how to bypass dremel tool internal variable speed control?

According to James Sweet :

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Ouch!

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I certainly do. :-)

Hmm ... this is cross-posted to the following newsgroups:

sci.electronics.basics sci.electronics.repair rec.crafts.metalworking alt.engineering.electrical

Of those, the third (rec.crafts.metalworking) is likely to have a very

*high* percentage of readers who own an air compressor. The reply suggesting a pneumatic die grinder probably came from someone in RCM who did not notice the other newsgroups in the cross-posting, so it was reasonable to expect that an air compressor would be present.

I forget what the application was for the Dremel (somewhere upthread) so I don't know whether the oil is a problem or not. If working on metal, I would suggest that the oil is probably a benefit, not a problem.

If oil is a problem, I would second the suggestion for a Foredom. Note that not only does it have a fairly hefty flexible shaft, but for smaller tools (e;g. what a Dremel would be comfortable driving) there is a handpiece with a short very flexible shaft just before it which makes precise hand control a lot easier. I use an ancient Foredom with the extra flexible handpiece for tuning English concertina reeds, with a Dremel foot pedal for speed control, from a near total stop (needed on the tiny reeds at the upper end of the collection in a typical concertina) to near full speed (for the lowest pitch reeds).

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols
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According to James Sweet :

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The big and heavy I would agree with for any compressor adequate to drive a die grinder, but *noisy*? It may be that you have the wrong air compressor. The oilless ones tend to be *very* noisy, but the oil wetted ones, with a belt drive from the motor to the compressor tends to be very quiet in comparison. Yes, there are bursts of chugging from time to time, but no problem from my point of view at least. I would not have one of the oilless ones in my shop.

As for heavy -- I just installed a reel fed hose on the ceiling to allow me to reach any place in the shop where I am likely to need air. Someday, I will probably plumb it for drops near each likely place of use.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Ah crap, I didn't notice the crossposting until now, I won't keep this thread going beyond this, I thought I was only replying to sci.electronics.repair which is something that rarely requires air.

I do have an oiled belt drive reciprocating compressor, it's a LOT quieter than the oilless junk but it's still quite loud. Part of the problem is where it sits in the corner, the sound is amplified and echos.

Reply to
James Sweet

Not to sound trollish, but one of my pet peeves is the lack of compressed air capability in electronics (and formerly computer) repair shops; cleanliness is next to godliness in equipment maintenance and for shops not to at least use compressed air to clean dirty customer gear is to me unconscionable (when needed I would expect hot high-pressure non-ionic detergent cleaning as well).

Our regional Tektronix repair depot _routinely_ hot-washed and baked instruments that were brought in for repair.

Regards,

Michael

Reply to
msg

They all need a little oil, but most people tend to over-do it and it gets a bit messy. Only needs a drop or two a day, for light duty. (Or they forget to oil them, and the tool dies a quick death.)

You can install an inline mist oiler on your workbench outlet that you use the air tools at. But then you have to be REALLY careful not to mix your hoses used with oiled air with your 'clean' hoses, or you'll go to paint something and wreck a paint job getting oil (residue from inside the hoses) into the paint.

For a proper compressor: Big, yes. Noisy, not really, if you buy a proper belt-drive unit where the compressor is turning under 800 RPM or so. The little 3450 RPM direct drive pancake compressors are not enough to run a die grinder for any usable duty time, they make more noise than they do air.

I have the "5 HP" (really a 4, but it's enough) Husky (Campbell Hausfeld) 2-stage 80 gallon, and it's not noisy at all when running. The fancier compressors from Ingersoll-Rand and Quincy are even quieter and will run practically forever (even if used a lot), but you pay a heck of a premium for a few Db's.

And I have the lumber and a solid-core door to build a little closet around the unit, that will make it virtually silent - just need a small vent fan before I start enclosing it, so it doesn't cook itself if run for long periods...

Don't forget to put an outlet under the eaves or on the backside of a framed "chimney", so the roofers have a convenient place to plug in. Did you ever notice that you can get nice recessed "wall hydrants" for water faucets outdoors, but nobody makes them for air?

Or a flush plate-mountable air QD fitting that would look good inside a house? I'm just going to put the air-line drop in the front closet, and paint the pipe when I'm done.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Au contraire, mon frere... ;-) It's still relevant.

You have to evict the dust bunnies from inside the gear before you can start fixing it. And what's the easiest way to do it?...

Build a sound cover around it that buts up to the wall. Plywood box with acoustic ceiling tiles glued to the inside, and make a labyrinth channel vent on top for air circulation that is also lined with acoustic tile - air goes through, sound bounces off the walls and dies.

If you really seal it tight to the wall and floor, put a second labyrinth trap down low with a muffin fan or two for air flow.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Static electricity and electronics don't mix, not to mention breaking things. Using a compressor to blow out computers may do more harm than good.

Quite a different thing, though I wouldn't do this either, unless the equipment was made for it.

Reply to
krw

Because air doesn't freeze, break pipes, and otherwise cause a huge mess?

Making the roofer's job easy isn't my intent and I certainly don't want to climb up on the roof to install/service an air connection that I'll never use. OTOH, we're thinking about building a house. If we end up going that way, I was considering an air connection inside every closet (hidden, but accessible). Running the lines in open walls is easy enough.

I don't think they have to look all that good of you just tuck them in closets alongside the door opening. No one will see them there so they don't even need to be painted. I have one in an outside closet (outside the front door, where the entrance panel is), just because it was a convenient place to run a line from the basement to the garage.

Reply to
krw

I do it all the time, never had an issue with it. One thing I have learned though is to stay away from optical drives with the air, more than once I've stirred up dust which settled in and ruined the optics.

Reply to
James Sweet

I have a QC below the brickwork above a basement window, 100' of hose will reach anywhere on the property/house. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

Can't see as it would be worse than canned air Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

Proper ESD controls should always be in place during disassembly and repair; the airstream is really not an issue. Compressed air cleaning is standard practice in computer and electronic equipment maintenance; excess moisture in the airstream is often a problem however when dryers are absent.

Regards,

Michael

Reply to
msg

| Gerald Miller wrote: |> krw wrote: |> Static electricity and electronics don't mix, not to mention breaking |> things. Using a compressor to blow out computers may do more harm |> than good.

| Can't see as it would be worse than canned air

Much worse. What creates the static electricity is the relatively long path of the air using a compressor (length of the hose and or pipe). Canned air is very short, and static electricity has hardly any time to be generated. _____________________________________Gerard S.

Reply to
Gerard Schildberger

Low pressure air is standard procedure for cleaning out computers that are in normal dusty condition, and after fires and disasters, computers were routinely cleaned with a type of "dishwasher" with a speacial cleaner, then vacuum baked dry.

Today's computers ( and almost all consumer electronis) are cheap enough that replacement is almost as low cost as salvaging.

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

And if the copper blow pipe is grounded to the chassis? Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

I've handled CMOS devices with bare hands/no straps too, but the plural of anecdote isn't data. The fact is that moving air will get a charge. If the conditions are right you can zap something.

The other problem with the high pressure/volume of a shop compressor is physical damage. Unless you're a pig, such things shouldn't be necessary.

Reply to
krw

130PSI @ 10CFM is not "low pressure". I see all sorts of "standard procedures" go on by monkeys with screwdrivers.

Routinely? Mine never have been. I know the Tek stuff mentioned earlier is designed not to trap solvents and the gunk they leave behind.

I'll agree there. If it's going to get that dirty in a couple of years, perhaps one ought to clean house a little more often. OTOH, I learned not to put towers directly on the floor. They make good cat-hair vacuums.

Reply to
krw

You have a small lot. ;-) Dragging 100' of hose around is a PITA though. I never used more than 40' to side my garage and the compressor is in the basement.

Reply to
krw

Reply to
John Fields

One of the problems with blowing out electronics with high pressure air is the ultrasonic vibrations that are set up by the air. The vibrations can break the fine junctions on the chip itself.

John

Reply to
John

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