Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Yaho,

Recently encountered the existence of "Nail Drills"; apparently electric drills used in nail salons to torture unsuspecting women. The application for pin drilling and mold line removal is immediately obvious, but I have no idea where to start.

Consequently; has anyone used powered drills for 0.5mm - 1 mm pin drilling/sanding, and if so what brand/make/model did you use?

I have a Dremel multitool I wanted to use for drilling.
Once the drill gets up to speed it tends to melt the plastic I drill into. The bit gets caked in the stuff, and the hole isn't the right size.
So, even a small multitool was too powerful for model use.

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/single-speed-rotary-tool-drill--grinder/603447-1000

I've got a cordless Ryobi hand drill I use. Pull the trigger only a little bit and it turns slow enough to not melt plastic.

I used electric drill to get holes to my 30k models, both resin and plastic(albeit mostly resin but for example plastic terminators got drilling). Haven't found hand drill that actually got deep enough and had right drill size. Dad meanwhile had electric drill and lots of different sizes so easier to borrow.

Interesting about melting thing. Didn't cause issue for me but I did drill it slowly.

There's only a speed dial on the Dremel. A trigger would work better.

 Skinnereal wrote:
I have a Dremel multitool I wanted to use for drilling.
Once the drill gets up to speed it tends to melt the plastic I drill into. The bit gets caked in the stuff, and the hole isn't the right size.
So, even a small multitool was too powerful for model use.

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/single-speed-rotary-tool-drill--grinder/603447-1000

It's not an issue of power so much as speed. A decent hand drill will be much more powerful but it's designed to run at a lower speed so that the feed rate is appropriate for cutting rather than sanding/grinding/engraving like a dremel. Even the lowest speed on most dremels is too fast for drilling, but they lack the power so if you try and drill anything hard they'll just bind up and stop, going from too fast to stationary.

If you have lots of drilling for pinning to do, you're looking for the Tamiya Handy Drill.

It's a low speed, low torque drill that is essentially a powered pin vise. Also, you have to build it yourself, which is pretty cool.

Years ago my mother bought me a nail grooming kit with a powered nail buffer grinder deal. It was really under powered compared to my dremel but its lack of power and speed actually worked great for drilling barrels and doing fine details for the simple fact that it wouldnt instantly grind away or cause the melted plastic mess my dremel would

The optimal hobby drill choices are Foredom flex shaft tools used by jewelers. Powerful motors with a variable speed foot control and full torque at all speeds make them the best option as long as money is not an issue. The are pro tools and are not cheap, but will last forever. I used to make jewelry so have had mine since the early '80s.

https://www.foredom.net/seriessrmotorsandspeedcontrols.aspx

I'm seeing a lot of them on ebay coming from China but I don't know wether they are real Foredoms or knockoffs.

T