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I have to do a lot of magnetising on my figures and tanks and considering what tool to get for making the recesses to hold the magnets.
I'm also planning on adding recessed detail / gaps between panels to plasticard vehicle plates, and suchlike.

A dremel or other rotary tool comes to mind, but they're expensive and I'm not sure if the heads supplied are small and precise enough for what I'm trying to do. Wondering is there something more suitable for small scale work? I was considering buying an engraving tool but was told by one of my pals that it's too weak to bore through plastic, and the bits wear down fast. At the moment I'm considering just getting larger drill bits to attach to my pin vice and doing it by hand.

If any of you more experienced modeleers can advise me on this, any reccomendations much appreciated.

Cheers

I use a dremel thats actually for engraving glass.
Works wonders for magnets and i have used it a few times for carving patterns into armour (usually marine shins)

For panel lines, the Tamiya scriber a great tool:



I use this hand drill with a set of Dremel drill bits for most of my drilling needs:



Another option is the Tamiya Handy Drill; a low-torque power drill that is a little more appropriate to use on plastic than a Dremel tool:



Keep in mind that you have to assemble the Handy Drill (which I think it kind of cool).

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:


I use this hand drill with a set of Dremel drill bits for most of my drilling needs:

Thank you. I didn't know about the scriber tool, it looks perfect for what I'm trying to do. I also wasn't aware dremel-type heads would perform adequatly on a hand drill. I'll go with the hand drill optiion as I prefer simplicity. I assume you use the smallest dremel bits available?

I use this:



You'll also need a collet set.

I just hold a drill bit with my fingers and twist it...It doesn't take much pressure to cut through plastics with a sharp bit. A pin vice/hand drill like Scooty suggested would make it a whole lot easier but meh, I get by.

If using a Dremel, you really want a variable speed version, preferably with a foot pedal control.

If you want a flat bottomed holes, use end mills in your drill diameter to finish the bottom of the hole after drilling. Check out end mills on Ebay.

for 4mm holes in resin or plastic, i use a wood drill bit turned by hand like these:



I drill a small pilot hole then the tip of the wood bit stays central. Not quick but accurate as you have complete control over the depth of the hole.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh & the scriber is a great tool.

Dremels are pricey - rotary tools, more generally, don't have to be. If you don't need massive torque, fancy speed controls, etc. you can pick one up for about $10 (USD).

That said, I have a beefy one and a flex shaft for detail work, but it almost never sees use on models. Rotary tools can drill, but dedicated drilling tools do it better. For big jobs, I'll break out the Ryobi (cordless drill/driver), but I do >95% of my hobby work with hand tools - pin vice, files, knives, etc. More control, finer finish, and rarely takes much, if any, longer than setting up and using a power tool. For simple pinning and magnetizing tasks, a simple pin vice and a good set of drill bits is my recommendation.

As for adding panel lines and recessed details, a scriber is a great tool, so long as you only plan simple shapes with uniform width/depth. While much more fiddly to use, an actual graver/burin can be a handy tool. I didn't get mine for this hobby, but it's seen a surprising amount of use for it. Best general-use shape is square, I'd say, followed by flat/chisel and onglette (as an equally useful pair - those two will do you better than one square, if you can afford it).

 oadie wrote:

Thanks for the advice man. It's good to know I'll be able to get by with the (non-powered) tools I have. Will definately be picking up one of those Tamaya scribers, it sounds like they'll save me a lot of time.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm fairly new to converting stuff, and though I've made some decent stuff, sometimes waste hours going about things the wrong way, or with the wrong tool, so the advice is appreciated.