Dremel for knot removal, handle drilling, etc
- Thread starter Ramsay
- Start date
The biggest issue using a dremel or other hand type tool is that consistency of diameter or edges is going to be your biggest challenge.
Though a dedicated drill press may be out of the question for you, there are alternatives that enable you to use a cordless or corded hand drill as a "drill press" type set up.
Of course these vary in quality as price dictates, (from around 20 bucks upwards to over a hundred) they can be a viable option.
A Forstner bit set is your best bet for success.
Just google "drill press stand for hand drill". It's also very doable to make one on your own out of scrap wood.
- Thread starter
- #3
I use a Dremel with a drum sander to enlarge the diameter. I haven't had much trouble with turning the hole from round to oblong as long as I rotate the handle every few minutes while I'm working it.
I don't often have a need to make a hole deeper as I like lofty brushes and it is more common to shim the knot up to get what I'm after. When I do want to make the hole deeper I use a Fostner type bit of the right size with a hand power drill and do just a little at a time. I really should put the handle in a vise, but I simply hold it with my hand. I know it isn't safe but I'm careful.
I don't often have a need to make a hole deeper as I like lofty brushes and it is more common to shim the knot up to get what I'm after. When I do want to make the hole deeper I use a Fostner type bit of the right size with a hand power drill and do just a little at a time. I really should put the handle in a vise, but I simply hold it with my hand. I know it isn't safe but I'm careful.
Quite honestly I've rarely used a drill press to restore brushes and almost exclusively use a Dremel with various attachments. I've been restoring shaving brushes over seven years and never liked the excessive power and speed of a drill press; too easy to loose control and trash a rare brush.
- Thread starter
- #6
I have a vice, but I'm reluctant to use it for this application. I know I could pad it to keep from having vice jaw damage but I'm also concerned about distorting the handle.
On the handles I made on a friend's lathe, the hole was drilled in the lathe before parting the handle off from the stub that was in the lathe chuck.
On the handles I made on a friend's lathe, the hole was drilled in the lathe before parting the handle off from the stub that was in the lathe chuck.
I admire you guys that can do it with a Dremel.
I don't have hands steady enough.
The drill press I have is belt driven, so speed isn't an issue. Easy to change speed based on application.
I don't have hands steady enough.
The drill press I have is belt driven, so speed isn't an issue. Easy to change speed based on application.
- Thread starter
- #9
There are also "drill presses" for dremels... appropriately a dremel press. That might be the simplest and can also be simply built or printed if you have access to a 3d printer or if a friend or local library has a 3d printer...then you could keep cost down and get a vice to hold the brush or even make a simple vice incorporating padding to prevent damaging / scaring the brush..
I've had good luck drilling out knots using forstner drill bits in my cordless drill. Forstner bits are similar to router bits and are inexpensive.
Using a Dremel press might work, but you would probably not be able to use Forstner bits in it. The chuck wouldn’t open wide enough to take them, and the motor would not have enough torque.
True, but for the low speed and what was being asked I think the attachments that are available for a dremel would probably work with the press ..
Yeah, Probably. I have one of those presses, and keep one of my Dremels permanently attached to it. I use a regular drill press for bigger stuff, like using Forsner bits, but the Dremel press is handy for small, light work like drilling pivot holes in custom razor scales, etc.
