Will a Dremel Work?

[Ironwood Outfitters]

I need to thank you personally for the angle grinder tip. I've had one year worth of machine shop experience and honestly never knew the terror lurking in the back room. Ever since i searched "angle grinder injury" last night, i've been scarred. I WILL AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

That seems a bit extreme. I've taken a chunk out of myself with one before, but in all honesty they are an incredibly useful tool. I've been using them for years, and have only been hurt with one once. As long as you respect it like any other tool and use it carefully, you will be fine.

 

[The_KaramVit]

That seems a bit extreme. I've taken a chunk out of myself with one before, but in all honesty they are an incredibly useful tool. I've been using them for years, and have only been hurt with one once. As long as you respect it like any other tool and use it carefully, you will be fine.

Understood. For my specific use, a bandsaw or hacksaw will work about as well and will offer some additional safety. I'm one to speak hyperbolically, so forgive me. It is out of respect that i fear it so much now. Truth is, i'll resort to an angle grinder if the band saw and hacksaw do not work out.

 

[J. Rosa]

Well I'm late to the party but I'll offer up my .02. I have and do use a dremel with cutoff disks to free up some patterns on a sheet that would usually be a pain to try and get to with a bandsaw. My saw doesn't have much clearance so when I have to use the dremel I drill out the profile first and have gotten good at it to the point of being able to place my drill marks VERY close to each other if not slightly overlapping. Doing that really cuts down on the work the dremel has to do and I only run it on high for that. As far as profiling I have use a dremel with sanding drums to profile the skeleton work on some tomahawks. It actually goes a lot faster than it sounds and can come out straight if you plan things right (oval shapes and using hole saws for the ends). However, I've never used it to rough profile a blank. I imagine you'd have a hell of a time keeping things true and straight. I've never had to use an angle grinder to cut a blank so I can't comment on that. Good luck with your project.

Jim