Quite often it happens that when working with a dremel, it is more convenient to hold the workpiece in your hands and fix the dremel itself. To do this, you can use the holder, about the manufacture of which we want to tell you in today's article.

How to make a homemade dremel holder

To make this device, you will need very little:

• a piece of board;
• a pair of clamps, the size of which allows them to completely cover the tool body;
• two M8 screws with nuts on them.

Before starting work, you should make sure that the selected clamps are able to completely cover the dremel body. Having done this, you can start working with a wooden base. In this case, the following operations are performed:

• the longitudinal center line of the board used as the base is determined;
• the distance between the nuts of the clamps, previously put on the dremel body, is measured;

• the measured distance is laid down in the center of the centerline of the board, which allows you to determine the drilling locations and make the appropriate marks;
• holes for M8 screws are drilled according to the marked marks;
• so that the screw heads are flush with the surface of the board, countersink is performed;

About other ways to beautifully hide the head of a screw or self-tapping screw,.

Determining the dimensions of the dremel for which we make the stand, we noticed that its front part is 5 mm thinner than the back. To keep our tool straight on the holder, you need to shorten the back support screw by 5 mm.

The screws can then be inserted into the drilled holes and secured with nuts. The clamps can already be screwed onto the screws fixed in this way.

Now the dremel itself can be fixed in the installed clamps.

As you can see, the manufacture of this device is not difficult at all. The crafted holder is not only simple, but also very cheap. The author of this "masterpiece" claims that the total cost of the parts used by him is about 70 rubles.

For processing small items, a micro drill is often used, which is called an engraver. With the help of an engraver, you can perform the same operations as with a conventional drill, as well as grinding and milling various materials. The frequency of use and the demand for the tool is determined by the quantity and quality of the attachments available to it. Some of them come with the main tool, but many have to be purchased additionally. Today, we will try to learn everything we can about engraver attachments.

Types of attachments for the engraver

The attachments for the engraver are selected depending on whether wood or metal is supposed to be processed with their help. For example, for woodwork you will need:

1. Polishing attachments - made of sandpaper or felt.
2. Ball-shaped nozzles for grooving.
3. Smooth attachments for the final sanding of wood surfaces.
4. Cut-off discs (can also be used for cutting plastic).
5. Drills for wood (usually small diameters, up to 3.2 mm).
6. Milling cutters (required to perform work at a professional level).

Engraver attachments for metal work include the same varieties as described above. The main difference lies only in the material of the working surfaces. For example, grinding metal requires attachments made of more abrasive-resistant materials - corundum or hard rubber. The same applies to cutting discs, only in this case, high-strength tool steel is used as a material (sometimes even with a diamond-coated working surface). However, there are also specific types:

1. Diamond cutters, with the help of which the finishing of holes and cavities of complex configuration is carried out.
2. Coarse sanding attachments. They are supplied with notches, and can, in addition to metals, also process chipboard.
3. Tapered nozzles designed to produce grooves. Usually they are offered in a set, with different sizes of the width of their working part.
4. Brush-type attachments that are used to remove scale from the surface of steel products.
5. Carbide tips that can be used to create deep enough cavities in hardened steel workpieces.

The value of the attachments is determined by their versatility (many manufacturers offer similar products in sets), as well as by the manufacturer. It should be noted here that, as a rule, a company that produces engravers equips them with attachments that are suitable for their products, and it is not at all necessary that for competitors' products.

Purpose and capabilities

First of all, it is worth emphasizing that, due to its low power, a micro drill is incapable of performing any large-scale operations in metal or wood. Therefore, the dimensions of the tool, regardless of where it is produced, will not differ in large dimensions.

The defining moment is the diameter of the seat. For example, the diameter of the drill (like an attachment for an engraver) that can be used depends on the diameter of the chuck. The profile of the clamping part is important here. Manufacturers often implement the principle of point clamping, which simplifies the manufacture and adjustment of the micro drill chuck itself, but the performance of the nozzle deteriorates, especially if the processing process takes a long time. In this case, a beat of the drill appears, and since the number of revolutions of the engraver is high, the breakage of the nozzle will follow very quickly.

The second factor is the functionality of the size of the nozzles. For example, for grinding work, a variety of attachments are available up to 7.8 mm in diameter (for woodworking) and up to 3.2 mm for metal operations. The diameter of cutting wheels can reach 19 ... 20 mm, but this corresponds to work with soft materials (plastic, aluminum, wood), and when working with steel, a drop in the speed of the micro drill motor will lead to its failure.

It is also important to pay attention to the material of the instrument. In particular, nozzles for the engraver, which are made of tungsten carbide-based hard alloys (VK8, VK15 and their foreign analogues) are capable of working on heat-treated metal. They can also carry out processing of glass, stone, mineral ceramics.

Finishing is the main area where industrial diamond engraver attachments are effectively used. Since their cost is very high, they go on sale in small sets (up to 10 ... 20 standard sizes). Diamond cutters should be used only for their intended purpose, otherwise the sprayed layer will be damaged very quickly, which will immediately lead to intense wear.

The most diverse class of abrasive and engraving tips. Their choice is usually made according to the color of the landing part. If it is red, then the nozzle is designed for working with metals, and high-resistant aluminum dioxide is used as the material. Green engraver attachments are effective for engraving work with fragile materials - glass, stone, marble, etc. Sets for such work include up to 10 sizes of attachments.

Above, it was already indicated about the possible incompatibility of the diameters of the nozzles for the engraver with the diameter of the chuck of the tool itself. In addition, one should distinguish between professional and household sets. The former are more often produced by the German company Dremel, they are of high quality and price (experts note that the quality of the attachments that come with a micro drill is higher than that of the same company, but purchased separately). Domestic attachments for the engraver from the Zubr trademark are not inferior in quality to German ones, but differ in significantly lower cost. For comparison - the price of a Dremel attachment is 350 ... 400 rubles. per piece, and a set of more than 150 standard sizes from "Zubr" - only 1800 ... 2000 rubles.

We should also mention the attachments for the engraver made in China. The attractiveness of the price in this case is completely leveled by the low quality of the metal of the nozzles. This can be permissible only in the case when the tool is rarely used, or the task is to learn how to work with attachments of a certain type.

The basic rules of work and the choice of attachments for the engraver relate, first of all, to the tool of the middle and budget price category and are as follows:

• The choice of the diameter of nozzles from a specific set should be carried out in accordance with their subsequent use;
• For engraving, you can also use nozzles made in China, especially well they get diamond nozzles with a spherical head shape;
• DIY tips are a great option for experienced DIYers. As a material, you can use plywood (it surpasses rubber in its resistance), as well as felt, emery, etc. using an industrial nozzle. For polishing, diamond paste with grit 3/2 or 5/3 is most suitable .;
• In any case, when using attachments, a respirator should be used, otherwise the dust generated during work will completely enter the lungs.

"Dremel" (engraver, bur-machine, mini-drill etc.) is now a common noun.
Dremel is the name of a group of straight grinders designed for polishing, milling, drilling products (parts) from various materials and surface treatment.

It is desirable that the tool be equipped with a speed control system. The digital display, which allows you to visually control the speed, does not hurt at all. The ability to directly switch on the maximum speed increases the convenience of using the machine, eliminates the need for unnecessary operations. The flexible drive shaft guarantees comfortable and precise work in hard-to-reach places. The machine comes with attachments selected for basic operations - grinding, polishing, milling, cutting, drilling.

I will briefly try to tell you about these attachments (which are included in the kit and which are made from scrap materials) in this review.

Let's start from afar - with elementary safety rules when working with dremel :)

The first thing I highly recommend is to use protective goggles and protective petal mask... A medical bandage and even any flap of more or less dense tissue is quite suitable for this purpose. The mask will protect the respiratory tract from the imminent ingress of dust. Take my word for it, if you don't put on the mask, then by the end of the work with the dremel, you can shake out a decent amount of rubbed copper or plastic from your nose.

Glasses are needed to protect the eyes from the same plastic dust and from metal debris / balls flying in different directions when grinding, for example, copper dendrites. I do not advise you to use glass goggles to protect your eyes. The glass can shatter, damaging the gas, or be scratched by flying debris. Don't skimp on glasses, get plastic ones made specifically to protect your eyes.
Further warnings will be issued in small portions as needed :)

So, nozzles.

Collets.
Drills, replaceable attachments for engraving, cutting, grinding and polishing are inserted and clamped into them:

Collets, most often, are supplied complete with a dremel and differ from each other in the diameter of the hole for nozzles and drills.

Drill.
To drill holes of different diameters, you need to have several different-sized drills on hand. And the larger the assortment, the better :) Drills become dull and break, especially thin ones (0.5, 07, 1 mm). The diameter of the hole usually corresponds exactly, and it is better if it is slightly larger than the diameter of a cord, pin, wire, chain or other type of threading material on which a bead or other decorative element will be fixed later. In this photo - reduced with a cross-sectional diameter from 0.5 to 2 mm:

* The workpiece must be held very tightly with your hands so that it cannot break out and fly off. The flight is uncontrollable in general, and the speed is colossal. The shaft rotation speed in modern mini-grinders is from 9 thousand revolutions to 35 thousand. A bead that has escaped from your hands is quite capable of, for example, breaking a flower pot on the window, or a vase at the other end of the room, or, much worse, hitting it in the face, if you nevertheless ... neglected the advice to protect it.

Never touch the rotating parts of the dremel (nozzles, drills, discs, collets) with your hands - you can seriously injure yourself.

As the hole is drilled, it will not be superfluous to use the drill to reciprocate in the bead. This allows the drilled plastic to clear the channel for further drilling. Otherwise, the bead runs the risk of splitting.

If in the process of drilling the drill "got stuck" in the plastic, then it is better not to try to pull it out or drag it further along the hole. Switch off the dremel immediately and carefully pull out the drill.

Be careful when handling metal parts, you can burn your hand. The metal heats up quickly and strongly. Take breaks for at least a couple of seconds to keep the parts from overheating.

Metal brushes:

They are intended for processing metal surfaces. Differ in shape, density of bristles and rigidity, ultimately. In this case, we have steel, hard, brushes and brass, soft. In shape, brushes are flat disc-shaped, as in the top photos, and there are also brush-like shapes:

The choice of a brush is dictated by which surfaces are supposed to be processed - flat parts or textured surfaces, with a resistant coating or with a thin foil-like surface.

This photo shows plastic brushes:

These are soft brushes for gentle cleaning of metal surfaces in hard-to-reach areas. They are also suitable for more accurate sanding of surfaces with a thin weak coating (copper, for example).

* All of the above brushes (metal and plastic) are not suitable for grinding plastic - they are too hard for this.

Grinding stones.
This photo shows attachments for grinding and polishing metal and plastic surfaces.

In the top row (gray and orange) there are rough stone nozzles. They are only suitable for grinding serious roughness and are not suitable for delicate work and plastic work:

Homemade flat grinding attachment.
This series of photographs shows a homemade tool for sanding flat surfaces. I made such a nozzle on the basis of the stone that came with the Dremel, with a smooth flat surface (in the top row on the left - gray-green):

In hardware stores, circles are sold - "pancakes" with Velcro, for fixing hefty (15-16 centimeters) sanding discs made of emery:

These "pancakes" have a sticky layer on the back, smooth side. We cut out a circle from such a pancake, with a diameter of a stone round flat nozzle (photo above), peel off the protective layer, glue this circle to the grinding stone - and we get a nozzle for replaceable emery disks.

* You can use ordinary Velcro, sold in any sewing store, by placing it on the surface of the stone attachment with ordinary second glue.

Now about the removable disks themselves.
In the same hardware stores :), replaceable emery disks are also sold. The diameter of the discs is the same as that of the "sticky" - about 15-16 cm. On the one hand, they are ordinary emery (with varying degrees of granularity, according to numbers), and on the other, a counterpart for Velcro.

So, from these discs we cut many, many small circles (the diameter should be equal to the diameter of the Velcro, or a millimeter more, but not less!) And, as necessary - salting, we replace these self-made self-cut sanding discs with new ones:

Another view homemade nozzle for grinding and polishing round / oval beads.

In this photo - rivets:

These rivets are designed to be riveted with a special gun. The diameters of the technological "tails" of these rivets are different - it depends on the size of the rivet itself. I have it selected in such a way that it exactly matches the diameter of the toothpick on which the bead was baked.

An emery-sponge or the most ordinary emery of the desired grain size can serve as an image for grinding.

In this case, an emery-sponge is taken as an example (photo on the left). It is a soft material that does not allow the bead to be worn too much when processed this way.

A bead is put on the long "tail" of the rivet. The rivet tail is inserted into a collet of the corresponding diameter, the collet is fixed. Now you can turn on the dremel and grind the bead, as shown in this photo:

* A rivet with a "tail" is just an example of the fact that you can always find something at hand that easily adapts to a tool. The rivet in the description can be easily replaced with an ordinary nail of the required diameter, fixed in the collet so that the head holds the bead, and the sharp part goes into the collet.

Base nozzle.

Such a nozzle is necessary for fixing rough grinding discs-stones, cutting discs, soft polishing discs and felt nozzles with a through hole, as well as all kinds of homemade nozzles on its rod:


Further - several types of nozzles, used much less often, but still necessary.

Felt polishing cones and discs.
They are used for finishing surfaces made of plastic and metal, but due to the fact that at high speeds such attachments "dust" mercilessly - there is absolutely no reason to use them.

In their image and likeness, it is quite possible to make home-made fabrics that will last much longer than ready-made felt ones and will much less litter the room with flying fibers.

Engraving attachments.

With the help of such nozzles, a drawing, an inscription, depressions, grooves, notches, etc., can be applied to a plastic and metal surface:

* In medical equipment stores, you can almost always buy diamond burs. Their range is very wide. The service life of such burs is quite long, and the accuracy of the work performed with their help is an order of magnitude higher than the standard engraving heads that are part of the Dremel.

Now about how you can get out of the situation if there is no dremel, and its purchase is not yet foreseen, and there is no longer the strength to manually grind / polish ...

Budget set for manicure can serve as a low-power sander for several months. This kit usually includes several attachments. In this set came across: a pair of grinding heads, a "pumice" metal and a flat felt nozzle.

Grinding heads (with metal cones of different diameters) and a flat metal one can be used without design changes, but we modify the felt attachment in a barbaric way :) removable disks. This is what we have after manipulating the manufacture of Velcro-emery:

With such a device, you can easily (but not very quickly) grind flat plastic surfaces, metal, wire, etc., which does not require high revolutions for high-quality surface treatment:

These are the pies.

Thank you for doing it :)

What a wonderful invention - Dremel. How many different attachments and attachments have been developed for it. The only one I really missed was a miniature circular saw. There is of course a circular nozzle, but that's not it.

The final decision to make such an attachment was made after purchasing the Dremel Speed ​​Clic accessory. The disc designed for wood is just perfect. Plywood and thin planks are cut without a single burr.

On the shank of the nozzle, you need to cut a thread.

Next, you need a magnetic head holder from an old hard drive. Of the three disassembled disks, only one with the right thread came up to me. If you can't find the same one, then you can take any one and drill a hole for the required thread.

All unnecessary is removed from this part. Only the outer casing with bearings remains.

I did not draw any drawings of this thing. Everything was done by eye and designed during production. The main parts are a plywood rectangle and two bars.

A cut is made in plywood for a saw and a cavity is milled for a bearing block.

The bearing block mount is made separately from wood.

In one of the bars, a 3 mm hole is drilled in the center at an angle of approximately 5 degrees. This is to ensure that the tool does not protrude above the saw table. If this is not essential, then you can greatly facilitate the manufacture and not make a flexible or crankshaft.

Holes are made with two feather drills, of different diameters and on both sides. First large, then smaller.

A large hole is milled for the nut.

It is better to fasten the nut to the sealant. This will reduce vibration.

For better fastening of the bearing block, it is wrapped in double-sided tape with a polyethylene foam base.

Everything is attached to the plywood table together.

Everything is almost ready. If you choose a design with a protruding tool, then you can stop there. It remains to make an extension cord. For example, from a welding electrode or a long nail.

In my case, I had to make a flexible shaft. You can use a metal cable for it. The one in the photo is not very good. It is twisted to the left, that is, counterclockwise. Therefore, during the operation of the tool, the cable will unwind. You need to look for a cable with a right twist.

an aluminum rivet body can be used to hold the cable.

A thread is cut inside each rivet. For reliability, the cable inside the rivet is crimped and soldered. A screw is screwed into one of the rivets.

This screw is ground under a square for a standard extension bit.

The flex shaft is ready.

Ready prefix. View from above.

And from the bottom.

To this table with the help of a clamp, you can attach guides and all kinds of accessories.

In terms of its functionality, the engraver is very similar to an ordinary drill or grinder, but its main purpose is to process parts that differ in miniature dimensions. Using such equipment and special working attachments for the engraver, you can effectively perform various technological operations, including drilling, milling, grinding, engraving, etc.

The list of materials that can be processed with an engraver is also quite extensive. It is soft and pliable wood in processing, hard steel, brittle glass or ceramics, various types of plastic and even bone. Naturally, for processing various materials with the help of an engraver, different working attachments are used, differing from each other both in design and in the material of manufacture.

What are engraver attachments

Working attachments or tools used for working with an engraver are presented on the modern market in a wide variety. Their design includes two main elements:

• a shank with which the tool is fixed in the chuck of the equipment used;
• the working part, which performs the main functions, interacting with the processed material.

The choice of working attachments for the engraver is influenced by the following factors: the characteristics of the processed material and the list of technological tasks that must be performed. Those from home craftsmen and specialists who work with the engraving machine on a regular basis try to immediately purchase a set of attachments for the engraver, which includes tools of various sizes and purposes. Depending on the needs and financial capabilities of a particular engraver, this can be a more modest set, which includes several dozen necessary tools, or a professional set, which contains attachments for performing various works on metal, wood and other materials.

When choosing working tools for an engraver, it should be borne in mind that collet chucks suitable for attachments of only a certain brand can be installed on some of its models. To use such equipment in a set with any type of attachments, you will have to purchase universal engraver collets, which are also sold in whole sets.

Diamond burs for engraving work

The most popular types of working attachments used to complete the engraving machines are diamond burs for the engraver. The basis of such a tool is made of tool steel, and diamond powder is applied only to their working part. The mechanical characteristics of diamond powder make it possible to successfully use the attachment for processing such hard materials as steel, ceramics, glass, artificial and natural stones.

Diamond burs (or cutters) are mainly used for finishing shaped holes. As a rule, diamond consumables for an engraver are sold in whole sets of 10–20 tools of various shapes and sizes. When working with them, you should strictly follow the rules of their operation so as not to damage the diamond dusting. The standard shank diameter of diamond engraving bits is 3 mm.

Abrasive tools

The most budgetary option for use in a set with a drill or engraver are nozzles, the working part of which is made of rubber and abrasive material. Their shank diameter is 2.3 mm, and they are mainly used for metalwork, including stainless steel. Abrasive tools are usually sold in sets of 6 and come in a variety of blade configurations.

Individual manufacturers (in particular, the company "Fit") produce abrasive engraving tips in various colors, which allows the user to easily determine the category of the tool. So, abrasive cutters of red color, intended for work on metal, are made of aluminum oxide, and green ones, made of silicon carbide, are used for processing products made of stone, glass and ceramics. For the convenience of performing various technological operations, diamond cutters are made with a different shape of the working part, but their shanks always have the same diameter.

With the help of abrasive nozzles for the engraver, such operations as boring holes, surface grinding, etc. are performed. These nozzles are optimal for use at home, for a professional their capabilities will not be enough.

Working attachments for grinding and polishing

The engraving machine, as mentioned above, can be successfully used for fine grinding and polishing of products from various materials. A roller cutter made of felt is used as a working nozzle for performing such technological operations. Since the felt does not differ in outstanding abrasive qualities, such a tool is used only in conjunction with special polishing pastes.

The choice of polishing pastes of a certain type, which in their characteristics and chemical composition seriously differ from each other, depends primarily on the properties of the material that will be processed with their help. So, grinding of hard metal surfaces is carried out using pastes, the basis of which is paraffin wax and polishing powder. For work on wood and glass, special polishing pastes are designed based on diamond powder of various fractions. With their help, you can not only effectively remove scratches from the surface of wood and glass, but also bring the product to a perfectly smooth state. Experts recommend giving preference to those in which the diamond powder has a fraction size of 3/2 and 5/3.

Accessories such as felt grinding attachments for working on wood, metal, glass and other materials are successfully used not only in combination with a specialized engraving machine: they can be equipped with a dental drill and simple hand-held devices.

Working attachments for professional engravers

A separate category of working attachments, which are equipped with engravers, is made up of tools of the professional series. Specialists for whom work on an engraving machine is the main occupation, as a rule, have at their disposal whole sets of various attachments that differ from each other in the material of manufacture, design and shape of the working part. If we talk about the most typical composition of such a set, then it necessarily includes:

• cutters for the engraver of various shapes, sizes and designs;
• drills that turn an engraving machine into an efficient drill;
• diamond, abrasive and felt cutters;
• wire nozzles, with the help of which they clean the treated surfaces from traces of corrosion and other contaminants;
• cutting discs for the engraver, which are difficult enough to purchase by the piece.

The fact that a specialist using an engraver in his professional activity has such a capacious set of tools is very simple to explain. Often, only a milling cutter, a cutting disc for an engraver and other tools of the same standard size does not allow to perform a high-quality and accurate study of the smallest details on the surface of the workpiece. That is why, even within the framework of processing one product, the tools often have to be changed, choosing the attachments that are suitable for performing a certain technological operation.

In addition, the availability of a set of tools by a specialist, which contains drills, milling cutters, cutting wheels for an engraver and cutters of many other types, is an indicator of professionalism and indicates that you are an experienced person who knows his job well. Craftsmen who constantly work with engraving devices choose expensive sets of tools of the professional series also for the reason that it is quite difficult to purchase individual tools from such sets (in particular, a cut-off wheel for an engraver).

Brand overview

Today, it is not a problem to find engravers and working attachments for equipping them on the domestic market. At the same time, the variety of equipment and tools presented in the free sale allows you to choose them according to your needs and financial capabilities.

Professional-grade tips

Those craftsmen who are engaged in engraving on wood, metal and other materials at a professional level and already have the appropriate equipment at their disposal should pay attention to the working attachments produced under the Dremel and Dexter trademarks. The high cost of such equipment for the engraver is fully justified by its exceptional reliability and durability. Another important advantage that the milling cutter, cut-off wheel, drill, as well as any other tool of these brands differ, is the high processing accuracy.

Having opted for Dremel or Dexter working attachments, keep in mind that one such tool can last as long as 10 Chinese-made attachments. In favor of the acquisition of rather expensive, but high-quality products from well-known manufacturers, the fact that in the assortment of these companies you can find nozzles for various purposes and standard sizes also speaks. So, it can be various cutters for a drill or engraver, drills of different diameters, disk tools, as well as cutters of any other types, designed to perform work on wood, metal, ceramics, glass.

Budget models

Cheap, but decent in quality, nozzles are offered by a domestic manufacturer - the Zubr company. For affordable prices, you can purchase sets of nozzles, which include up to 180 tools of the most popular types, designs, sizes and shapes. These sets include drilling tools, cutting discs for a drill or engraver, milling bits, diamond and abrasive cutters, and much more.

All attachments included in the set of the Zubr trademark are placed in a plastic case, which provides convenience for both storage and transportation to the place of work.

Nozzles from Chinese manufacturers

There is a double opinion about the nozzles made in China. On the one hand, their quality and reliability are in question, on the other hand, they cost much less than branded equipment. A Chinese milling attachment for an engraver, a cut-off wheel or a drill for drilling will not last long, but it will not be so a pity to throw them away, given their cost. If a professional works for the engraver, then even a cheap Chinese cutter will not prevent him from performing the work efficiently (although he will have to change such a tool more often).

Chinese attachments for a drill or engraver can be recommended for novice engravers who can use them to acquire their first skills in this matter.

Affordable prices of Chinese nozzles allow you to purchase large sets "for trial" for novice engravers

Homemade attachments for engraving machines and drills

For simple engraving work in a home workshop, a cutter, a cutting disc, grinding and polishing cones can be made with your own hands. As a simple cutter for equipping an engraver or a drill, you can use a grooved wheel from a conventional lighter or a dowel, on the head of which working teeth are cut. A working attachment for grinding or polishing is also quite simple: for this you can use a wooden drum with a shank, on the side surface of which sandpaper is glued.

Many homemade engraving attachments (if they are used to do not too difficult work) perform well, while the cost of their manufacture is minimal.