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SteveB wrote:
I am looking at Foredom tools to use them for finishing work on light

welds.
I will also be touching up the veining on stamped rods that look like

tree
limbs. I need a tool that will use a wheel or cutter, and cut veins

up to
1/8" thick, but mostly less. The welds I need to dress would amount

to 1/4
to 1/2 square inch. Not a lot.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to which unit would be the best

for
this. They come in all sorts of horsepowers and RPMS. A Makita

grinder is
14,000 rpm, and these go up to 18,000.

Should I just bite the bullet, and go for the big one since it has a

foot
pedal to vary the speed and compensate for different work? Would the


smaller ones like 1/6 or 1/8 hp be an invitation to burnout?

What do you think?

Or would a top of the line Dremel be acceptable?

How about replacement tool cost comparisons?

Yah, yah, I know I can find all this out by googling, and reading the


Foredom literature I got, but I would like to hear from someone who's

been
there, done that.

TIA

Steve


I've used Dremels, I've used Foredom flex shafts, right now, my
preference is for none of the above. Dremels are built to a price,
probably won't last in a production environment. Foredom has the
advantage of all the different handpieces you can get, I've been using
the one that came with it that has a Jacobs chuck on it. Downside is
that you have to maintain that flex shaft, regular greasing and such.
It's easy to kink the sheath if you're not careful. Used to be I lived
where the local hardware store carried Foredom parts, got a deal on the
outfit from them, too. Not there anymore, any Foredom parts I need
have to come by the big brown truck. What I favor now is the pneumatic
mini-die grinders for the small stuff and either a 3" pneumatic cutoff
tool or a 4 1/2" angle grinder for the big stuff. I've also been using
a band sander that works wonders in tight spots. The mini-die grinders
are small enough that they can get into a lot of tight areas, no shaft
to kink, more power than any Dremel has in a smaller package and speed
can be varied right on the handpiece. They don't use a whole lot of
air, just about any cheapie compressor can run one. With extended
running, electric motors and flex shafts get quite hot, the pneumatic
stuff just gets cooler. My Foredom mini-die grinder can use all the
Foredom collets, I've got one HF import that does, too. Very handy if
you can get surplus burrs and such.

Stan