Would a dremel workstation be a good alternative for a drill press and a drum sander?

[IAmTheAntipop]

Have any of you used a dremel workstation like this in your builds?
Would it be useful to make the cavities before cleaning them with a router, and as a drum sander to sand the body shape to its final form? Any other alternative are also greatly appreciated!

 

[Jaco D]

I have a similar contraption. Nice for doing small, fine, detail work. But if you're thinking of using that to replace their full-size equivalents (thought of it before), the job tends to cost more, uneven/inconsistent, etc. It's like using a putter on a par 5 hole from tee to pin. I recently got a drum sander, but previously I was using a small disk and belt sander (disk size was six inches). You had to adapt your technique a bit given the way the abrasive material works its way into the job, but you could go farther with that thing than a Dremel. As a drill press, assuming the job could fit on the small platform, I noticed that the drill has a tendency to wander away from the point in which the hole was expected as you apply force. I guess that's a due to the tool being made to do more than what it was intended to do.

Keep that but invest in the right full-sized tools. They don't have to be new. Craiglist and Kijiji are your friends. Heck I recently bought a Ryobi scroll saw from the 70s for C$40 and it works like a charm!

 

[Hopkins]

It won't replace either. It doesn't have a deep enough throat to to replace a full sized drill press, so It wouldn't be able to drill pilot holes for bridges or string through holes. Even if you could chuck them up, its not strong enough to turn a forstner bit for material removal. As for a spindle sander, it turns at way to high RPM and uses abrasives that are too small. You would never get an even edge with it.

 

[KramerDon]

The Dremel I bought a while ago had no power,hopefully they make more useful models now but they're still really more for really light hobby type work.I gave mine away and bought a rotozip for small routing.No comparison it's got the power of a small router and it's held up well,but I can't imagine using it to replace a drum sander!

 

[potomac]

This is what you need: Invalid Link Removed

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I imagine it would take about 6 years to sand a bass body to shape with that thing.

 

[mapleglo]

You can get an inexpensive drill press, like a Black and Decker, Ryobi, or Skill for just over $100 new, or for less than $50 on Craig's List. (your profile doesn't show your location, so I'll assume for now that you're in the US).

I've had this 10" Black and Decker for several years now.

The throat is not quite deep enough for every project, but it's worked well for about 90% of things I've had to do.

You may also be able to see my home made drum sander bit there on the base, lower left hand corner. I've used that for all of my builds, and I haven't had to change the sandpaper yet.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

+1 on the drill press. I tried out the hand drill contraptions, just too much combined play in all those connections to ever really do precision work. The Dremel limits you to a 1/4" collet, fine for inlay work, maybe cutting binding channels, but not for anything that requires a lot of stock removal. 1/4" router bits will snap and throw shrapnel (ask me how I know this) if you try to hog out too much wood with them. Mapleglo is right, even a cheap Harbor Freight drillpress will do a decent job for short money, and there are tons of used drillpresses around. I have an ancient (1950's) Craftsman that's built like a tank and refuses to die, works fine for my two per decade rate of guitar production. Shop around, there are tons of Chinese manufacture drillpresses selling for widely varying prices, many of them identical except for the company name and paint job. I think there must be 2 factories in China producing all these tools, and they just brand them to a bunch of re-sellers.

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http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=drillpress

 

[IAmTheAntipop]

Thanks for all the answers everyone! I guess I'll just buy a drill press and make a drum sander with it, that was already my second plan By the way everyone if you want more tools in your workshop but can't afford them try looking at izzy swan's channel on youtube, he makes his own tools, and they are the most simple/ingenious i've found on youtube.

 

[SurferJoe46]

The Dremel is kinda cute, but very inaccurate and the plastic parts are just too yielding to keep things on center.

I suggest that if you have one already, keep it but investing at least something from Harbor Freight that will be more stable. And for 50 bucks too!

 

[IAmTheAntipop]

I just found an old Kira 16'' drill press with 4 speed option for 120$, it seems like a good, bit since I know nothing about tools I'd like to hear you opinions, here's a photo :

 

[Hopkins]

I just found an old Kira 16'' drill press with 4 speed option for 120$, it seems like a good, bit since I know nothing about tools I'd like to hear you opinions, here's a photo :

A drill press is pretty simple, I'm sure that one will work just fine. I would try to get it cheaper though.