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Thanks Be to Dremel!

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/20/2007 : 21:18:54

This weekend I had a number of opportunities to use my Dremel tool which I now swear by.. if you don't already have one, go out and buy one because you will need it someday and you'll be glad you have it!!! Here's why:

I had to replace the bolts on my lower gudgeon as one had gotten loose and had sheared off in last Friday's race. One of the remaining bolts refused to loosen, probably because of some 4200 bonding the lock nut. I was starting to strip the head from trying to loosen it so I was in a quandary. Then I remembered the Dremel. I attached a 'ST' cutting wheel and within minutes I had the nut cut off. Pretty amazing. The bolt came out easily then. I then had about 1/4 inch of marine-tex to sand through to get to the original metal backing plate (which is glassed in). I got out a sanding disk the same size as my new washer and sanded down right through the marine-tex. That took a little longer (and was messier) but soon I had three round holes in the marine tex perfectly sized to fit the new washers.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago I had mounted some new deck organizers and still needed to cut the excess off the ends of the the bolts. Used the cutting wheel again. That was like cutting butter. Plus I was able to use the wheel to touch grind the sharp parts of the ends down in seconds.

(I don't work for dremel and am not getting paid for this

but without it I doubt that I would've finished these jobs in half a day. I know it sounds like the project went very smooth, and other than the 3 trips to the chandlery and two trips to the hardware store, it did go pretty smooth).

BTW, I decided to use 3/8" nuts on the lower gudgeon instead of those wimpy 1/4" ones - that's what had sheared off. I think they will hold much better - they're pretty beefy looking.

Bill B
Wind Dancer
#4036 84 SR/FK
San Francisco Bay

Edited by - bbriner on 05/20/2007 21:20:42

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3521 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2007 : 22:46:02

I agree with the use and versatility of the Dremel for many of the boat projects. I have an old Dremel wired unit at home but last Fall bought a Dremel rechargeable unit (the one with a pistol style grip) for work mainly on the boat. I have used it to cut the panel opening for my new switch panel, smoothing out areas that were epoxied and various other projects. I do the wood cuts and etc major work at home using other power tools but for most work on the boat, the little Dremel supports most projects.

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Renzo
Admiral

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USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 07:43:40

Just had to chime in on this one. I wanted a dremel tool for many years but but put off buying one because could never justify the expenditure. I know they don't cost much but I always considered it a tool for light, hobby type, work and therefore something I wouldn't use very often. Boy was I wrong! It is one of the most versatile tools that I own and takes on some real heavy duty jobs around the house, the car and at the boat. I did the same lower gudgeon job on my boat years ago, but without the benefit of a dremel and it was a real bitch getting the old bolts out and grinding the fiber glass in a tight space with a big clunky tool. (PS: I also replaced the 1/4" bolts with 3/8").

Anyway, I now own three dremel tools: one is rechargeable, one perminently hanging in the workshop with a flex shaft and one dremel kit for the boat with a full set of attachments.

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 12:01:19

I never do boat work without it. Real useful for cutting bolts, also does a good job cutting stainless steel cable. I recently used it to cut out the siezed pins on my boom/gooseneck.

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SJ
Navigator

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USA
198 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 12:14:50

Just finished using mine to grind, drill, yank, pull swear and remove the old spreader from the bracket!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 14:11:32

Do you folks find that the cordless version does the job, or are you plugged in?

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 18:51:27

I'm plugged in but the cordless would be even better I'm sure...

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3521 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 20:02:54

I have both a wired and a cordless Dremel but do not pay for electricity which is an extra fee per month or day at the dock. So, I use the cordless Dremel. It is hard to give details as to how long it runs versus effort it is putting out. I would say it runs for about 15-20 minutes at 3/4 max speed with a few small breaks during that time. But, many of the projects I work on down at the dock are either short enough that I complete the work with the one charging except the one time I was cutting the rectangle out of the fiberglass in front of the galley for the new switch panel. I think that took 2 recharges and used a diamond wheel cutter. The cut was excellent with minimal dusting due to the thin blade. I usually budget my tije accordingly and so once the Dremel stops running, I find something else to do and get the work done the next day after recharging the unit.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.