I've been using the old razor saw and sandpaper underwater technique and heard from many modelers that a Dremel is a "must" for cutting resin.

I've no experience with Dremel and would like to read some suggestions as to which one is the best to buy.

There's the cordless mini-Dremel with two separate speeds. Someone said that cordless means that I'll be charging the battery a lot though. It's cheap though...about half the price of a plug-in Dremel.

And there's the Dremel 3000 plug-in with tool kit case and motorhead accessories that more expensive. Does one really need all those accessory heads?

And then there's the cordless super-slow speed screwdriver with drill chuck option which I do have, but no Dremel motorheads. This is most likely the cheapest option as I can just buy the motorheads. I've read posts of Dremel burning or melting the resin because of the high speeds.

I really don't need something that cuts that fast, but at least a lot faster and more accurate than a razor saw.

So once I have my Dremel, how do I use it? I use the cutting wheel to cut off the pour block and then should I use a sanding wheel or burr to sand the piece, or do I resort to handheld sandpaper for finer control and accuracy? What else is a Dremel good for in modeling besides cutting resin and burring plastic to make battle damage holes?

Thanks in advance.

Peter, when I was younger I used a Dremel to remove all of the pour blocks from resin castings. I wasn't as worried about the affects of dust then. Now I use nothing but Tamiya's photo etched saw blades. they allow the most control and I don't mind taking the time to trim the parts close that way. I use a set of needle files and sand paper fpr final work. I work in a small space now and dust is a concern for me. I do have a Dremel 4000 for household use. I could use it. It is adjustable and would spin slow enough, but I just don't see a need. I may change my mind if I ever build a kit with large castings though.

Regards,

Eric

I don't use a Dremel to remove resin blocks either. I use a razor saw and sandpaper. I do own a Dremel and have for many years. A while ago, I needed to replace about a 20 year old Dremel and tried the cordless mini-Dremel. It sucked. I couldn't keep the batteries charged long enough to do anything with it. Also, it had no power. I ended up buying a corded Dremel (don't know the model #) and have had no issues with it. I use mine to do lots of modeling tasks (drilling, grinding, sanding, etc.) and for all sorts of tasks around the house. Bottom line, go with the corded one.

Get the Dremel Micro 18-Piece Variable Speed Multipurpose Rotary Tool Kit. It's variable speed (5-28000 RPM), lightweight and has LED lights in the head to illuminate your work. Lowes has it on sale for 79 bucks w/free shipping. I don't know which model of cordless tool Gino has; but, the 8050 is plenty good and has lots of power for its size. I've had mine for three years and haven't used my corded tool since then.

I use a 5/8" saw blade with the Dremel to remove large resin plugs. I made a 24 x 12 x12" cutting box from 1/16" acrylic sheet with a hinged top and two holes on the front which are large enough to stick my hands through and cut resin. The resin dust stays inside and all I need to do is stick a vacuum cleaner nozzle inside to clean up. I'm a firm believer in low tech DIY solutions for stupidly simple problems.

@Gino:

Florida?!? New duty station or retired?

Retired after 23 years on 31 AUG, now a contractor at USCENTCOM, MacDill AFB, Tampa.

Thank you for your service and good luck. My nephew is USN, stationed at the medical facility in Norfolk, and is in his 23rd year of service. He enlisted in '94 as a Corpsman and is now a LCDR. Not bad for a pool hustlin' kid from Queens.

Gino, congrats on the retirement-- I retired in 2006 after 30 years-- and have never looked back-- take the SBP option if you have family, and maximize your VGLI-- because at 62 you can't make any changes-- they forgot to tell me that-- so I'm stuck with 200K. Also, if you have a disability, make sure you understand the difference in concurrent receipt options for VA benefits. I know folks who blew it off to the tune of thousands of dollars in thier retirement benefits. I also know A full Colonel who retired and was going to put his money into the stock market rather than the SBP-- and he died a month later, leaving his wife with no benefits whatsoever.
Now for Peter's question-- I use both a razor saw and a cordless Dremel for resin block removal-- it just depends on what material you're working with. You definitely want the larger cordless variable speed Dremel but as Gino said-- don't buy the mini Dremel, it hasn't got enough power and is limited in its variable speed settings. The higher revs of the corded fixed speed dremels will sometimes melt other materials too. I recommend the larger lithium battery Dremel-- but buy a second battery so you always have one charged. I have a both cord and a cordless variable speed Dremels with the rehostat type dials for variable speed-- since you can "tune" those to your needs. I can get my cordless Dremel spinning so slowly that I can actually use my finger against the spinning chuck to slow it down even more-- without losing any skin in the process! I keep the corded one in my Dremel workstation/drill press ( a very handy rig for all types of projects- you can mount the drill horizontally and vertically). I use the cordless variable speed Dremel for cutting with saw blades and grinding stones, adjusting the speed way down depending on the material I'm cutting. Once you use a Dremel, you'll wonder how you lived without one. I also recommend going to the Micro-Mark website and catalog, they have tons of special cutting wheels, saws, grinding wheels and accessories that will fit the Dremel.
VR, Russ

Thanks and good luck to him as well.

Russ, check out Widget Supply for rotary tool accessories. Better (read cheaper) prices and larger selection than Micro-Mark.

If you still have it you can take the battery pack apart and replace the NiCd cells with AA Lion or NiMH AA cells. I did and it works better after two years than the NiCds did new. Longer usable life, more power, longer charged life. The only downside is that you must open the pack and recharge using the 4-cell NiMH charger rather than the stock pack charger.

KL

Plus, the Li-Ion batteries don't develop "memories" and allow for full recharge if not completely drained.

I swear by this works great!

Cheers Rob.

https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/8220-12vmax-high-performance-cordless

I have two corded dremel tools hanging up by my bench. One has a cut off disk and the other has a grinding stone. Those two bits do 90% of my dremel work. The first I got from a pawn shop. The second from a neighbor going through a divorce. I have long ago discovered that whenever I need a battery powered tool, it needs recharging. Funny thing is that never happened with my corded tools.

I have the 400 series which has been replaced by the 4000 series. There are two attachments which I belive are indispensable: the flexishaft and the multi-pro chuck which replaces the various sizes of collets with a 3 jaw chuck like on a drill. Got the complete set at Home Depot for less than a hundred bucks. I did have to buy the chuck separately for less than $10. I've ussed mine for every thing from home repair to hobbies to trimming a dogs toenails. With the flexishaft you can get into tighter places.

The Dremel 4000 series w/ Flex Shaft, engraving cutters, and a power ON/OFF foot pedal are my favorites!

Engraving cutters don't pull-in the way drill bits do, and there are several shapes and sizes available, some of which are very tiny.

PS: Wearing a mask is highly recommended since these tools kick up fine dust particles like nobody's business.

—mike

Flex shaft with WaWa pedal

haven't found anything better when I was making jewelry.

... think resin is difficult...try the reflective surface of gold.

**PS: Wearing a mask is highly recommended since these tools kick up fine dust particles like nobody's business.**

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.
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BTW: Headhunter's idea was FANTASTIC...

"" I made a 24 x 12 x12" cutting box from 1/16" acrylic sheet with a hinged top and two holes on the front which are large enough to stick my hands through and cut resin. The resin dust stays inside and all I need to do is stick a vacuum cleaner nozzle inside to clean up. I'm a firm believer in low tech DIY solutions for stupidly simple problems. ""

He should see my 5 sided spray booth made of 24X24X1 furnace filters taped into a 5 sided cube...box fan at the back ,, into the fireplace. Spray booth for $30.

That's even better! I'll ask the handyman in my apartment building for some. The supermarket in the building uses those on the exhaust vents in its food prep/restaurant space.

What about a "Ultrasonic Cutter" for working with resin?
No dust, but very expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/ZO-41-ultrasonic-cutter/dp/B00KCAKZ7G

cheers
Walter

Thanks, but nope, it's long gone.

How about a fret-saw. Very little dust, most of it is particles that are large enough that they do not become airborne.
No batteries, no cord, powered by elbow grease. Can get into very tight corners, if a one millimetre drill bit can get into the corner the saw blade can get there as well.



With the finest blades it can be used to remove parts from sprues, when the side cutters can't reach or there is a risk of damaging fragile parts. Works great for making openings (opening hatches et.c.). With the coarser blades it is easy to cut thicker material like plywood or thick styrene sheets.
Not recommended for cutting photo etch, the metal is usually too thin for even the finest metal blades, too few teeth in action at any one time causes the blade to jump.
Also works with narrow strips of sandpaper .....
/ Robin

I'm surprised no one has mentioned nippers. Any form of saw will produce dust. Nippers will not. I used them for this review:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/4565

Someone else did a build review of this same kit and mentioned the large casting blocks. For those, I score right up against the kit part by drawing an old No. 11 blade backwards along the recess where the part and the block meet. Often this is sufficient after a few passes to release the block. Sometimes you can use the nippers once you have cut the grooves - they keep the parts from splitting where you don't want them to. Or you just keep scribing until you can snap the block off.
I haven't used a Dremel for resin for years, and I used to predominately build resin kits. Of course, proper eye protection is a must.

Yup, I use nippers and scoring too, then a saw and sanding to finish off the smaller pieces left after the nippers.

At this point I don't do much in modeling with a motor tool that my upgraded little Dremel can't handle. I have a table top speed control for my corded tools but still prefer the little bugger because it is much handier.

I use a saw or score-and-snap for resin. Honestly, if I come across a resin kit with pour plugs so large that I need 45 minutes with a corded motor tool to clean it up, I won't buy it.

KL

I thought that was the neatest thing until I saw the specs and a video online of a modeler using it. The cutting blade is so small that it can only cut 3mm of resin at a time, or about the width of a sprue mark. A thick resin block would have too much depth for the blade to penetrate in.

The video shows the ultrasonic cutter cutting into resin easily like shaving butter, but the ultrasonic blade is so fast that it obliterates the resin into fine power that just disappears in the air = yikes!

I think I just might stick with my nippers, sandpaper, razor saw and the underwater technique. It's the method with the best control and at least the resin shaves off in bits and pieces instead of fine powder. I guess I should buy a larger razor saw blade for those thicker chunks of resin.

I'm still open to comments and suggestions about Dremels; however, I might place purchasing one "off the stove" for now.

Thanks for all the answers and input.

I use nippers to remove what I can or for thicker blocks where it might damage a finer part, I use my UMM razor saw and hand sand. I'd never use a rotary tool anywhere near the "good" surface of a resin model, they are never as accurate or as controllable as the hand and eye.

As was mentioned above, the rotary tools also kick up truly amazing amounts of dust, wear a mask.

For other uses, I do a lot of scratchbuilding and converting so I tend to use my Dremel for removing material off surfaces where a saw or simple carving won't "cut it".

I also use it around the house for almost as much as I use it in the showp.

While I have one of the older cordless models, they are light duty only, though they are very handy. For most of my Dremel work I use a 40 year old corded model with a home dimmer switch to drop the RPM to not melt the styrene. Melting resin won't happen as polyurethane resins are not thermoplastic. Thy may burn/char if you really put your mind to it, but they don't melt.

If all you want a Dremel for is removing resin plugs, don't bother, get a good razor saw and a good sanding stick. They produce a much better job. On the other hand, I find it one of my most versatile tools and use it a lot.

HTH

Paul