Two things: You'll need a speed control, sold separately. The control built into the tool doesn't slow it down enough to work on plastic. The ones that are sold separately (also called a rheostat
control) will let you crank the speed way down, so that you don't melt the plastic.
The second thing is, the sandpaper included on the Dremel bits is too coarse. You'll need to make your own sanding tubes or discs using 400 or 600 grits (or finer, depending on what you're doing)
glued to the face of the bits you have now.
One more thing: you don't have much control over sanding when you use a motor tool, unless you have an extremely deft touch.
Jeff Gable
To be brutally frank, for fine sanding Dremel is the wrong tool. However, please don't feel that you've wasted your money, because Dremel rotary tools perform several other common tasks, such as
grinding, very well indeed.
In my opinion, crude removal of material should be relegated to a Dremel tool used with an appropriate spherical or conical grinding bit, whereas fine sanding is best accomplished by hand with
wet-or-dry sandpaper held in one's fingers (or, occasionally, supported on a rubber or wooden sanding block), and somewhat coarser "sanding" is done best by hand with a properly-chosen file. A good
low-speed control for your Dremel tool is important even in the first of these tasks, however.
One final comment: A "cut-off wheel" (i.e., small circular saw blade) mounted in a Dremel tool provides an extremely efficient way to slice rapidly through brass tubing, plastic parts ... and
fingers. I urge you to think twice before deciding to use your Dremel rotary tool for this purpose, and to work *very* carefully if you decide to do so. Trust me on this point, at least; I speak from
personal experience.
Charles Metz
Try using the Wahl filer for fine sanding. If the pricetag scares you, try shopping at the massmerchandisers (K-mart, Wal-Mart, Mega-lo-mart, etc.) Somewhere in the lady's nail care department
they usually have inexpensive electric filers although they won't hold up to major construction like the Wahl.
I have a love hate "relationship" with my Dremel. I have rarely found use for the sanding drums (sharpen the lawn mower blade?) or even the ceramic cut-off wheels (can explode when twisted in the
work) except for use on wood to make assembly fixtures for vac kits etc. These two things trash plastic. I usually have one of the metal cutting bits (small ball shaped or cone shaped) in use for
hogging out areas in styrene and resin kits (major dust precautions in order here!). I do chuck items in the tool to sand wheels and metal tubes etc. Another use is with small twist drills to drill
holes for structural elements. I use the drill press but I feel that it is a pretty crummy accessory as it lacks any level of precision. I have one or more of the small "circular saw" blades (not
sold by Dremel by the way) that I do use, but this requires major preparation and care. This is a very dangerous configuration. The work must be secure with no fingers anywhere near the target area.
Each cut rehearsed and deliberate. It is not a trim off type of device. I only put the saw out on the flex cable as this allows me to keep the blade perpendicular to the work. Good luck and take care
with this new tool. And always ware your safety glasses to protect yer remaining eye Matie...arrrh . -)
Rick Griewski
I could not agree more with this. Those little blades are pure danger, with a motor. I was cutting a pouring block off a resin seat one day, (stupidly) by hand, when the (very thin and flexible)
blade caught onto the resin, whipped around to the back side of the seat (where my fingers were) and proceeded to skip across my knuckles. Thankfully, the good Lord (or your own higher power) blessed
me with quick reflexes, and the cuts were kept pretty minor. But it was a lesson learned on the first mistake, and I'll never use that blade again unless the motor tool is mounted solidly. And if I
need to cut something that I can't work around the mount, I'll use a grinding or a cutting bit, or my handy dandy Zona saw or jewelers saw. But I'll never run that blade in my motor tool by hand
again. It might take a while to cut through the bone, but it will cut too the bone in a flash.
D.A.
I use those attachments on styrene, resin, and brass. On styrene you just have to use quick light touches so it doesn't have time to melt the plastic. I don't use them for precision work, just to
remove a lot of material quickly; they're a great time-saver if used properly. When it's close enough I switch to non-powered tools.
Wayne C. Morris