain at walmart, they have just been amazed at the concept of making glass beads and can't answer the questions. lol so i am here asking the pros.
thanks for any help.
hugz and have a great day!
angela

[Kevan]

Do you have a Habor Freight Tools near you? I just bought a rechagable rotoary tool with a light on it and all kinds of bits for $20 there. It has a carrying case too.

[MaryBeth]

If you want the brand name Dremel you can't get that at Walmart - they don't sell them.

What you do want is the cordless battery operated Dremel. Usually you have to buy the kit. I recently purchased one at Lowes for $39.99. It has two speeds - 15,000RPM and 30,0000RPM.

You might need to buy the bits you need separately. I'm not at home right now and I can't remember if any of the bits that come with it are suitable.

I think Dremel also has a cheaper cordless that only has one speed called the Mini-Mite. I didn't buy that one because I thought that you couldn't change the collet on it. (The collet is like a collar that fits inside the nut where you put your bit. Different size bits require different size collets.) I might be wrong about this fact - but maybe someone that owns one of those could give you more information.

[Kevan]

I had a Dremel brand one and it died after 8 mos.

[momoharley]

Hi,
I use a dremmel to clean out my beads. I use the diamond tipped bit. I had to buy the bit separately from the dremmel. I bought them at walmart and it came two in a pack for about $5.00. I did have to buy the collet kit as well because the bits were very small. That was about $6.00 at walmart for a set of 4 different sizes. I hope this helps. I haven't found anything better for cleaning out bead release.
Ann

[swurlgurl]

I don't know, Keven, do we have a harbor freight nearby? lol i will check the phone book. im right down the road from u. ) thanks for all the help yall. i am sure walmart has dremels, over in the tools section, i want to say they were about 30bux. or maybe it was a dremmel wannabe.lol iono. but thanks again.hugz
angela

[lainee733]

i found Dremels at wal-mart last night. one was 19.99 the other 39.99 (with bits).

[MaryBeth]

Originally Posted by lainee733

i found Dremels at wal-mart last night. one was 19.99 the other 39.99 (with bits).

I guess I assumed they didn't carry them because I couldn't find them on their website. I looked there first when I was in the market because I hate going into Wal-Mart if I don't have to.

Anyway, my first Dremel which I just replaced lasted 5 years. And the problem was a rusted collet. My husband drilled that sucker out of there and now the old Dremel works also. So I have two which is handy if you make beads with different size bead holes

[mixednut]

Originally Posted by Kevan

Do you have a Habor Freight Tools near you? I just bought a rechagable rotoary tool with a light on it and all kinds of bits for $20 there. It has a carrying case too.

That was going to be my suggestion this store is great I am sure you will find what you need.

[lainee733]

Thank Kevan! I just ordered one off Harbor Freight, 9.99 with bits on sale!
Mary Beth, maybe not all wal-marts have them, very limited selection at mine.

[Emily]

If you buy the cordless Dremel, you might want to buy an extra battery if you do long sessions. I mostly used my cordless back in my polymer clay days (long ago) and I'd keep an extra battery charging because one always seemed to run out when I was using it. I used to make polymer eggs that I had to sand forever, though -- you could clean a heck of a lot of beads in the time I'd spend in a sanding session, so maybe an extra battery isn't as important for bead cleaning.

I switched to my corded Dremel because I could get a flex-shaft attachment for it. I find the flex-shaft is easier on the hand, but it didn't fit the cordless (at least not my cordless -- whether it fits the newer models, I couldn't say.) Now if only the foot pedal attachment fit my Dremel -- but that fits only the single-speed Dremel, and I have a variable speed. (Yes, I know, what I really want is a real jeweler's flex-shaft machine, but I already have the Dremel.)

You probably don't want one of the kits with the bazillions of little parts and attachments. I found that the written materials that come with Dremels aren't useful at all, so I have no idea what to do with most of mine. I don't even know what to call them. The adjustable chuck is a good thing to have. It takes the place of the collet set. (In case you need an explanation -- I certainly would have: a Dremel tool is really just a motor that makes anything you stick in the end spin around. They come with a holder in the end called a collet. When you buy a Dremel, it comes with one collet that's meant to accept attachments with a shaft diameter of a certain size, and of course I can't remember what it is. Let's say 1/8", just for grins. Most of the Dremel brand attachments will be that shaft diameter, but not all, and you might want to use attachments that are a different brand and have a different shaft diameter. There are two ways to do this. Both ways are inexpensive. One is to buy a set of 4 (I think) different sizes of collets from Dremel. You just pick the one that fits the attachment you want to use and change the one on your Dremel to fit. The other way is to buy an adjustable chuck that substitutes for the collet entirely. You take the collet off your Dremel, put on the chuck, and screw it wider or narrower to fit whatever attachment you're using. Piece of cake. Both should be available at Home Depot or similar places where they have the little Dremel attachments hanging on pegs.)

[swurlgurl]

i went to walmart and got the dremel cordless. it has two speeds on it. it came with 5 attachments...i THINK they are grinding, polishing, oh gosh i dont know. anyway, i didnt see an attachment that would look like it would drill a hole. lol. and all of their drill bits said not to use on glass. so i got a little pack of two diamond point just cos it says it is good for jade, ceramic etc. but now i read it and it says not for drilling. oye. if u can carve with it, why cant it just drill a dadblasted hole??? lol
btw, im really really not a dingbat even if i appear to be one here. i promise. lol
hugz
angela

[beadmama]

I'm a newbie, too. And would like to purchase one ---which is the best bit for cleaning bead holes? And could some explain their process for cleaning beads

The same above questions for polishing beads...

Thanks in advance for all info. Becky

[swurlgurl]

lol mary beth! i haaaaaaaate going to walmart, i go for one thing and end up with 50 things. ugh and parking...ick. i checked the website too and they sure don't have them according to the site, but, they have em at the store. crazy. they have a whole bunch of attachments but mostly the package deals, where u have to buy 50-11 just to get 2 ya really need lol.
i DID figure out how to use the grinder, i cleaned up a bead that cracked down the middle and made a nice pair of post earrings. go me! lol
mine is adjustable so it fits different sizes.
becky, walmart (here anyway) has rechargable ones with 5 attachments for 19.99. thats the one i got and i bought two diamond point thingies. (oo and par for course at walmart, ended up with a cart full of other junk i felt we just had to have ((rolling my eyes))) lol