Dumb...I know....but which cutting disk is better for cutting the window in the case? The fiberglass-reinforced or the "heavy duty"? I already know that the ones that come with the kit are virtually worthless. The f-r's are two bucks more and don't want to get them if the hd's are just as good...
I believe the fiberglass ones are the ones to get. I thought there were just regular ones and the fiberglas. Never heard of heavy duty.
heavy duty - the black ones included with the kit. not really a "normal duty" so these are pretty lame fiberglass - basically a heavy duty with with fiberglass over it so it doest break or shatter. the main difference is price and quanity. 5 fiberglass are more expensive than 20 heavy duty, atleast near me. i personally use the heavy duty cuz im poor, and if you wear eye protection who cares if they break every once and a while. make sure you dont press down and let the speed of the bit do the work. a better value for my needs, even on metal. you could use either on plexi, just make sure you have the dremel set on a low speed if its adjustable otherwise it wil melt the plexi and ruin the nice straight edge and smell very bad at the same time.
I dunno why everyone says bad stuff about the cutting wheels that come with the dremel kit. I sat in my workshop the other day and cut my friends case so he could put a window in. it went pretty smooth, once the wheel got really small, it broke of course, but i only used like 4-5 wheels. and i think that's good considering those bits are cheaper than the reinforced wheels.
if you want the nice stuff check out www.caseetc.com , they have diamond cutting discs, last forever. Just look in the tools and accesories section.
dude, theyre not made outta diamond, they have diamond dust in them. they do wear down, but they do last a lil longer cuz they cut a lil better. but then again thats real big $$.
Thanks to all for the input....seems I read somewhere, somehow, that Dremel also made steel reinforced wheels....appears there is no such puppy. Think it'll be the fiberglass-reinforced wheels for the metal and the hvy duty for the acrylic and just go slow. Thanks again!
steel re-enforced Yeah, I heard the same thing, and would love some, but I found them /nowhere/.. I think someone is just trying to be '1337'
yea, they make a steel wheel, it looks like a miniature sawblade, teeth and all...If you don't believe me, ill take a pic of one
nono, I've seen the steel wheel .. the debate is whether or not a steel re-enforced cutting wheel exists.. in the same way the fiberglass re-enforced ones do.
to clear this up, I am 99% certain that there is not a steel reinforced wheel. Why would you want one anyway when Fibre Glass is a far far stiffer material, thus is better for cutting disk reinforcements. Obviously the diamond ones are your best performers, but for money, I would have to say that the fibre glass wheels are your best bet... as they have a good ratio between price and performance. The steel wheels that mayze was refering to are for use on plastics, at low speeds. Also they are pretty good for wood, at more medium speeds. hope this helps BiGGiE
Yeah, but there's always that 1%... And a steel re-enforced wheel would be awesome for the softer metals (aluminum, etc) Yeah, I know the other stuff works well enough.. I'm just pissed off at cutting the side of a computer (that thick metal stuff) and going through a standard wheel in the space of it's circumference, and a "re-enforced" wheel at 1.5 times or less...
in that case, you are obviously pushing down too hard, let the tool do the cutting, if you force it, you are gonna get through cutting disks like you are. Take your time, and it is a slow job, but you can cut a normal sized square window with 4 disks.
Yeah.. I tried just letting it cut, but some of that metal is an sob.. took out my disks even if I let it sit there for 3min on it's own (This was for my top-window)
yeah...saw that steel wheel. A tad bit expensive. Think it's going to be the fiberglas ones for now--it's going to be a fair size window--probably go through 3 or 4 of them....the price you pay i guess. Dremel has to generate repeat business.
I think with the current state of affairs, I may just switch to a long-sleeved t-shirt and the standard cutting wheels.. if either wears down at roughly the same rate, then might as well.. (Note: fiberglass wheels kickass on the lian-li aluminum though) And I doubt that the diamond will make much of a difference.. depending on material that you are going through, of course.. Like, the standard pc case will laugh at diamond dust
Here is the so called "steel reinforced" wheels they are prolly talking about: http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=542 The diamond ones i've seen are shaped pretty much the same. And neither is listed for cutting steel. Linear, where did you get those diamond blades that are round and go on the mandrel, i havent seen them before? Personally, I've started liking the very thin 409 cutoff wheel, they are great for straight lines. Seem to go thru the steel faster than even the reinforced wheels. On curves they are a bit fragile tho. And i lil tip for newbies, change your wheels before they are worn down all the way, and save em for curves and circles. Nothing sux worse than trying to cut a tight curve and only having full sized disks. You wind of having buncha straight lines and ya gotta do more shaping when done. Like this--> \___/ peace. UnLoadeD
Thanks for that tip, UnLoadeD....was going to start cutting maybe tonight. Have a lot of curves in the design. Might just cut the straight lines, then use a Nibbler for the curves. Slow go, but i want to take my time with this one. It's a Chieftec case; kind of a rarity here in the States. Would be difficult at best to find a replacement panel.
UnLoadeD : Yeah, I could see that being the tool that started the urban legend.. although, I dunno.. Good thing you be tellin newbies (And those who just plain don't pay attention) to use the ground down disks.. makes it a hassle when you don't have the extender, but it's a heck of alot better than a full-size.
