A wide range of inexpensive to professional rotary tools exist for a range of craft, hobby and artisan uses. These tools were designed for cutting, drilling, sanding, polishing, shaping and engraving. The features you need and the materials you work with may help you decide which tool is best for your miniatures. Common brands are Dremel; for craft and hobby rotary tools with a range of attachments, and Foredom; for woodworking, jewellery or metalworking purposes. A range of less well known , but equally useful rotary tools are available from other suppliers.
Rotary Tools - What are They Used For?
Rotary tools consist of a fast turning bit with various attachments, and work somewhat like a high speed drill. The hand piece accepts various sized collets, or holders for particular bit diameters, or has an adjustable chuck to hold cutting bits, polishing wheels, abrasive disks, diamond burrs, drills, and some router bits.
The specialized bits are used to engrave glass, metal, wood, resin and plastic, polish metals and plastic, cut thin wood, sand wood, metal and plastic, grind metal, drill holes and shape wood, metal, plastic and hard jewellers wax. Rotary tools have a motor in the hand piece, and although they are designed to be hand held, they are unwieldy for precision work without the use of drill stands or router bases.
What is a Flexible Shaft Tool?
Flexible Shaft Tools or flex shafts, are a connection that moves the spinning end of the rotary tool off the motor and into a smaller hand piece. Although they vibrate, the motor is away from the tool, and more precision is possible as the smaller hand piece is designed for better control, as well as easier movement around detailed work, especially useful for modellers. Dedicated flexible shaft tools like the Foredom, are connected to powerful motors, usually hung from a stand or mounted on a work bench. The tool is designed to be hand held with the motor held away from the worker. Until fairly recently, flexible shaft tools were used mainly by jewellers but they have entered the woodcarving hobby as well.
Some rotary tools, especially models for craft uses have flexible shaft attachments which can be added to the main rotary tools on certain models. These lack the power of dedicated flex shaft tools and the shaft is usually shorter. Both flexible shaft tools and rotary tools will do the same tasks, but dedicated flexible shaft tools have more power and a larger range of hand pieces, with some that accept 1/4 inch shafts.
What Rotary Tool Features Do You Need?
Before you buy either a dedicated flexible shaft tool or a rotary tool consider these important features:
- Choose a tool which fits your hand comfortably - Decide if the design of the hand piece or the weight of the motor in the hand piece will affect how you can use the tool with your miniatures, especially if you need precise control for drilling, engraving or carving, or cutting.
- Power or "torque" - Foredom flexible shaft tools are designed for woodcarving and work with metals, and use higher torque motors than most craft level rotary tools. Tools with a higher torque can be more difficult to hold if you are using them always full power. On the lower torque side, many craft tools need to be used in multiple light passes to sand or shape materials and may have difficulty carving hardwoods or other materials. Choose a tool with the power / torque you need.
- Variable speed control - This is essential if you will be using the tool on a range of materials, especially wood or metal. Better systems have a foot control for speed which means you do not need to stop working to adjust the speed on the motor. Some rotary tools have speed controls which are on the on/off switch. These need to be reset every time you turn on the tool.
- Collet or Chuck Size - Some hand pieces and some tools will only accept bits of a particular size. If you will be working with multi step processes (cut, shape, sand, polish) choose a tool which has a chuck that accepts multiple bit sizes for easy switches.
- Available Accessories - Are the attachments a useful quality, or are they cheap plastic? Can you mount the hand piece easily in a drill press or router table for better control? Does the attachment fit only a few models, or work with limited bits? A Dremel 'router table' is available, but very few router bits fit the tool.
- Ease of Maintenance - Both Flexible Shaft and Rotary Tools require the replacement of motor brushes as they wear. Make sure the tool you choose allows you to replace these brushes easily.
- Reversible Motor? - Tools with reversible motors allow you to 'back out' of drilled holes without enlarging them, and also allow more even finishing of wood grains or polished surfaces. If a bit sticks, reversing the motor will often free the bit.
- Availability of bits - If you will be using specialized bits, make sure the shaft of your particular bits will fit your tool. Heavier 1/4 inch shaft bits will not fit Dremel tools which have a maximum bit shank of 1/8 inch or smaller.
- Amount of Use - Craft and hobby models may not be designed for extended use. If you will be using a tool a lot or sharing it with a relative, buy a tool which will stand up to your uses now and in the future. Jewellers and carvers rarely use craft level tools.
- Battery or Plug in? Battery operated tools can be used in places where a power cord is a nuisance. Plug in tools have more power however, so battery tools are best suited to light and intermittent use.
Safety Concerns When Working with Rotary Tools
Flexible Shaft and Rotary Tools should always be used with appropriate eye protection and hand protection. Rotary and Flex Shaft tools can create a lot of dust. Use appropriate dust masks, especially if working with materials like resin. Do not use rotary tools on metal miniatures which may possibly contain lead. The dust created will contaminate a very large area!
Resources for Miniature and Modelling Uses of Rotary and Flexible Shaft Tools
Dr. Bob's Dremel Tutorial Part of the "Small Stuff" digest gives good information on using Dremel tools for dolls house miniatures.
