Tools of the trade

[gregj410]

What’s everyone drilling small holes with? Meaning anything from 1/16” and smaller. I’ve been using a small Bosch hand drill. My shop drill press is to big and I’m not ready to drop the dough on a hobbyists drill press.

[RBH29]

Hey Greg, Check out the Wowstick mini cordless drill at Amazon. It's a low speed, high torque pen type drill and comes with 8 various sized drill bits. At $57 I don't think it's cheap but may fit your needs. I don't have any experience with them so can't comment on their performance. I saw it on a Youtube video; 8 Products Games Workshop Doesn't Want You To Know About. It's the first product the guy presents.

[Norton]

Most of the time I use my cordless drill with a pin vise but also have a mini drill press I picked up at a flea market for 5 bucks. Also have a drill press thats made for a Dremel. Not as handy as the drill press attachment for the old Dremels as those moved the table up rather than the drill down. Better for precision work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204331014691?h ... R47giaKDYg

This is the attachment for the old Dremels but don’t fit the new tools made for the last twenty five years.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145054397903?_ ... %3A2047675

Pete

[healey36]

I'm still using a pin-vise for very small holes, but a mini drill press would be very handy for a bit more control/accuracy. My biggest problem is finding quality bits that don't break the first time I use them. I'm routinely drilling pewter, resin, styrene, and epoxy (the worst).

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Depends.....it's situational.

Just a few holes #60 or smaller, then a pin vise. Have 6-7 of them about and don't use 1/2 that I have.

Lot of holes #60 or smaller, or a bit bigger:



But I also have a small Ryobi hand drill that I will use for larger stuff

And then I have a cordless Dremel that I keep a drill collet in for lots of holes to drill situations that the little variable drill press doesn't work for due to the size of work.

[gregj410]

Lots of good options here. I might have to check out that Wowstick. I have a pin vise but using that thing is like pure torture. I don’t know how often I need the dead plumb accuracy of a press, followed by having a place to keep it at the ready. My modeling area is becoming a micro version of my wood shop. Who knows, maybe I end up with both in the end.

[DaveJfr0]

Thanks for sharing on that wowstick. I was wondering when someone would make something like that. It's a shame you're stuck using their proprietary bits though, so that's a no go for me.

I'm a pinvise guy for anything less than #60. Have several and leave them with the most common bits I use. Would be nice to have the accuracy of a mini drill press someday, but I don't find myself drilling too many holes these days.

[jlong]

I have a VS speed Dremel (along with their funky press stand) connected to their foot treadle that I bought around 1981. Not sure I can live without the foot treadle. For me, it makes or breaks the deal.

[bluelinec4]

Purchased a Wowstick after reading about it here Wow!! I like it

[RBH29]

Does the Wowstick require using proprietary drill bits or will any brand work?

[Big Jim]

Mostly, I use a pin vise, but, I do use a conventional Dremel Tool with an old power control that lets me turn down the revs to a point where it doesn't melt the plastic when drilling. I found variable speed tools worthless in this as their slowest speed is still too fast. I did find one exception in a tool that I bought at ACE Hardware. I got very lucky with this variable speed tool in that it will slow down to almost nothing!

The problem that I see with the Wowstick is that it only appears to be able to use drill bits with a certain shank size and not any drill bit in your tool collection on down to a #80.

[webenda]

Thanks for sharing on that wowstick. It's a shame you're stuck using their proprietary bits though, so that's a no go for me.

Does the Wowstick require using proprietary drill bits or will any brand work?

No, the Wowstick does not use proprietary drill bits. It uses the very common 2.35 mm bits (any brand as long as it has a 2.35 mm shank.)

[webenda]

There is a nice storage case available for your Wowstick.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/im ... hand-drill

[RBH29]

Thanks, Wayne, for your very thorough and informational post. Those dental polishing bits show promise along with the assortment of drill bits.

[Big Jim]

Thanks for sharing on that wowstick. It's a shame you're stuck using their proprietary bits though, so that's a no go for me.

Does the Wowstick require using proprietary drill bits or will any brand work?

No, the Wowstick does not use proprietary drill bits. It uses the very common 2.35 mm bits (any brand as long as it has a 2.35 shank.

Ah! And there is the rub! So, I would say that they are proprietary indeed.