…or jewelers who woodwork:
You will have my deepest admiration if you can tell me a way to jury-rig my router into a flexible-shaft tool like the ones used by jewelers and dentists. The best-known brand is Foredom (www.blackstoneind.com/ordermaxx/contentpage.asp).
Never having seen a Foredom close up, I don’t know if the non-business end of a flexible shaft is like the round shaft of a router bit, or how it connects to the motor.
Janet
Replies
Why not just buy a Dremel and their flexible shaft, you are going to have to buy the shaft anyway. Dremel motors are relatively inexpensive, especially when bought as a kit with the flex shaft included. Unless they have switched manufacturers, Sear's tools are Dremels with the Craftsman name label put on them.
Foredoms are very expensive, ten times the Dremel cost, they are industrial weight tools, but a big part of the expense is in the shaft and the handpiece.
The main problem you will have in attaching a flex shaft to a router will be finding some way to make the router collet grab onto the 1/8 inch or so diameter of the flex shaft core. The outer sheath of the shaft will also need to be attached to the router's base plate but that should be relatively easy to accomplish with an add on wood disc screwed to the base. A router may reach higher speeds than a Dremel which could cause problems.
John W.
Quote: A router may reach higher speeds than a Dremel which could cause problems.
Most routers go up to about 25,000 rpm
My Dremel claims to go up to 35,000 rpm (but I haven't counted)
I agree with the recommendation to use the Dremel solution, especially for the small bits. ________________________Charlie Plesums Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood
I agree with John. Just buy the thing from Dremel or look at the ones carried by Gesswein and Rio Grande. Foredom isn't the only one or even the best. If you see some of the others the Dremel looks like a bargain. At best you will have a cobbled up thing that won't work as good as the proper tool.
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/indflex_shaft.html
Flexible shafts are rated to go with specific hp and rpm motors.
http://tinyurl.com/5kjmg
That tiny url thing is great
Hmmm..
Never thought of that. Most flex shafts are less than 1/2 HP. If even possible I don't think I would trust the shaft to hold much more than that. You also need to have the foot control. Not nessasary but with a 2hp router whipping that shaft around I'd want to be able to stop it NOW. I also don't know how well a router would hold up with a rheostat control, may be bad for it. Variable speed is the key to Foredoms and this, I'm afraid, may indeed ruin a good router in short order, at least I wouldn't risk it.
To your question specifically, the end it a small half tube of metal that fits in a pin on the motor held on by a screwed housing. The size is maybe 3/16". I imagine it could be done but if you really shop around you can get a fine kit for less than $200 which would have a good motor, flexshaft, foot control, hand piece and some accesories. Mine last me years!
Here's links to the model I have:
http://www.thunderbirdsupply.com/proddetail.asp?id=714422
or
http://www.ottofrei.com/store/customer/home.php?cat=1009
HTH
W
I use a Dremel Model 219-2 Solid State Motor Control with my flex shaft Dremel. It's adjustable from about 3000 to 25K rpm and is precise enough for jewelry and strong enough to shape ports in 2-stroke engines. Also, it's fairly quiet. My Dremel tool is a Model 275, which is not one of the 7 or 8 listed on the bottom of the controller, but it works fine anyhow. The flex shaft is a model 225 T1. I tried the controller on a single speed Dremel (model # worn off) I've had for >50 yrs, and it adjusted the speed from about 100 rpm to full speed but there was no usable torque at the lower speeds.
I abandoned the router idea after several people warned me that it was dangerous. I decided not to put my fingers at risk, since I use them just about every day.
Then a cyber friend offered me her old Dremel! "The motor works great, but it needs a little adjustment to get the shaft to engage with the motor...I think that it is just a fiddle project. I used it
very happily for many years when I was starting out." Now she is a real jeweler (http://www.artjeweler.com/pages/jewelry.html), and I can only hope that a little of her talent rubbed off on the Dremel she is giving me.
Thank you for your advice--these cyber friendships are invaluable!
Janet
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