Dremel recommendations for newbie

[Kimmee27]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to jewellery making (and totally new to the forum) and have mostly worked with silver clay. Now I want to up my game and work with sheet silver. Can anyone recommend a Dremel that I can drill holes with - to begin with I just want to drill holes to thread jump rings through but as I become more confident & experienced I will obviously want the Dremel to do more. I've looked on Cooksongold but the range of drills is a bit overwhelming so 1. Which Dremel and 2. Does that come with drill bits to drill holes with.

Sorry for being so ignorant!! Kim

[Patstone]

Hello and welcome. It depends how much you want to spend really. I pushed the boat out and got a pendant motor when I first started, but they are quite expensive. Something with a variable speed is quite useful, and not too heavy as you have to hold it. Sorry I can't help more but never owned a dremel, I am sure someone will be on later.

[Janie]

Hi there, is it possible to share more info about a pendant drill, I'm interested in having one but don't know what they do exactly and which one would you recommend? Thanks, Jane

[CJ57]

Hi there, is it possible to share more info about a pendant drill, I'm interested in having one but don't know what they do exactly and which one would you recommend? Thanks, Jane

Hi Jane, put in a search for pendants motors , there have been a lot of posts on the forum along the same lines.The Foredom seems to be the motor of choice so you could add that to your search. This was posted a couple of weeks ago http://www.craftsy.com/class/getting...lex-shaft/5085. Also Google and there are lots of videos. If all that fails then there will be someone here to help further

[Janie]

Thank you so much Caroline... this really helps me out big time!!! I really want to invest in good quality equipment if I can manage so that it lasts me and does the job. After reading all the information on this post it seems to be the best way to go. . .I almost bought a Dremel a while back, so glad I waited now. Thank you... much appreciation! <3

[CJ57]

Thank you so much Caroline... this really helps me out big time!!! I really want to invest in good quality equipment if I can manage so that it lasts me and does the job. After reading all the information on this post it seems to be the best way to go. . .I almost bought a Dremel a while back, so glad I waited now. Thank you... much appreciation! <3

Glad to be of help. I haven't got one either even though I'm a jeweller of many years, thought I could do without one and times change. This has also been suggested to me as it's more lightweight and easier to handle http://www.woodworkscraftsupplies.co...tor-p-739.html

[Stacey]

I've failed at drilling through silver or copper sheet with my Dremel. It does drill plaster, wood .... but there is something about the torque which makes it very ineffective for drilling metal. It's fine for polishing though and a useful hand tool.

If all you want to do is drill holes than I'd recommend a bow drill from your favourite source, this is Cookson's http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-331. It takes a little practice, but it works brilliantly. Infinitely better than my Dremel (which is not the low end hobby one, so it's not the model that is the problem, but the tool itself).

[Kimmee27]

Thank you both for your replies. I think I will still get a Dremel but also the bow drill which I had seen but thought it might not be so good, so thanks Stacey - I will take up your recommendation

[Patstone]

I bought a small Proxxon stand drill for drilling holes ....doh what else would you use it for.....it wasn't that e expensive and you can put fairly big drill bits in too. That bow drill looks like something Noah may have used. It's a Proxxon TB 220. Didn't realise it was that much money but its very good.

[Stacey]

I bought a small Proxxon stand drill for drilling holes ....doh what else would you use it for.....it wasn't that e expensive and you can put fairly big drill bits in too. That bow drill looks like something Noah may have used. It's a Proxxon TB 220. Didn't realise it was that much money but its very good.

Noah built a rather large wooden ship using his bow drill. Proxon £180 roughly. Bow drill £20. It's rather soothing to use as well. If your objective is to drill holes in sheet than a bow drill works brilliantly.

When I win the lotterly I'm going to plunk for a Proxon and a Foredom though .... but I suspect I'll still reach for my bow drill once in a while.