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Greetings! I could use some help from the more expert modelers out there!

I've tried using a normal hobby drill before, like the citadel's or the army painter's one, but it's so frustratingly slow. My FLGS owner showed me how fast he drilled any miniature or removed mold lines using a "grinder" thanks to a small drill / grinder, but unfortunately it was a friend of his that brought it from China some years ago, so, yeah, no luck finding that particular item.

Does anyone know if this Dremel ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003BIFHJW ) is cool for 28mm miniatures? The "pros" speak wonders of Dremel but I'm a bit worried about size and speed (I assume it could melt the plastic if it has enough speed) and I'm a complete noob when it comes to these tools.

Or if you have any other sugestion, please do share!

I just used my Dremel to sand a plastic disc to exact inside dimensions for magnetising purposes. I've used the Dremel to mess up surfaces as battle damage. Add shade, awesome. That is to say that a dremel tool can be used for warhammer modelling.

It is completely useless for drilling though. Rpm starts at 10k or so which is way too fast and does melt the plastic.

For when I didn't want to use a hand drill, I used a tiny Bosch Ixo electric screwdriver with suitable hex drill bits. That took care of 20 old metal terminators and their arm pairs for example.

Look for weak small power tools. A small and light cordless non impact drill with a proper 3 pronged drill chuck would be best. I've used my regular size B&D cordless drill with a very light touch on the teigger to keep the rpm low.

I've used a Dremel Stylus for the past 5 years odd. It drills quickly and accurately. No idea of the RPMs involved, but it's a 10 speed device - anything at 7-10 settings will melt either resin or plastic (I've done both). That really messes up your drill bits.

I use the Stylus all over - drilling holes for pinning, anchoring, fixing up small items around the house, etc. It comes with a variety of attachments, the grinder and polisher are what I find most useful.

For pinning purposes, I use a 1mm drill bit and 1/32" rod, which I normally get from Precision Metals, code BR2. I've got a variety of brands of drill bits, from expensive Vipers to cheap no-name generics manufactured in China, and they all do the job okay.

The Chinese ones dull very fast, though, and have a tendency to snap with very little sideways pressure applied (for example, when I'm being careless).

@gokhm

Aha! My old Dremel starts at 10000 rpm. If yours starts a lot lower that will help for sure

The Dremel Stylus seems to be currently unavailable on Amazon though. Maybe they have changed the name.

@op

The model you linked does 10k and 20k rpm. Both should be too fast/hot.

 TheDraconicLord wrote:
Greetings! I could use some help from the more expert modelers out there!

I've tried using a normal hobby drill before, like the citadel's or the army painter's one, but it's so frustratingly slow. My FLGS owner showed me how fast he drilled any miniature or removed mold lines using a "grinder" thanks to a small drill / grinder, but unfortunately it was a friend of his that brought it from China some years ago, so, yeah, no luck finding that particular item.

Does anyone know if this Dremel ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003BIFHJW ) is cool for 28mm miniatures? The "pros" speak wonders of Dremel but I'm a bit worried about size and speed (I assume it could melt the plastic if it has enough speed) and I'm a complete noob when it comes to these tools.

Or if you have any other sugestion, please do share!

Dremels are great however they have a lot of torque. I have used mine on projects but, if it's to fast it could melt your mini if not careful drilling. I just use hand drills for the smaller stuff like weapon barrels etc.

Found one on e-Bay: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dremel-1100-N-25-7-2-Volt-Stylus-Rotary-Tool-Kit-/141210753153?pt=Power_Tools&hash=item20e0d11881.

I think it also retails at the local hardware store (Bunnings) for circa $100 AUD.

The Dremel website says it spins at 5K to 25K RPMs.

Aha! So it's that kind of power tool I should be looking for, those Rotary Tools or Hand drills. That size does seem more like the one my FLGS owner used!

Thanks for all the help so far, now I have a better idea of what I should be looking for!

I recommend the Dremel 4000 or equivalent and add the flexshaft. The 4000 is variable (5,000-36,000 RPM) and the flex shaft makes handling it much easier.

For drilling, I only use the dremel on metal. Plastic I do by hand.

A Dremel will work fine if you use a vice to hold the miniature still.

 tdwg83 wrote:
I recommend the Dremel 4000 or equivalent and add the flexshaft. The 4000 is variable (5,000-36,000 RPM) and the flex shaft makes handling it much easier.

^This. I use that Dremel for pinning (everything: plastic, resin, metal), making holes for neodyme magnets, sanding larger areas, polishing, making battledamage and generally roughing things up, cutting tubes/plasticard, and removing paint rests from old metal minis.


Then again, it is quite expensive, so if you will only be pinning a handful of miniatures in your life, it might not be worth it.

 Stephanius wrote:
I just used my Dremel to sand a plastic disc to exact inside dimensions for magnetising purposes. I've used the Dremel to mess up surfaces as battle damage. Add shade, awesome. That is to say that a dremel tool can be used for warhammer modelling.

It is completely useless for drilling though. Rpm starts at 10k or so which is way too fast and does melt the plastic.

For when I didn't want to use a hand drill, I used a tiny Bosch Ixo electric screwdriver with suitable hex drill bits. That took care of 20 old metal terminators and their arm pairs for example.

Look for weak small power tools. A small and light cordless non impact drill with a proper 3 pronged drill chuck would be best. I've used my regular size B&D cordless drill with a very light touch on the teigger to keep the rpm low.

I too use a Bosch Ixo screwdriver for light drilling of metal and plastic models. You can get an accessory chuck which has a hex end and standard 3-prong bit holder. This lets you use 1mm bits or any bit that isn't supplied as a hex fitting.

The screwdriver isn't meant for precision drilling and there is a bit of wobble, however for model work it's fine.

5000 RPM is still a little too fast for drilling metal. The metal will fuse to most drill bits, one this happens it is impossible to get all the metal out of the flutes of the small drill bits, and they will clog up faster once it has happened once. To keep this from happening I dip the tip of the drill bit in water before drilling. Its not a great lubricant, but it works well. Also be sure to pull the bit out often to clean out the flutes. An oil would be best, but then it becomes a problem with cleanup and the glue not sticking.

I use a Black and Decker Dremel equivalent, as the last 3 Dremels I had did not hold up too well.

Dale

dwentz wrote:
5000 RPM is still a little too fast for drilling metal. The metal will fuse to most drill bits, one this happens it is impossible to get all the metal out of the flutes of the small drill bits, and they will clog up faster once it has happened once. To keep this from happening I dip the tip of the drill bit in water before drilling. Its not a great lubricant, but it works well. Also be sure to pull the bit out often to clean out the flutes. An oil would be best, but then it becomes a problem with cleanup and the glue not sticking.

Dale

Never had any issue with that, not even with the soft GW plastic (and I have done some serious barrel drilling last year...)

I use the Dremel 4000 and Proxxon HSS micro drill heads.

Maybe the "HSS" is important? (the wolfram / tungsten makes the bits heat resistant up to 600 degrees C / 1112 degress F.)