"Suitable multi tool drill for miniatures." Topic

Hi, I have been looking at Dremel and Proxxon multi tools for the purpose of drilling and filling away metal casting infills, particularly between reins on 18mm miniatures. I believe it is necessary to use a low speed, so I am looking for something with a speed controller. I liked the Proxxon micromot 60 but don't want to pay almost double the price of the price of the multi tool for the transformer with speed control. I was evening considering a Nail as in manicure drill, as it has 0-35,000 rpm. Any advise, other than use a manual hand drill! would be greatly appreciated. Lastly I am looking for USA models.

Harbor Freight sells a moto-tool, for a very modest price. It is loud, though (save your hearing -- wear 30 dB ear plugs!), and the speed control is limited. Having said that, it will take all Dremel tool bits. It lacks the finesse of a Dremel, but it will get the job done.

I used a Ryobi moto-tool for 10+ years… Loved it! Then it broke, and HF was the least expensive option. The HF is not for delicate work, but it does wonders with a Cut-Off Wheel -- my favorite tool! I use it to remove material as it is faster than grinding/sanding. Takes some practice, though.

A power tool is most useful for grinding/sanding/polishing/cutting (Cut-Off Wheels are da' bomb, Baby!), rather than careful, articulate drilling/grinding/sanding. Power tools will remove material at a very high speed.

Using a Variac (variable AC transformers) to lower the AC Voltage from the wall, may/may not work to control the speed of the moto-tool! Back in the day, it was the only way to slow down non-synchronous AC motors; synchronous AC motors derived their speeds/RPM from the frequency of the AC voltage (50 or 60 Hertz, depending where you lived) -- mostly clocks.

Most modern speed controls rely upon inexpensive computer chips, rather than the old analog methods (expensive Variacs).

The moto-power tools have their place, and they are incredibly useful to a miniatures gamer, but be careful of your expectations. You may find they won't do what you want, and it may cost a few minis to learn that.

Buy a moto-tool if you have a need for speedily grinding metal/resin off. They are amazingly useful tools to a modeler, in general. Be aware that using them on plastic minis might lead to the plastic melting, and sagging, rather than simply taking it off, as desired. Cheers!

Hi Sgt Slag, thanks for your useful information.
Regards.
Alan.

Good info, sergeant.

Not sure why you want low speed. The cutting bits are designed for use at high revs – you shouldn't need to use any force. If you feel you can't control the drill, better off with hand tools. I have difficulty controlling the drill sometimes. I use dremel desk clamp either to hold the drill in place or the piece that attaches to the drill makes a nice handle to stabilize it

John

Harbor Freight generally sells Chinese knock-offs. By my experience, nothing from there lasts any length of time. Do yourself a favor and get a Dremel. Mine has lasted decades, so far.

Second for Dremel. I have the standard rotary tool and the engraver. I use both for drilling, grinding and cutting miniatures/terrain.

Dremel every day of the week. +1 Joe Jwebster.

HF's Drill Master… $9.99 USD for an 80-piece set. It has a fixed speed of 16,000 RPM. Buy it for the bits, if nothing else. LOL! The Dremel will run you $54.99, off of Amazon.com.

This is the noisy beast I bought from HF, 8,000-35,000 RPM; $24.99 USD for the tool with a 30 piece kit. I dropped mine into a bucket filled with used motor oil, while it was still plugged in… It is still working, 5+ years later.

Ryobi makes a newer version, for $49.99, with 77 accessories, and a nice case.

Milwaukee makes one as well: $84.39 USD‌. Amazon has around a dozen models and makers to choose from -- search for "rotary tool".

My Ryobi saw very heavy use. My HF has seen far less use, but it serves me very well, as long as I have my ear plugs in place. LOL! Functionally, it is every bit as good as my Ryobi was, except my Ryobi had a greater range of RPM's.

Spend your money how you like. The Dremel brand bits will work in all of them. Cheers!

If you need speed control you can buy a "speed controller". I bought one years ago to use with my one speed tool.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I learned a bit.
Thanks
Alan.