Fishmanoz Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 No Dremel expert but mine came with cutting discs thinner than 1mm. My Dervish has discs that thick though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 No need to apologise Fishy. I'd love to have a few more views on those discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkhill Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 I stopped using a Dremel type machine, sometimes they can grab and rip rail right out of the sleepers, to each his own though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 I can't see any alternative to a Dremel for what I need to do, though, sparkhill. Could you suggest one? I'd be grateful if you could. I would not use the Dremel instead of my Xuron for just cutting flexitrack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 A Dremel or similar is ideal for cutting track in situ. I have the Expo version. I've done it loads of time with discs less than 1mm thick. Don't push to hard just let the disc slowly make the cut moving it in and out of the slot. I think I've broken a disc twice and they just sort of fell to bits, nobody died and all limbs, eyes and other parts are intact. Safety glasses are a good idea. If the track is ripped from the sleepers you're being too heavy handed. It model track not a paving slab you're cutting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 As we've gone off track - I'm thinking of adding a Dremel to my tool kit (pair of pliers and a screwdriver) - I was recommended the 3000 - they do a 3000, 4000 and 4200 . The 3000 with 25 attachments and a flexible shaft is £65 locally - any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teedoubleudee Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Your busy on the forums tonight BB. There are cheaper alternatives to Dremels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Sounds very much like I bought bb. I'd think if it grabbed while cutting the revs weren't high enough, as well as being heavy handed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 The flexi shaft seems like a good idea - BUT - you then need three hands - one to hold the motor unit, one to hold the sleeve on the business end of the flexi, and one to hold the item you are cutting! (and maybe a fourth for the cup of tea/coffee!)My Dremel is the 300, mains power, and remarkably powerful, but if you are doing a lot of very fine work, it soon gets quite heavy! Plus, the cable isn't very long, so either you need to work near the wall-socket, or have an extension cable.The abrasive cutting disks are about 1/4 mm thick, or there are some circular saw type blades, which are more suited to balsa-wood, or thin ply. They are more prone to grabbing.Don't use a Dremel with very fine drill-bits, ie less than 1mm, because they are just too torquey, and will snap the bit like a hammer-drill snaps a panel-pin! (Guess how I found out!) Use one of those 'Archimedian' spiral thread things for tiny holes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 I used a cheaper alternative to a Dremel. Melted the sleepers. :-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 BB, I suppose it all depends on the sort of use you want to put a Dremel to, light or heavy. I bought my 7700 pack for £42.99, £46.29 including postage from Amazon online. It is stated to be suitable for small craft projects and light DIY. It is cordless, which I regard as better than having a cord getting in the way of your work. I'll be trying it out pretty soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teedoubleudee Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I've had this on my Amazon "wish list" for a while now. Pricey but good reviews. I'll stick with my Expo for modelling work though. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Proxxon-Micromot-Professional-Dril-Grinder/dp/B000S6DISW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I have the Expo version, 12 volt. Very nice and does everything I need it to do. When you buy a Dremel with its hundreds of attachments I think you'll find you only use a couple of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Oh dear! "I don't believe it!" "Whad a mistaka to maka!" Anyone want a Dremel? I had a go last night, the point well pinned to a piece of insulation board securely clamped to the top of my Workmate. I was all dressed up to the nines in protective gear. The other day I added a Dremel cutting wheel set to what I already had. I chose a really thin wheel. It cut through the top part of the first rail quite easily, but then flew off into the distance when it got to the bottom part, despite not having exerted any real pressure on it. I changed to a slightly thicker heavy duty one and finished the job. But, oh, what a dismal failure. A gap a mile wide because the cutter must have uncontrollably drifted sideways. I tried the second rail, with the same result. I also managed to catch the adjacent stock rails! In desperation I thought I'd try my Zuron cutters on any old part of that turnout as a test, not expecting any decent result, but having noted online that it could cut vertically. Carefully placed and angled, avoiding the plastic underneath, a tight grip and, to my astonishment, a pretty fine cut suitable enough for my purposes. I will be scrapping that point, but tried another one, with success once more. I'm attaching a picture showing the first point, the second, and then my cutters. Let this be a lesson to others! I feel so humbled by this experience. Thanks for everyone's advice. /media/tinymce_upload/daf524161f82e9acdfedb0ccb3a20983.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Just to show it can be done with a Dremel, this is a photo of my first test cut I did with a Dremel 38mm abrasive steel cutting disk. This was quite acceptable, well at least I thought it was. This piece of track never made it onto the layout because I made the cut too close to the frog. I should point out, that I used a flexi drive shaft attached to the Dremel. This gives more eye / hand coordination control compared to just using the Dremel on its own. This is a crossover track piece not a point, but the principle is the same../media/tinymce_upload/782d387644aff357d72d3f959677ecd2.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choralc Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Before throwing it away perhaps you could slowly build up some layers of expoxy to fill the gap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I have used a Dremel to cut brass 'O' gauge coarse scale rail, tricky but do-able, but I found it is not really suitable for nickel silver 'OO' rail which is somewhat delicate and harder. The other problem with a Dremel is to get a proper square cut end because the thickness of the drill body does not allow a square approach to the rail.I have used a Jewellers Saw and a Razor Saw, and provided (a) the blade is sharp, and (b) the rails are firmly held these can be reasonably successful. The old trick of a block of wood with grooves in it to hold the rails seems to work well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Would you Adam and Eve it? I happened to visit my local model railway shop today and, among other things, had a casual look at their Peco Code 100 electrofrog turnouts. They had some new different package ones and....they already had the rail cuts in them, the wonderfully fines gaps being electrically connected by just wires at the bottom. All you need to do is snip these wires and, hey presto! I had heard from someone, somewhere, that these were available quite some time ago, but it only seemed to apply to Code 75 electrofrog turnouts. Anyway, they weren't available in Code 100 ones, as far as I and, presumably, a lot of others knew. This change applies to their Code 100 electrofrog short, medium and large radius turnouts. Even Peco themselves still don't show such cuts on the item illustrations on their pretty poor website, and continue to talk about what you need to do in this respect. So.............Do I "carry on cutting" (sounds like a good comedy film title) or do I replace all my turnouts to save the bother, and flog off my existing ones on eBay? Incidentally there was no suggestion on the new packaging that you needed to fill the gaps, so I now have a feeling you perhaps don't need to be troubled with that either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Graskie,All my Peco Code 100 Electrofrog points are the type you described with the wire link underneath. As you have spotted, the resultant isolating gap is quite fine. I use frog polarity switching i.e the user configurable links have been removed. They work brilliantly without the need for further modification i.e filling gaps is not necessary. I bought mine in 2013, so I assume they were around before then as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 My goodness, Chris, I'd never come across them before. Thanks for that, though. I'm glad I did spot some today before starting to sort the rest of my existing turnouts. Mackle or replace? That is the question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Well, I took the plunge today and bought a load of replacement turnouts from my local model shop, leaving them with a small order for a few they couldn't supply at the moment. My existing ones should fetch a reasonable contribution towards recovering some of the cost. I feel happier with that solution because they will generally look so much neater. Yet another good reason for not having ballasted yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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