WTF??? Killed my new dremel!

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Cheesefood

Cheesefood

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So I was trying to work on my kegerator. I was cutting the metal on the inside top using my Dremel and a metal cutting tool. I got MAYBE 7" along when all of a sudden the Dremel stopped and a TON of smoke came out of it. Now it won't work.

WTF happened?
 
Sounds like you blew it up.

Don't go to a sword fight with a jack-knife.

You need an angle grinder for this job. It will be the best 15-20 dollars you ever spend, TRUST ME.

Do you have a Harbor Freight near you? It'll be worth the trip.
 
Harbor freight is the best place to pick up a tool you'll only use once in a while. I'll never buy a 'high quality' air tool again-- just buy one off tools at $15 a pop and if it breaks, pitch it.
 
Home Depot is going to allow me to return it for a new one! And I think I'm going to look at one of them angle grinder things while I'm there - no need to have this happen twice.
 
Rep ++ to Home Depot.

Not only did they allow me to return a Dremel that I had killed, without out a receipt, but they also let me take some of the parts from the old Dremel kit that weren't in the new one I got (since they changed pricing on the models).

I picked up a Ryobi angle grinder for $30 and a couple of metal cutting discs. The nearest Harbor Freight is about 10 miles away and I figured that since I was already at HD, might as well just get it.

Now I don't have time to work on my kegerator. Gotta get cleaned up for annother fun-filled days with <sigh> the in-laws.
 
What are you doing to that poor fridge? The sheet metal on my Sanyo is like paper.

I've gone though 3 Dremels now, but it's taken me over 30 years to do so. Use the speed and don't lean on them. You can get some big heavy duty reinforced abrasive discs at hobby shops. These will do some serious damage to sheet metal. I used them to rework radiator mounts on my car project. That being said, when I want to do some heavier work, the Chicago Electric die grinder from HF is a real brute.
 
I never could stand any tools from Harbor Freight. I'd rather buy a tool once and have it be nicer every time I use it. Of course, I use tools a lot, but 3 months after the fact, I never failed to regret buying a tool at HF.

Most of the Craftsman tools I buy are crap too.
 
Toot said:
I never could stand any tools from Harbor Freight. I'd rather buy a tool once and have it be nicer every time I use it. Of course, I use tools a lot, but 3 months after the fact, I never failed to regret buying a tool at HF.

Most of the Craftsman tools I buy are crap too.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on both counts...mostly.

HF has some great deals on twist drills, 1/4" hex drive drill bits, and other tools I usually consider either disposable or re-sharpen-able. Their air tools are ok, but you have to consider them disposable as well. I bought an abrasive cutting chop saw from them 2 years ago. It works, but I don't particularly like it. I wish I'd just have shelled out the bucks for the Milwaukee or Dewalt machine (or even the Hyd-Mech cold saw I've been eyeing).

I'm not a big fan of Craftsman's power tool offerings, but you can't beat their hand tools. The lifetime warranty on their wrenches rocks! You can even take a torch or grinder to their wrenches in order to make a "custom" tool, then return it for a new one. If the salesman is on his game, there is a form you can fill out indicating why you "ruined" the tool in the name of usefulness, and Craftsman will consider mass producing the "modified" version.

Oh...and I love my Dremel for anything too small for a die grinder or angle grinder, but I would NEVER use it for cutting something as big as a keg top. It's just not meant for that sort of use/abuse.
 
Everytime I go for the dremel, I end up getting pissed off at how fisher price it feels. There always a more kick ass tool for the job it seems. I'm still wait for a job where the dremel is the killer tool.
 
Bobby_M said:
Everytime I go for the dremel, I end up getting pissed off at how fisher price it feels. There always a more kick ass tool for the job it seems. I'm still wait for a job where the dremel is the killer tool.
Click to expand...

Anything smaller than one square foot in size that requires sanding/shaping. It's too small for most "real-sized" power tools, but the Dremel sure beats doing it by hand with a file/sanding block.


And you're right about the Craftsman handtools guarantee. that is nice. I have Snap-Ons from a former career though, and I like them just fine. :)
 
Toot said:
And you're right about the Craftsman handtools guarantee. that is nice. I have Snap-Ons from a former career though, and I like them just fine. :)
Click to expand...
I get Snap-On tools from my Dad quite often - the best gifts ever! He's got a good relationship (read: spends a lot of cash) with the Snap-On guy at the airport where he works.
 
The metal I was cutting is about 2 or 3 times the thickness of a keg top. I'm not too surprised I killed my Dremel. I haven't had a chance to break in the grinder yet, but maybe tomorrow afternoon.

Dude, I've already had visions of stands drifting through my head, but I've come to terms with the fact that we jjust don't have the room here. It's a good projject for my next house.
 
Bobby_M said:
I'm still wait for a job where the dremel is the killer tool.
Click to expand...

My Dremel is killer for polishing the feed ramps of all my firearms.. Just can't get in there with anything else!

I thought I killed my dremel when I first got it.. It is one of the cordless lithum ion ones.. turns out all I had to do was take the battery off and then back on.. Think it is a saftey thing. Or just an annoyance

SpamDog
 
That angle grinder ate right through the metal and gave it a smooth, clean cut. I can now fit three kegs in the kegerator, but I might be able to get 4 in there with a little more work. I still haven't turned it on yet because I have plenty more work before it'll be ready for action.

Question: I'm going to need to punch a hole through the wall to put my CO2 line in. What kind of gromet do I need (and where can I get one) to ensure a nice, snug fit that won't leak the cold air out?
 
Cheesefood said:
Question: I'm going to need to punch a hole through the wall to put my CO2 line in. What kind of gromet do I need (and where can I get one) to ensure a nice, snug fit that won't leak the cold air out?
Click to expand...

I would suggest using a small bimetal holesaw to make the cut, feed your lines through, and then simply use plumber's putty to seal up the gaps. It isn't as pretty, but works as well/better.
 
Wow, that's one thick ass metal for a kegerator. Must be an older one because the ones nowadays are like another member said above, they are like paper. Could almost use a good pair of scissors to cut the metal on the 4912.
 
I want to buy a dremel, looks like it could be very useful but I cannot think of anything that I would be able to use it for.

I always wanted to buy an angle grinder and finally last year I got the excuse to buy one as I had to remove a chain link fence. I loved it at the start but then after 30min of burning bits of metal going up my nose and breathing in the stench of buring hair I started to go off it! Getting to love it more again though which is fun. Now I wait until it gets dark, get the protective gear on and let the sparks fly!!!
There are loads of jobs that can be speeded up with the grinder. I would class it as one of the most important tools in my kit.

...reminds me of something :
When I was younger (17) I broke up with a girlfriend and was telling my Great Uncle Kenny (89) about it and he said, "don't worry son, there are plenty more screws in the carpenters toolbox". I have never forgoten those words of wisdom :) What a wise wise man he was :rockin:
 
I just bought a Dremel (actually, a Black-and-Decker knockoff) to finally get the grain mill finished / restarted. Couldn't justify paying almost twice as much for the "real" brand, since I know this is a tool that I'll probably use pretty infrequently.
 
With one of those grinders you can cut a car in half in about an hour. Don't ask me how I know that, but put it in your car in case someone cuts you off and takes your parking spot !!!
 
Half an hour? Slacker!:)
With an abrasive wheel in a circular saw, we cut up an old VW Beetle we were scavenging parts from into pieces small enough to toss in the back of a pickup in maybe 15 minutes. But then again, they were pretty lightly built. Talk about thin gauge sheet metal.
 

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