Mini router bit?

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - Does anyone know of router bits to fit a Dremel? I could use a 2mm round over. Or any technique to do small-radius rounding?
Thanks,

 

[Argee]

Is this any good?

Ray.

 

[tombo]

could you not just knock the corner off with a block plane and sandpaper? Or even sandpaper on its own at that size i doubt there would be any noticeable difference in result

 

[Nick Gibbs]

I've got ones from Proxxon. I can't remember how extensive the range is, but they have a cute mini router that is great for miniature work. You should be able to find out more at brimarc.com

Cheers

Nick

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - Apologies for posting in a bit of a hurry after having woken up with the idea of using a mini router bit and not saying what I want to use it for. I 've made roughly circular rings of hardwood about an inch in diameter, 1/4" thick, with a square cross-section. I want to get a circular cross-section (like a small curtain ring) and was going to use a dremel with a drum-sanding attachment. But I didn't have much hope of getting a nice result until it occurred to me that there might be mini-router bit I could get & use.
I'm looking at those links, thanks, but haven't seen anything yet. I don't know if the extra explanation will help, but at least there's the whole story now!
Thanks again,
Graham Rounce

 

[GrahamRounce]

Thanks Nick. Looks like Proxxon has the very thing (#29036) ( http://www.tool-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh00 ... 3a750#a750 )
Great.
Thanks a lot.

 

[9fingers]

Doing the first side will be OK but the second side will need a jig as otherwise there will be nothing for the guide pin to bear on.
Doable but care needed especially for such small parts.
Mind your fingers!
Bob

 

[GrahamRounce]

Yes - sigh! I'll try using 2 hands & strength first, then ingenuity.... sonmehow...

 

[GrahamRounce]

Thanks to all who answered, but I'm getting less & less confident about this! I think the (fairly thin) wooden ring might fly to pieces as soon as the bit touches it...
I'm now wondering about making a wheel, maybe 3/8" dia with a semicircular groove around the edge in which I could "crosswise" glue thin strips of coarse sand(glass/alu-oxide!)paper. Then fix it to the dremel somehow (probably araldite it to the rod of a spare attachment) and just run it around the inside & outside of the ring.
Someone tell me this won't work, because it sounds like a lot of trouble!

 

[hpl]

How about turning them on the lathe, if you have access to one.

Johnny B

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - making a little progress... I can't use a lathe, because the rings aren't quite circular, and also they are linked together - I'm trying to make a chain out of one piece of wood! I suppose it would be easier to break the links, finish them, and then glue them back together, but that would definitely be cheating (a couple of the links have broken already and been repaired, but to do it deliberately... I'd never get into Heaven!)
Here's a pic of it so far: http://www.grahamrounce.co.uk/stuff/WoodenChain02.jpg
I'm waiting for the 1/4" sanding drum to clean the insides, before doing the rounding with the 1/8" routing bit which is a very nice little thing and hasn't damaged the wood so far.
I suppose use steel wool for final smoothing? I don't quite know how I'm going to varnish it without the links sticking together! Maybe wax instead?
Graham

 

[DaveL]

Hi Graham,

What wood are you using? If it is oak then don't use steel wool for the smoothing as you may get dark stains due to the tanning reacting with the steel, use one of the synthetic pads, bit like the green scourers up for cleaning saucepans.
I would use a finishing on the chain, brush a coat on all over, leave for 15 minutes and then wipe off with a rag. 2 or 3 coats, check the tin for how long to leave between coats and then wax if you like, I like the look of a wax finish.

 

[GrahamRounce]

Thanks very much for the tips. The wood is zebrano (I happened to have a piece). It seems a bit like oak - would the same apply? Best to be safe I think. I'll do a search and find out what "finishing" is! (My ignorance knows no bounds, of course).
Thanks again,

 

[DaveL]

Sorry, fingers were a lot slower than the brain yesterday, I meant to say finishing oil, or Danish oil, depends which supplier you buy from, I have used Liberon with good results. First coat soaks in like mad, but it is still important to wipe of any residue or it can become sticky.

 

[hpl]

If your rings are linked together isn't it possible to clamp some of them down either side of the ones you are routing? A router mat would help. This stops things slipping around on the bench. Using zebrano is certainly helping to make it testing. Maybe practising on some soft timber would help build up the confidence.

Johnny B

 

[NickWelford]

Boy, good luck to you - looks pretty difficult to me! Zebrano is fairly brittle - you might end up with a handul of broken links........ and sore fingers!

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - The smoothing went better than expected. First I tried putting the whole thing in a slowly rotating drum (tin can) half full of sharp sand, thinking it would do the initial wearing down for me, but alas! after two days there was no difference, except the piece had gone yellow! So don't bother trying that idea unless you've plenty of patience, like a few months' worth. Probably the tin would wear out first. So I did it ye olde manual way - 80-grit paper, then 120, then 320 (more in-between grades would've been a good idea, looking back), and then had no higher-grit paper, so used the buffing-wheel dremel attachment which I have to say worked bloody well! Shined beautifully! Unless anyone strongly advises otherwise, I'm thinking of leaving well alone, and leaving it like that?

 

[Grinding One]

I was going to suggest a carveing knife,when I made my chain it works very well but take your time.