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I'm finally working on a custom project (which I've posted about on this forum for like 10 years on and off) and I think I can really use a tool that will help me bore or core into resin with. I was thinking about getting something like a dremel or this thing https://www.amazon.com/HARDELL-Accessories-Multi-Purpose-Polishing-Engraving/dp/B08VHYX96W/ref=asc_df_B08VHYX96W/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=647111692041&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=421864098465724192&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1018519&hvtargid=pla-1368005148214&mcid=e0adbb271af63733ac8a344004825b5a&th=1 which seems to have the bits I might want for the job. I.e., I don't want to make 'pointed' holes down into the material, but 'flat' ones, i.e. using a cylinder with a flat bottom.

I think these are called either diamond or coring or boring tips. I'm not sure exactly, but the link above seems to show one of them.

(If I'm still not being clear, you can see more exactly what I mean in this video at 8:20 https://youtu.be/Adn8anXkgW8?si=d4rqtWRWXBmVtwni&t=506 )

My question is, since I don't exactly intend to do this more than a few times in my life, I feel like I should be able to manage achieving this result without a motorized drill, but the rare times I've found things with this kind of bit (for which I'm still not sure I know the proper name for), it's for a motorized drill or dremel. Is there anything I can buy for this that could be used by hand without use of a motor that might make things easier/more controllable/etc.?

You could use an old school hand drill (the ones with a hand crank on the side); they have a chuck that’s sized for conventional drill bits, unlike most modelling drills/pin vices.

Here in the UK you can get them for £10-£20.

Is it a forstner bit you want rather than a coring bit?

Thanks for the replies! A crank-tool is a fascinating concept when considering it's tiny Warhammer models we're dealing with hahah. Do you have a link to such a thing that would be fine enough for something like this?

I am looking at the forstner bit and wondering if that's quite right for this... Maybe it's better if I convey what I'm aiming to do in this case specifically and less generally speaking. Mind you - I'm a total noob at this.

(be sure to scroll down so you can see both images here)
https://imgur.com/a/5IqCXn3

As you can see, I'm basically thinking I need to sink this rotation magnet in to this model such that I can get its head to move in any direction at any time. The smallest 'base' for it that is available, upon closer inspection, revealed itself to me to be just too 'tall' to get into the model without creating a hole inside its 'neck' to bury it within. So, I figure I need a tool like this that would let it sink in to the Decimator.

Any advice on that, given the above?

Forstner bits are indeed what you'd want for making a (mostly) flat bottomed large hole. However for the size you've got you'd be fine with a traditional drill bit. Forstners leave a pilot hole/alignment hole anyways. They're not perfectly flat bottomed because that'd chatter all over the workpiece. If you want a flat receptacle just use some greenstuff or milliput to level off the bottom after drilling out.

End mills also come in a variety of sizes and shapes. One trick that is kind of like using a drill or pin vise in reverse is to put the bit in a benchtop vise and carefully twist the plastic piece on the bit. I would recommend a couple of practice tries on scrap material to hone your technique and figure out the right pressure and such before committing to the workpiece you actually care about. Also, fair warning, these things are sharp so work slowly and cautiously and if possible, hold your workpiece in a pair of pliers when actually rotating it.

Fire_Forever wrote:Forstner bits are indeed what you'd want for making a (mostly) flat bottomed large hole. However for the size you've got you'd be fine with a traditional drill bit. Forstners leave a pilot hole/alignment hole anyways. They're not perfectly flat bottomed because that'd chatter all over the workpiece. If you want a flat receptacle just use some greenstuff or milliput to level off the bottom after drilling out.

That's probably true, I was wondering if it would be just as good really, and I suspect it might to just use a regular drill bit...blerg. As long as it holds just as well; think it would?

Gulgog TufToof wrote:End mills also come in a variety of sizes and shapes. One trick that is kind of like using a drill or pin vise in reverse is to put the bit in a benchtop vise and carefully twist the plastic piece on the bit. I would recommend a couple of practice tries on scrap material to hone your technique and figure out the right pressure and such before committing to the workpiece you actually care about. Also, fair warning, these things are sharp so work slowly and cautiously and if possible, hold your workpiece in a pair of pliers when actually rotating it.

That's a really interesting idea; why would doing that reverse trick be better than just taking the right drill bit and boring down into the thing?

End mill is a term I had never heard of before and that looks absolutely perfect though, thank you so much! (Here's a good image of why I'm very happy about this https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KVP-WZbDyA0/maxresdefault.jpg )

My only question is, then - do you know of a good manual (non motorized) drill that might function at this sort of size off-hand? I guess I'd go for a motorized one if that's just as well... But once I have this, I imagine I'd be set. After a little practice before I get to the piece I care about ofc.

The cost of an end milling setup is not worthwhile if you're doing a few models. Both the workpiece and mill need to be securely attached so they can't wander off in order to work properly. End mills are usually set up with lathes, CNC machine or milling machine. Not a hand tool.

The part that's going to hold is physical contact between the socket/hole and the inserted pin/part. For two disparate nonporous materials like smooth metal and plastic/resin, epoxy would be my glue of choice. Assuming the whole cylinder below the ball joint is submerged into the model it should be more than sturdy.

The simplest option is going to be a handheld drill/pin vice and a drill bit of the correct diameter, assuming you don't have access to a machine shop or woodworking shop.

 Netsurfer733 wrote:
(be sure to scroll down so you can see both images here)
https://imgur.com/a/5IqCXn3

As you can see, I'm basically thinking I need to sink this rotation magnet in to this model such that I can get its head to move in any direction at any time. The smallest 'base' for it that is available, upon closer inspection, revealed itself to me to be just too 'tall' to get into the model without creating a hole inside its 'neck' to bury it within. So, I figure I need a tool like this that would let it sink in to the Decimator.

Any advice on that, given the above?

I'm not sure why a regular pointed drill wouldn't work for this? People usually use regular drills for magnets, and it really doesn't make any difference that the bottom of the hole is slightly conical.

If you really wanted a flat bottomed hole, I'd probably drill it with a regular drill then get something like a slot mill or end mill just to clean it up at the end and make it flat (i.e. don't try to drill the entire hole with a slot mill which would be a total pain in the arse because it won't self-centre, drill the hole with a drill then flatten it out with the slot mill).

But I don't really see why you'd need the flat bottomed hole anyway.

Yeah I suppose you're right; I just thought a flat bottom might be ideal. In my mind's eye I was kind of picturing something as close to some sort of rapid, tiny 'sander' that I could use forever lol. But fair enough.

I suppose now the question is - what sort of drill do you guys use for stuff? I've only ever used the last generation of citadel drill (with rubber bands tied around it for grip). The bits are definitely not big enough. Anyone have any nice/easy suggestions?

What diameter hole do you need to make? It makes a difference in what we recommend.

I got a pin vise which can accept different chucks for different size drill bits. It'll handle anything from 1/32" all the way up to 3/16".

Dremels are high-speed tools, and have a tendency to melt plastic rather than cut or drill. They'll work for metal if you're VERY careful to avoid excess heat buildup which will ruin the temper of the drill bit and cause it to either dull or break.

Honestly it sounds like a battery powered drill would be the best choice for what you want to do. A pin vice is going to kill your hand. Check the Ryobi brand at any big box store, they are relatively inexpensive and you can use them for tons of other projects.

 Netsurfer733 wrote:
Yeah I suppose you're right; I just thought a flat bottom might be ideal. In my mind's eye I was kind of picturing something as close to some sort of rapid, tiny 'sander' that I could use forever lol. But fair enough.

Any sort of cutter or sander or whatever moves faster at the edge than it does as the centre, that means the edge wants to catch and throw it off centre, so the taper on a drill is necessary to keep it centred unless you have a very rigid mount for the cutter (like a mill or router) but even then people will typically use a tapered drill first and then come back in with something that can make the hole flat like a counter bore or such.

So if you wanted a flat bottomed hole and were doing it by hand, I'd suggest the same approach, drill it with a regular drill first, then come back in at the end to flatten off the bottom of the hole.

I suppose now the question is - what sort of drill do you guys use for stuff? I've only ever used the last generation of citadel drill (with rubber bands tied around it for grip). The bits are definitely not big enough. Anyone have any nice/easy suggestions?

For most of my hobby stuff I use a a pin vice that goes up to about 3mm, though I'm sure I've jammed a 4mm in there at one point. Anything bigger and I use a driver drill that I have for odd jobs around the house.

In terms of actual drill bits, use split tip drills whenever you need any level of precision on the hole. If it's not a split tip drill, it'll want to wander. I actually made a post about it a couple of years ago because I bought a drill that was advertised as split point but it wasn't and it made life hard, and the person in the hardware store didn't seem to know the difference.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/807937.page#11462599

 Vulcan wrote:
What diameter hole do you need to make? It makes a difference in what we recommend.

I got a pin vise which can accept different chucks for different size drill bits. It'll handle anything from 1/32" all the way up to 3/16".

Dremels are high-speed tools, and have a tendency to melt plastic rather than cut or drill. They'll work for metal if you're VERY careful to avoid excess heat buildup which will ruin the temper of the drill bit and cause it to either dull or break.

Quite right, thanks very much; it looks like I'm going to need to drill up to about a ~4-6mm diameter hole (~0.15748" to 0.23622"). The 'neck' of the Decimator seems to be a 6mm diameter here. Definitely more than what my citadel drill can manage.

Thanks for the replies; a driver drill the same thing as a power drill then? Is there not much in the way of easily controllable non-power drills at this size? If we can figure out a good one then I'll buy one asap; I'm trying to finish this thing maybe by the end of the month (high hopes lol).

A power drill with a good proportional control can also work. If your drill can go from full speed to 'just barely turning' depending on how much you're pulling the trigger, you should be able to make it work. And that should also handle 4mm bits just fine.

If it doesn't, well, if you're drilling plastic you can wrap the base of the bit in masking tape to give the drill a good grip on it. For plastic, potential slippage from the tape won't matter like it would drilling metal.

For plastics and resin - you can get by with using a carpentry "brad pointed" bit (they're mostly flat ended, with a single centre point - and you can get them sizes down to 1mm if you know where to look (the sets you find in hardware stores usually go down to 3mm or 1/8" ).

Forstner bits tend to be for larger holes than modellers use. Like hinge mounts in cabinets - where you want the base of the hole to be square (sides of the hole perpendicular to the base) and flat.

I had a look at the video in the OP about flat bottomed holes for magnets, I don’t really agree with their assessment that it’s better to glue to a flat bottomed hole, because it’s rarely the adhesive that fails, it’s almost always the glue-magnet bond. In many situations I could see the benefit of a flat surface for gluing, but for gluing magnets into models I don’t think it matters.

Alrighty so, after all your inputs (and given how I wanted something quick) I ordered these two things - one is a super versatile pin vise hand drill (MAN was anything like this hard to find), and a set of drills - split point (thanks very much for that tip earlier!).

With any luck, this will be everything I need, forever lol. I was okay with doing a power drill in principal based on what you guys were saying now but you know, cost and time and ease etc.; it seems to me this thing should be as good as anything else, and is in line with your guys' suggestions.

Would love to hear if you guys think I should return any of this stuff any get something else or have any thoughts in relation to these though.

I really appreciate you guys having helped me to get this far!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4FY99G/ref=pe_386300_440135490_TE_simp_item_image

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DH55YRX/ref=pe_386300_440135490_TE_simp_item_image

Looks good to me; most of the folks I know use hand-tools exclusively for modelling. They're easier to control, more portable, and you don't have to worry about stashing them in your hobby space for a long time and coming back to a dead battery or trying to find a power outlet.

The trade off is speed/effort, but resin and plastic are easy compared to the old pewter models so you should be fine.