The Dremel multi-tool

The Dremel multi-tool or “mini-drill” is an indispensable piece of equipment for carvers!

 

Picture 1 - the unit is a small variable-speed mains-powered electric motor.  To this I have added a flexible shaft extension – a godsend!  Different tools are gripped in the unit’s chuck or hand-piece.

To be fair, other companies also produce units which are electric or air-powered and are also very good, at reasonable prices.

Picture 2 - my Dremel is hung using a counter-balanced pulley so I can pull it down to work or flick it up out of the splash zone as needed.  The picture shows the arrangement I have, using a small bucket with a piece of core from an old well as the counter-weight, but anything will do.
 
You can hold the hand-piece like a pen, or as you do a hose – whichever feels most natural to you.

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Picture 3 - the versatility comes from the different-sized collets, or collars, to grip the shafts of tools.  Mine has 3.2, 2.4, 1.6 & 0.8 mm collets, shown in the picture.  Or you can use an adjustable Dremel chuck which accepts 0.4 – 3.4 mm diameter shafts.
 

Picture 4 - Dremel provide a small tool to tighten the chuck but I use a piece of 3 mm brass rod and a 3/8” across-flats (AF) open-ended spanner (I have no idea what that would be in metric – sorry!), which does a much better job in my view.
 
The range of tasks you can undertake on your work includes:

• drilling holes
• enlarging holes
• grinding faces and features
• cutting small pieces of stone, wood, shell, etc
• polishing
• repairing household items(!)

Picture 5 - shows a range of tool bits to assist you in achieving the above as well as a selection of mandrels to take the replaceable buffs, slitting wheels, belts, dowelling, etc.
 
If you buy one of the kits, not all of the pieces are of use to the stone carver (though that depends on which types of stone you work with).  For nephrite, you need to use diamond and carborundum/silicon carbide burrs, not the hardened steel ones provided.  Similarly, the mini-belts provided are no not very good when wet.  Note that not all of these are Dremel products.

Picture 6 – shows a range of the dental burr shapes and sizes available, many of which come in different grit sizes – but I’ll go into that more in a future article.  I find I’m gradually accumulating more as I find I need different profiles to achieve specific results.  But the range is much larger than shown – just scan the various gemmological and carving supply websites for a quick adrenalin rush!

Many carvers add a flexible spout to their hand-piece to deliver cooling/lubricating/cleaning water to the tool and work.  I can see the benefits but instead of this method I prefer to use the Loc-line components shown in earlier articles to deliver a fixed drip of water onto the work and move the hand-piece as necessary.  But whichever method you use, make sure that electrocution is not a risk.
 
You must keep the power unit clean and dry, and add light oil or other suitable lubricant to the top of the internal flexible shaft to avoid it seizing.  And you need to maintain a minimum 15 cm radius to the shaft to avoid extreme wear, and never kink it, or you’ll need to buy another.  Apart from that, little maintenance is required (but my saying so is no substitute for you actually reading the instruction booklet!).

A couple of quick points that occurred to me recently are:

1. When I tighten a tool into the chuck I leave a small gap (a mm or two) between it and the stop.  This is because if I push in the tool all the way, the brass rod sometimes jams.  That small gap stops that happening.
2. When I start up my Dremel from cold, there is often an initial period when the lubricant in the flexible shaft is cold and tends to keep the revs down.  After 30 seconds or so, as the lubricant warms, the revs will pick up.  This is normal, and nothing to be worried about.

 
So practice using the tool and enjoy!