little dremel tool alternatives

[cteno4]

ok this sounds silly and it was a whim, but its turned out to be quite handy!

 

i saw a little battery operated rotary tool meant for working on nails on ebay on an action that was ending for about $1 and i give it a shot and won it. turns out its quite a nice little tool as its tiny, cordless and very easy to hold as its super light weight. it has very little umph, ubt what its prefect for is trimming off the last bit of a sprue burr. its just the right power to quickly smooth things off and make a cleaner, more polished finish than trying to shave with an xacto or scalpel or use a small diamond file. the low power also makes it really easy to control and not slip and grind out a big gash like you can with a more powerful rotary tool.

 

eventually i want to play with it with some buffing wheels to see what it might do with weathering stuff. think it might work to clean off all of a weathering powder from an applied area except for the stuff down in the cracks and corners.

 

you can either lurk for one at auction to try and get the really cheap deal or just spend $2.79 for one on buy it now with free shipping!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nail-Art-Tips-ELECTRIC-MANICURE-Toenail-DRILL-FILE-TOOL-/130501670562?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e628176a2#ht_6262wt_985

 

there are also little plug in ones that are like a very cheap tiny dremel tool (uses a wall wart for power) for about $10. they have variable speed and a bit more torque, but not up there with a full sized rotary tool. great for the next level up of grinding and drilling, especially if you are on a budget! small form factor is also nice for working on tiny stuff where you dont need a lot of umph!

 

then there is a next level up of a bit more heavy duty system with a nicer speed control and even a foot peddle for on/off. again not up there with power i expect (have not bought one of these myself), but for a lot of little modeling stuff may be fine. now youre talkin like $35

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Nail-art-Glazing-Drill-Machine-Kit-Manicure-/290628144822?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43aac98eb6#ht_4504wt_1042

 

figures working on nails would be about the same as working on smaller modeling stuff. dremels and other larger rotary tools are great and have a lot more umph to them, but for many small things i find them too big to easy use on tiny stuff so these are great options and nice on the wallet!

 

have fun

 

jeff