Dremel ProjectsSkills

8/12/2019 Dremel ProjectsSkills

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2/29

DREMELPROJECTS&CONTENTS SKILLS

Dream

Bathroom Tile 8

Take familyphotos and turn them into

Fixes 22Repairs made faster and easier.

Gotta-have-em woodworking

the Day! 28

1 DREMEL PROJECTS & SKILLS

COVER STORY

The Dremel

Workshop 3Space, storage and comfortits all here!

RegroutReplace that ugly old grout in one day.

Scroll Saw Puzzles 10great gifts.

3

8 Scroll SawHints & Tips 14Crown MoldingSimplified 16

My weekend with thenew XPR 18A day in the life of this new high-

performance tool.

Three Furniture

5 for the Shop 26accessories.

Dremel Saves

A true rotary tool adventure.


3/29

Welcome!!!

In this day and age where tax

I love standing back and seeing

real results.

And of course, anything

that helps speed up or improve

those real resultsis a welcome

addition. Thatswhy we think

youlllove this newsletterand

the new Dremel 400 Series XPR.

This newsletter is filled with tons

of ideas, and the new XPR is

filledwith features youlllove as

well. Features like a high-per-

formance motor for better han-

dling and control, a more

ergonomic design for comfort,

and new accessorieslike the

planer and MultiSaw attach-

mentsthat will help bring your

skills and projects up a level.

So read on and work away.

At the end of the day youllbe

able to turn around and say with

pride, Look!I actually made

or fixedor improved that

.And you didntneed a

forms are so complicated we

have to turn them over to

accountants and cars so complex

we need to have them analyzedb

computer, I find great comfort i

tackling tasks I can perform with

my own two hands. After a

Saturday afternoon of wood-

working or making headway on

some home

improve-

ment

project,

computer or accountant to do it.

Andrea AshDirector, Marketing Communications

PUBLISHED BY HOME SERVICE PUBLICATIONS, INC., 260 Madison Ave, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10016. Copyright 2005. Unauthorized reproduc-tion in any manner, is prohibited. Art Direction: Evangeline Ekberg. Allphotography by Bill Zuehlke except for p. 2 (top right),p. 7 (top right),

p. 20 (left), p. 26 and 27 (all), courtesy of Dremel.



4/29

The Dremel

DreamWorkshopBuild yourself a great

place to do great work.

My first workshop was more of a

nightmare than a dream. It wasin a basement with a low ceil-

ing, so dark that the one bare bulbseemed worthless, and with a dirt floorthat kept it permanently dank. It wasthen that I started dreaming of the per-fect shop.

There is no such thing, of course,butover the years (and a handful of shops),

Ive learned that there are some elementsthat go into every great shop. Some ofthem, like character, are hard to engineer,but others you can have, even in thesmallest space. Here are four of the cen-tral elements that you can use to makeyour own dream workshop.



5/29

A GreatWorkbench

The heart, soul, and often a good

odd, but with another table to put your

project on, itseasier to keep your work-bench organized. Assembly tables can beas simple as plywood on a pair of saw-horses, or as complex as the workbench.Many people choose to make the assem-bly table lower than the bench, so largerwork is at a more comfortable height.Add a vise. Either a woodworkers vise,adjustable-base Dremel D-Vise, or a metalworkers vise, depending on your work.

Typically it goes at the left front corner, iyoureright-handed. If you put in a wood

vise, you can mount a metal vise on a piece

of wood and hold that in the wood vise.Store tools below. Itsan efficient use ospace, it keeps tools and supplies right ahand, and it weights down your bench so iwontmove around when you pound on it.A strong top. A layer or two of 3/4-in.plywood or mdf, edged with solid wood,makes an excellent top. A piece of 1/4-in.mdf or hardboard tacked to the top giveyou a replaceable surface if yourehard o

the bench. Old solid-core doors are excellent. The best top is tough, flat and stiff.

deal of the guts of a great work-shop are in the bench. Here are

some tips on how to plan, build andimprove your workbench: Against the wall or out in the open?Against the wall is convenient, becauseyou can have a wall of tools right above it,or a window, but better suited for narrowor small work. A bench out in the open,though farther from tools, can handle

large pieces on top of it.Buildan assemblytable. It may seem

Locking casters make this bench mobile. It

also has a low shelf at one end that allows

the bench to double as an outfeed table for atable saw. Shelf hardware makes it eve

more adaptable.

A classic workbench for small shops is one

that folds down from the wall. This one uses

a solid-core door for a top, and 1-1/2-in. pipfor legs. The pipes screw into pipe flanges

on the door.

This bench maximizes storage. The benchs

top folds down on special hardware, and th

two side wings swing in on piano hinges toclose up and lock. Hooks hold the open door

securely to the wall.


The DREMEL Dream Workshop


6/29

A Place for Everything

Though sometimes great work can

makes great shop walls because you can

attach anything anywhere without hav-ing to worry about finding a stud. Itdoesnthave to go all the way to thefloor or ceiling. Just working height. Doors for deep storage. Useshelves for the things you get at regularly,but closed storage for the rest. The dustwontaccumulate so quickly. Buy a plastic parts cabinet. You know,the ones with a bunch of small plasti

drawers. Theyre invaluable for bringing

come out of a shop that looks like On the Dremel 400 Series

slide-out plastic trays

new XPR,

keepa storm blew through, most peo-

ple find it easier to work in a shop whereeverything is neatly stored. Here are sometips to make your shop an organizationalwonder:

all the bits perfectly organ-

ized and accessible.

Use a sample for a label. If yourestor-ing screws in an opaque container, glueone screw to the outside with hot-meltglue to tell you whatsinside.

Line your walls with wood. Strand-

hardware.Make wooden bins. An afternoon spentmaking bins out of pine and plywoodwill give you years of service. You can

make a pilematerial.

out of a small amount ofboard orplywood, thats 3/4 in. thick, order to those smallscrewsandbits of

Pegboard rocks. Mount it 1/2 in. from the

wall so the hooks have room. In this garag

shop, there are two layers, with the outsidehinged so it reveals the one inside, doublin

the storage space.

Use commercial hardware. These broom Reuse leftovers. Plastic pipe. Scrap lumber.

holders are perfect for paint brushes and

other handled tools. Magnetic knife rackare wonderful, as are fishing tackle trays an

plastic parts bins.

Coffee cans. Detergentjugs. Baby food jars.

Anything you can get a bunch of is fair game.




7/29

Make it Comfortable

Agreat workshop must be a pleas-

A bulletin board. It doesnthave to befancy,but everyone needs a place to keepan inspiring photo or two, shopping lists,and important phone number.A good ventilation fan. Itsnot the itemthat most people would want to spendtheir dough on, but its worth it. Blowthe dust out, keep it cooler, and mostimportantly, get rid of toxic fumes fromfinishes or solvents. When you use it,make sure theres a source of incoming

Tunes and TV. Gotta have em!!Good clean-up tools. Too many peopleskimp on these, to spend their hard-earned cash on more exciting tools. Butfor us non-saints, if cleaning up is hardwork, it doesnthappen as much. Safety equipment that works. We allknow its better to wear safety glasses,hearing protection and a dust mask. Buttheyre such a pain! The solution is tofind some comfortable ones. Trust us,

theyre out there. Itsmuch easy to wearsafety gear if they feel good.

ant place to be. Everyone willhave a different wants-list, but

here are a few things to consider:A comfortable chair. Whether itsa fold-ing lawn chair an old recliner, itsgood tohave a place for a visitor to feel comfort-able, or for you to admire your work.Task lighting. You should have lots oflightthe more the better. And whenworking in confined spaces or on proj-

ects requiring fine detail, use aFlexLite attachment (#FL400).

Dremel air somewhere on the other sideof theshop. Cross ventilation is best.

Task lighting is crucial. You cant do a good

job on what you cant see. This rig can be

adapted to just about any work surface. Aflood lamp on the wall or ceiling can do

wonders.

Cut the dust. Collect dust at the tool when-

ever you can. In this setup, a miter saw has

small, inexpensive shop vacuum as a dedi-cated dust collector. Both are plugged int

the same power strip.

Pamper your feet. Standing for hours on a

concrete floors is no fun. Soften the floo

with rubber tiles like these, rubber mats,piece of plywood with beveled edges, o

even a sheet of building foam.




8/29

When it comes to

portability, few tools compare to the

Dremel XPR system. The tool, all acces-

sories, and every bit and blade youll

ever need in one easy-to-carry case.

Think wheelbarrow. Many items can bemade portable by putting two non-

Make EverythingPortable

In the real world, we fight for space in

enough to hold anything, and lock in

place rigidly. Some can even be cus-tomized to hold large workbenches ortable saw/outfeed setups. Know your casters. Larger casters generally roll easier, especially if your floor iless than perfectly flat. Normal lockincasters that you can get in any home center are great for most uses. However, theonly lock the wheel, not the swivel, sthey can still wiggle. When you wan

complete rigidity, look for locking casterthat lock both parts.

our shops, no matter how big theyare. Here are some survival tips:

Get double use out of anything you can.If a stool can function as a work support,you just saved some space.Consider benchtop power tools. Thesehave come a long way, and are now morepowerful, more accurate, and more fullyfeatured than ever.

swiveling casters at one end, and twohandles at the other, so the rig acts like a wheelbarrow. When you set it down, itsvery stable.Organize your scraps. Make some bins Commercial mobile bases. Wood-

working suppliers sell super-strong to hold useable wood,whatever doesntfit.

and throw outrollingbases for $50, that are sturdy

Clamping tables are a great way to make

portable power tools handier. Mount each o

a piece of plywood, with some 2x2 cleats othe bottom. Clamp the cleats in the

Workmate.

Locking casters can be added to many tool

bases. Often, two locking casters wit

swivels, and two non-locking casters are theasiest solution. Larger wheels are always

better.

Some of my favorite portable tools are fold-

ing metal sawhorses. A piece of 2x4 screwe

to the top makes sawing safer. Here they arattached to a piece of plywood for an easy

to-store assembly table.




9/29

RegroutBathroomTile

New-looking tile in an

afternoon

Does the grout in your bathroomlook mildewy and gross? Piecesof it falling out?? In the past,renewing old grout has involved longhours of hacking away at it with a tinygrout saw. You can simplify the job bypurchasing a $20 grout removal attach-ment that attaches to a Dremel rotary

tool. It has a high-speed carbide bit thateffortlessly chews away old grout, andguides that keep you from chipping thetile edges. Make sure to wear safety glass-es while grinding (Photo 1). Youll stillneed to purchase a grout saw ($15). Use itto scrape out edges and corners and toclean out the joints.

The first step is to protect the surfaceof your tub. Use a plastic tarp or drop-

cloth, held in place with masking tape,with cardboard or thin plywood on top.



10/29

Then grind and scrape all the old groutyou can get out. Vacuum up any dust ordebris left after the grindingprocess. Takea chunk of your current grout to a home

center or tile shop to find a match. Whileyourethere, buy a latex additive to mixinto the new grout to make it moredurable. Mix the grout slightly thickerthan peanut butter and then apply it tothe tiles, using a grout float (Photo 2). Letthe grout set up for approximately 20minutes until a film develops over thetile, then clean the area as shown inPhotos 3 and 4. This is not a good time to

go on a break and get distracted, becauseif the grout dries too long, it can be diffi-cult to remove from the tiles. When usingthe float and the sponge,move at a 45-degree angleto the grout lines. Thiswill keep the tools fromremoving too much.After the grout hasdried for a week,

protect it with aacrylic grout sealer.

2 sistency, then use rubber grout float toMix new grout to peanut butter-like con-using a Dremel tool grout removal attach-ment and 1/16-in. grout removal bit. work grout into seams and clean face of tile.

3Once grout has firmed, use a sponge to

4grout haze and to buff the tile. Seal grout

Use a coarse cloth to remove remaining

smooth grout lines and remove grout

haze from face of tile. seams following manufacturers directions.



11/29

Scroll Saw

PuzzlesTurn your favorite photo

into a puzzle.

I

s there a puzzle fancier among your

family or friends? Maybe a puzzleaddict?

If so, heresa great gift project: a cus-tompuzzle made from a vacationphoto,school photo, or even a thick magazinepage. Itseasy to make, once you get theknack, and even a beginning woodwork-er will be making great puzzles in just afew hours.

You do need a scroll saw, however, tocut out the puzzle pieces. Scroll sawsused to be expensive tools for specialists,

but several models are on the marketnow that sell for under $250, and accord-ing to our tests, they work fine for cut-ting puzzles.

You can make a puzzle from almostanything thats printed on good-quality,heavy paper. Enlargements of photo-graphs work fine, but stay away frompictures printed on thin paper, likenewspaper, because they wrinkle easily

when glued.



12/29

2 squeegee. Use light 3 with a paper towel wetted with the wax.Press the picture into the glue with a Apply two coats of clear acrylic floor waxone side of a piece of thin plywood. Thiswill be the back of the puzzle.

pressure to work

out any air bubbles trapped under the paper. Apply the wax with straight, light strokes.

PUZZLES FOR ADULTS OR CHILDREN

Preschool children can assemble puzzlesconsisting of 25 larger size pieces. Fo adults, a puzzle with 250 to 400 piecesmakes for a moderately challengin

evening of entertainment. However,donttry to cut more than two piecespesquare inchits too hard to cut anhandle such tiny pieces.

You can easily cut an 11 x 14-in.photointo 300 pieces using a scroll saw with athroat depth of about 15 in. A 16 x 20-in.picture can be cut into 600pieces,but thesaw must have a throat of about 20 in.The saws throat depth is the distance

between the blade and the back of thearm that holds the blade.

Caution: Puzzle pieces that aresmaller than 2 x 2-in. are a chokinghazard to children under 3, so eithermake the pieces larger, or warn therecipients of your puzzles not to let

the pieces get in the hands of chil-dren under 3 years old.

www.dremel.com for more information.Use blades that are less than .030 in. wideand .011 in. thick, with 25 to 30 teethperinch.

Its important to adjust the blade ten-

sion correctly. If you cut some scrap ply-wood into practice puzzlepieces, you canexperiment to find the right tension.Before you start cutting, adjust the sawstable so itsexactly perpendicular to theblade.

SCROLL SAWS AND BLADES

Besides a scroll saw, youllneed at least 10thin, fine-tooth blades ($3) for everpuzzle. The blades break frequently asthey get dull or pinched, and though thenoise will startle you the first few times,after a while you get used to it. We found

that common 5-in. plain-end blades likDremels 16440 worked well. Visit

USE THE RIGHT KIND OF PLYWOOD

Your photo must be glued to a plywood backer. The best material is 1/8-in.

or 5mm plywood thats flat and smooton both sides. The core should be made

http://www.dremel.com/http://www.dremel.com/


13/29

from a soft wood like lauan, and have novoids. Unless the manufacturer specifi-cally state that the core is no-void, dontuse it. Hardboard is also unsuitable. For

our puzzles, we ordered 1/8-in. basswoodplywood through the mail.

To mount your picture to the ply-wood, youll need white glue, a smallpaint brush, a plastic squeegee (all fromthe hardware store), and a few spring-loaded binder clips that you can buy atoffice supply stores.

in.-wide, fine-bristle paint brush, apply athin, even coat of white glue to the unfin-ished side of the plywood (Photo 2).Place one end of the picture on the glue

and gradually roll the rest of it down.Then use a plastic squeegee to lightlypress the picture into the glue and remove any air bubbles and wrinkles(Photo 3). Work from the center of thepicture outward.

If the paper curls at the edges, clampthem with binder clips. The binder clipswill dent the paper, so youllhave to trimaway the damaged edges after the glue

has dried overnight.After the glue is dry, apply two coats of

an acrylic, non-yellowing floor wax andlet it dry overnight. The wax protects thephoto during cutting and afterwards dur-ing use.

PREPARING THE PLYWOOD

Measure the length and width of your

4 scroll saw, making a picture. Cut the plywood backer 1 in.Cut the picture into large pieces on theseries of random wider and 1 in. longer than the picture;youlltrim away this excessplywood later.Sand both sides smooth with 180-gritsandpaper. Choose the better side as theback of the puzzle and seal it with your

ballsand socketsas you cut.

favorite wood finish. We chosespray lacquer (Photo 1).

a clear PLAN YOUR CUTTING PATTERNThere are two different ways to cut youpuzzle: random cutting (Fig. A) an

strip cutting (Fig. B). When strip cutting, you first cut the picture into strips,and then cut each strip crosswise to geindividual pieces. Strip cutting results ia simple grid-like pattern of pieces, witalmost all pieces being four-sided ansquare. This is fine for childrenspuzzles,but not much fun for adults.

Random cutting is done without a sepattern. Instead, you develop the patter

as the puzzle is cut out, and each puzzlpiece ends up with a unique shape.

MOUNTING THE PICTUREBefore you mount your chosen picture,practice first withpaper thats aboutyour picture. Save

scrap plywood andthe same weightyour test pieces

asto

practice cutting pieces out later.Wipe the unfinished (front) side of the

plywood and the back of the picture witha clean rag to remove the dust. For pic-tures other than photographs, lightly wet

5Cut the puzzle pieces by eye, with one

the back of the paper with a dampsponge to reduce wrinkling. Using a 2-

ball-and-socket joint on each side of a

piece. Make a small practice puzzle first.



14/29

Random cutting is slower, but more funto do, and it makes puzzles that are morechallenging to assemble. Try both ways.

With either method, you should first

determine the average size of the puzzlepieces by dividing the area of your pic-ture by the number of puzzle pieces youwant. Dontcut more than twopiecespersquare inch.

Good puzzles have pieces that locktogether with little ball-and-socketjoints (Fig. A). As you cut yourpuzzle, tryto have at least one ball or socket on eachside of every piece. A puzzle piece with

four sides, for instance, should have atleast four balls or sockets.

CUT OUT THE PUZZLEItseasy to describe how to cut out youpuzzle, but it does take practice. Use thetest picture you mounted earlier, andper-haps some scrapplywood, for practice.

Make all your scroll saw cuts withthe picture side facing up. Start by cut-

ting away the excess plywood and pic-ture borders, and any edges damageby the binder clips. If youve chosestrip cutting, follow the steps shown inFig. B.

If you decide to random-cut youpuzzle, start by cutting the picture intofour smaller sections (Photo 4), makingplenty of balls and sockets as you cut.Knowing the average size of the final

pieces will help you gauge the numbeand placement of these joints. Then,

FIGURE A Random Cutting

Begin by cutting the plywood into fou

pieces. Then cut each piece into smalle

ones, by eye, so there is a ball-and-socke

joint on each side. This method takes prac-

tice, but produces a challenging puzzle.

FIGURE B Strip Cutting

With this method, cut the plywood into

strips, making a ball-and-socket joint at reg-

ular intervals. Then cut each strip into

pieces, making a joint on each piece. This

method is easier, but so is the puzzle.

working with one section at a time, cutoff each puzzle piece to its final size(Photo 5), just cutting balls and socketsfreehand. As you cut off the pieces,reassemble them on a piece of card-board or plywood so you wontmisplacea piece.

If you break a blade, replace the bladeand start cutting from another edge

until you meet the point where thebladebroke.

Once the entire puzzle is cut, place apiece of cardboard or plywood on top ofthe puzzle and flip the puzzle over.Inspect thepuzzleback for any rough sawcuts, and sand them smooth.

Put the pieces in a good box, and thepuzzle is ready to gift wrap.



15/29

&ScrollSawHints Tips


Stay-in-place scroll saw patternsHeresa great way to speed up scroll sawing jobs. Apply all-purpose sprayadhesive in a light, uniform layer on the back of the pattern, thenpick it upand immediately apply it to the wood youll be sawing.The pattern remains

adhered as you sawbut easily peels off when youre done.

Iron On a PhotocopyIf you normally use spray adhesiveto attach patterns to the wood for

scroll sawing, consider this alterna-

tive. With an iron set on high and

nosteam, transfer a photocopiedpattern right onto the wood.


16/29

oll

a

ask-and

plywood. Attach the hold-


Sanding with the Scroll SawHeresan ingenious way to sand intricate scroll saw

work. Take a strip of emery cloth (a gray sanding clothusedby plumbers and machinists),1/16 to 1/2 in.wide,and clamp it in your scroll saw just as youwoulda blade.You may have to fiddle a bit to get thelength of the stripjust right,but once you do, it workslike greased lightning.

Blade CaddyHeresa handy tote for Scr

Saw blades fashioned fromscrap of 2x6, a piece of

plywood, and two peg-board multiple-tool hold-

ers. Cut the curved tips offthe multiple-tool holderswith a hacksaw so theywould sit flat against the

ers to the caddy with

cable staples.Thesesmall plastic tubes are

perfect for holding ScrollSaw blades. Wrap some ming tape around each tubewrite the blade size on it.

Scrollwork Finishing BathFor all you scroll sawers out there, heresa slick finishingtip. You know how tough it can be to brush or spray finish

into all those tiny sawed-out areas? Well, give your handi-work a bath instead!The finish will get into all those littleareas and seal the wood nicely. Wipe off drips and excessfinish with a clean shop cloth and set your project asideto dry. Then, brush or spray the final coats on the faces

and sides only. Trying to build up the finish on the insideareas is unnecessary.


17/29

CrownMoldingSimplified

Tips and techniques forelegant results

Few things can transform the look ofa room as quickly as crown mold-ing; and few tools can transformcrown molding as quickly as a Dremeltool. You can use the Dremel tool to cut,sand and fine tune. Here are a few tips for

perfect results:

COPINGTHE SECRET TO GREAT-LOOKING INSIDE CORNERS

You might think the best way to instalcrown molding on an inside corner is tomiter both pieces at a 45 degree angle anbutt them to one another. The probleis, most inside corners arent square ostraight, making it almost impossible to

get a clean looking joint that way.The secret to tight inside corners is to



18/29

attachment and drum sanding accessorywill allow you to work faster and moreaccurately.

run one square-end piece all the way intothe corner, then cope the end of the piecethat butts into it. This allows you to fine-tune both the angle of the piece on the

wall as well as the end of thepiecebuttinginto it.Beginby creating a simple jig that will

hold the crown molding on your mitersaw table at the same angle it will sit against the wall. When you cut yourmolding, cut it upside down. Cut a 45degree angle, then use the profile on theface of the molding as a guideline forcoping.

You can use a coping saw, file andsandpaper to create the profile, but a

ScrapPieceFence

Bloc

Table

1the saw at the same angle it will rest 2 With the molding positioned upsideHold a scrap of molding upside down in down, cut a 45-degree angle on one endDremel tool with the XPR MultiSawagainst the wall. Clamp a block of wood to

the table to hold it at the correct angle.

of the piece. Hold the piece securely

keep fingers well away from the blade.

and

3ment and fine tooth blade to cut along the

4Use a sanding drum to fine-tune

Dremel XPR

MultiSaw attachment

Use your Dremel XPR MultiSaw attach- your

cut. Test the piece in place, fine-tune theedge left by the miter cut. Hold the saw at an

angle to undercut the wood at the back side.profile using smaller bits or a wood file , then

mark the other end and cut it to length.



19/29

My Weekend

With an XPRA tool so busy it needs a

Palm Pilot

M

y wife is a queen of multitask-

ing, running her business,being there for our not-quite

adult kids, and managing our busyhousehold. But if shesthe queen of mul-titasking, our Dremel XPR is the king. Itseems like every weekend Im using it forhome improvement, woodworking andfurniture repairs. This one little tool cangrind, cut, clean, sharpen, smooth,engrave and more.

Im a weekend warrior, and havebeen for about a thousand weekends. And

since our latest house is over 150 yearsold, theresno end in sight. In our house,there isnt a floor, wall or ceiling thatslevel,plumb or straight. That means lotsof fine-tuning when it comes to installingnew stuff or fixing the old. Hereshow aweekend of home improvement went forme recently, and some of the jobs I didwith with this new Dremel XPR.



20/29

Friday, 8:24PM Saturday, 9:08AM

PLANE DOORS ANDINSTALL CABINET

No matter how many shelves we install o

how much stuff we get rid of, we nevehave enough storage space; especially ithe bathroom. Installing a simple cabineand laminate top seemed to be the per-fect solution; we could store suppliebelow and fold clothes above.

The double doors on the cabinet wwere installing rubbed one another wheclosed. (Okay, okay, doors on a new cabinet should align,but the price at the cab

inet outlet store was just so irresistible!The solution? Break out the XPR Planer

door where they meet. Back-beveling angling the planer in order to remove alittle more wood off the back than front

of the door edgecreated a smaller-looking gap while still allowing the doorsto swing freely.

Few (if any!) walls in our old houseare straight or plumb, so to get a tight fitwhen installing a cabinet, scribing anedge to fit the contour of the wall wasnecessary. I butted the cabinet to the wall,used a compass to transfer the angle tothe scribe strip on the edge of the cabinet,

StrikePlate

then used the XPR Planerwood right up to the line.

Ahh, perfect fit.

to remove

and shave a little off the edge of eachFIX AN OUT-OF-ALIGNMENTDOOR STRIKE

When doors dont latch, chances are thetongue or throw of the doorknob odeadbolt doesnt align with the strike

BackBevel

plate; another common old housement. My first step was to tighten

screws holding the hinges to both

ail-the

thedoor and door jamb. Two holes werestripped, so I replaced the screws withlonger ones that could bite into the 2x4framework beyond he jamb.

That helped, but didnt completelyremedy the problem, so I enlarged theopening in the strike plate so the tonguewould fit. I used a small grinding stone toenlarge the lower edge of the opening in the

strike plate,tested, then repeated as needed.One down, six more tasks left to go.

After butting the cabinet against the wall Remove an equal amount of wood from the

edges of both doors until the gap betwee

the two is even. Apply a clear finish to thplaned edges for protection.

and scribing the angle along the edge, use

the XPR Planer to remove wood until the

cabinet fits tightly.



21/29

trick, I apply penetrating oil to thethreads, wait a while, and try again.

a-thes-

ych

ladet-allven

able

or

c

en-

lsmotb-i

e

Saturday, 10:32AM Saturday, 1:27PM

With an old house theresone guarantee:Everybolt in the joint will either be rust-ed or rounded over. When I encounter

hard-to-remove bolts, I use this trick: Iuse my Dremel with a fiberglass-rein-forced cutting wheel to cut a slot into thehead of the stubborn bolt. Then I use thebiggestfind to

straight-slot screwdriver I canloosen it. If that doesnt do the

Root-cuttingNotch

Cuttin Wheel

SHARPEN LAWN TOOLSSharp tools work faster and produce bet-ter results. Ive finally learned that a feminutes spent sharpening now will savetime and frustration down the road.

stone made the job a snap. For inftion on removing and balancingblade, visit www.dremel.com/projedisplay/Display.asp?ID=151.

And since I really digsharp

ing, I tuned up a few other towhile I was at it. I customizedshovel by cutting a root-cuttinginto the tip, then sharpening thefor easier working. My knowneighbor tells me now it will beeasier for me to cut through his c television line for the third time.

My know-it-all neighbor tells me

sharp mower blade is critical for

a

ahealthy, attractive lawn. Dull blades shredgrass, leaving it more susceptible to dis-ease and in need of more nutrients andwater to repair the damage. He sayssharpening a blade three times a year isusually enough to maintain a good cut-ting edge; unless you mow lots of rocks!Balancing a blade, so itsof equal weighton each side, is also critical. The Dremel

Lawn Mower Sharpener (model 675)along with an aluminum oxide grinding

Saturday, 3:37 PM

I know this was supposed to be a wholeweekend of home improvement, but a

guys gotta have a little time to relax. Sothis evening, Imputting my XPR away towatch a movie with the family.

http://www.dremel.com/projehttp://www.dremel.com/projehttp://www.dremel.com/proje


22/29

Sunday, 1:19PM

KEEP PLUGGING AWAY ON THEFAMILY ROOM

The thought of finishing the family roo

(before the kids head off to college anwe still have a family) seems like a logicagoal. So I love tips and tools that makthe job go faster.

The task at hand this weekend wahanging drywall and installing paneling.Again the Dremel XPR was a real timsaver.

In the past when Ive installed drywall, the most time consuming part

and the part where I was most likely to

the electrical boxes. Id measure andmark the location of each box, cut theopening with a keyhole saw, then install

the drywall and hope the opening was theright size and in the right place. But Ivelearned an easier way is to simply markthe approximate center of the box withan X, then use a Dremel tool to do thejob. I install the cutting guide shroud(model 565) and drywall cutting bit andplunge it into the center of the X. I movethe tool until the bit touches the insideedge of the box, then hop over to the out-

side and trace the edge of the box in acounterclockwise motion. I get a perfectcutout each time.

For cutting the electricalbox openingsin the paneling, I simply trace the outlineof the electrical box onto the panel, thenuse a multi-purpose bit to cut out theopening freehand. For larger taskslikecutting out heat register openings or

make a mistakewascutting holes for

Mark out the location of the box, then use

the cutting guide and multipurpose bit to

saw out the opening.

cutting the paneling and is much moremaneuverable than my big jigsaw. Itsvery good for complex shapes, like the

edge I had to cut where the panelingmeets the stone around the fireplace.

curvesI install the

attachment (left)

MultiSaw

and cutXPR hasaway. The

plenty of power for

Sunday, 6:37 PM

OK, thats it. Im done for this weekend.Ive still got the trim to put up, but Ivegotta leave something for next week!

Start in the center, find the inside edge with

the bit, hop 1/8-in. over to the outside of the

box and trace around it counterclockwise.



23/29

3FurnitureFixes

aSlipSeatChair

Veneer


Fi1xa Wobbly

2Replace

R3eupholster


24/29

Fix a Wobbly

ChairAwobbly chair means one thing:Joints between the legs and therungs have broken free. Not just Mortiseoneseveral. The only fix is to complete-ly disassemble the chair and reglue it.

Youllsave time and avoid frustrationif you label everypart to make it easier toput them back together). Use masking

tape and a simple numbering and letter-ing pattern on the rungs, with all num-bers and letters facing forward. Left andright are as you face the front of the chair.

A deadblow hammer ($14; Photo 1) isa must for easy chair disassembly. Somejoints easily fly apart. Others refuse to letloose. Always start lightly and increase theforce as needed. Youll clearly see, and feel,the joint move when the gluebond breaks.

Many legs have nails or screws hold-ing them to the seat. Not all are obvious;look for small screw or nail holes filled tomatch the chair finish. Youre likely tobreak the rung if you miss a well-hiddenfastener. You may have to dig them out.

New glue wontbond with old glue, sosand down to bare wood in the joints.The key to reassembly is to work quickly,because the glue begins to set in a few

1Hold chair upside down. Strike the seat 2 drum sander and Dremel tool. Dont over-Remove dried glue from mortise using afirmly with a dead-blow hammer. Workaround the chair, slowly loosening each joint. enlarge the mortise or the joint will be loose.

3glue to both the ends of the rungs and

4Clamp legs, rungs and seat all at once.

Apply a light coat of yellow carpenters

minutes. When youre finished, your

chair willbe as solid as it was when new.Draw joints tight and wipe off glue with a

the mortises (holes). Reassemble quickly. damp cloth. Check alignment on a flat surface.



25/29

Replace

VeneerChipped or missing pieces ofveneer can be replacedit justrequires patience and careful fit-ting. You can use your Dremel for prepwork (Photo 1), cutting the replacementpiece (Photo 3), or shaping the veneeronce itsin place (Photo 4).

The contact glue applied to the veneer

and furniture surfaces makes pieceshard

1Cut a straight-lined edge on the chipped 2get a good color match. Sand the back ofto reposition oncework carefully. contact is made, soTest stains on a scrap piece of veneer to

veneer using a utility knife or Dremel tool.

Cut parallel to wood grain to hide the seam. the veneer if you need to adjust the thickness.

3template. Make the template from a paper

5putty stick. Varnish the patch beforehand

Cut a replica of the damaged area from a Hide the seam with a furniture touch-up

contact cement to both surfaces, allow todry, then install and press patch firmly in place.rubbing of the chip-out using the side of a pencil. since finish wont adhere to the oily putty.



26/29

Reupholster

aSlip SeatChairs with removable seats canusually be reupholstered with theold fabric in place. If the screwssecuring the seat to the chair frame arestripped or stuck, cut through themusing a Dremel tool and cutting wheel. Ifthe old material is shot, remove it, cut apiece of 1-in. foam the exact shape of the

seat bottom, then apply it along with thenew batting and upholstery as shown. Besure to mark center lines on both chairbottom and fabric, and line up the marks.

1Cut new batting, 2 in. oversized on all 2 around the chair bottom and fastening itSecure the batting by pulling it tightsides, using the seat bottom as a pattern.Most large fabric stores carry batting. with 1/2-in. staples. Trim the excess.

3fabric, then match them so fabric pat-

5staples. Trim excess fabric with sharp

Mark center lines on chair bottom and Fold fabric at corners, then secure with

back edge next, the two sides last. Startstapling at center and work towards corners.tern runs straight from front to back. scissors after all corners are complete.



27/29

5 For the

ShopGotta-have-em

woodworking accessories

Our old house doesnthave roomfor a big workshop with a lot oflarge stationary tools, but thatdoesn

t mean I can

t tackle my favoritepastime: woodworking. Ivefound lots of

ways to optimize space in a small area(see page 7 for some examples), and if I pick the right project and tools I can cut,carve, sand and create to my heartscon-tent.

The most critical accessory to have inwoodworking is good old common sense.Wear safety goggles, dust mask and hear-

ing protection, and always keep yourhands and body away from spinning bits.Keep blade guardslike those shown onthese two pagesinplace. Here are a fewother great Dremel tool woodworkingaccessories.

Router TableRouters are a fun, versa-tile tool; they can take aho hum project and turn

it into something withflair. They can createdecorative edges and

add grooves and other profiles to

PlungeRouter BaseThis handy little

gizmo allows you toturn your rotary tool

into a plunge router;

super handy for carving signs or


1picture frames, signs and toys.Using the Dremel tool in ashaper/router table (#231) allows forgood visibility while working. Itsalso the most accurate way to add

decorative edges to narrow pieces

where a hand-held router wouldbedifficult to hold level.

2cutting grooves.The clear base pro-vides good sight lines, while a spe-cial edge guide helps you cut deco-rative grooves parallel to the

edges. Guides for cutting circular

patterns are also available.


28/29

space, it can be a real lifesaver.

unt of

touch

ut not

haper entertain

ggres- doll hou

and sim

their accessor

ooped straightes. The clea

safe whil

lines.

Right-AngleDrillAttachmentThis is one of those

attachments you may

not use very often, butwhen you do need it, you REALLY

need it. It excels at working in hard-

ShaperWheelsWhen the amo

wood you need

Circular SawAttachmentWhile you cantren-

ovate your houseremove is too m with this circular sawfor sanding, b

enough for cutting, grab a saccessory, you can

the idea of remodeling a

se with it! Small, accurate


3wheel; they remove wood asively, yet accurately.Theyreunmatched when it comes toability to carve curved or scshapes, or work in tight spac

4to-reach places like in between stairor chair spindles. And if you need todrill a small hole in an awkward

5ple to use, itsthe idealy when it comes to cuttinglines through thin material.

rblade guard keeps fingerse providing good sight


29/29

Dremel Saves the DayMy kingdom for a brad point drill bit!!

The bookshelf was late. It

point and spurs on the outside edges,

makes a clean hole. At this time o

night, though, where would I fin

one?

My Dremel rotary tool saved th

day. I took an ordinary twist bit an

carefully ground the edges with a con

ical grinding bit so each edge rose to

point. Voil, a brad point bit! It drille

cleanly, and I got the job done! Thank

to my Dremel tool.

JeanBartholome

was Sunday. I was sup-

posed to be done with it

the week before, but one littleproblem

after another slowed it down, and now

was facing a roadblock. I only needed t

drill some holes for shelf pins in th

sides of thebookcase. But wouldntyo

know it, I couldntfind my 1/4-in.brad

point bit.

Now I dont know if youve eve

tried to drill a hole in hardwood ply

wood, where the face veneers are onl

about three atoms thick. An ordinar

twist bit will tear the veneer to shreds.

But a brad-point bit, with its sharp

P.S. Now I keep a Dremel brad point bit

set (#631) close at hand. I reach for this

quartet of small bits whenever I need a

crisp, clean hole.

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