A Drill for General Model Work Recommendation

[Miatatom]

 I bought a chuck that would fit into an electric screwdriver some time back hoping that would provide a better method drilling. It worked OK but didn't run fast enough. I had been to Harbor Freight recently and bought a 18 volt drill. 

https://www.harborfreight.com/18-Volt-38-in-Cordless-DrillDriver-With-Keyless-Chuck-21-Clutch-Settings-69651.html

What I really like about this drill is the nice progressive feel of the drill. A little pressure and it rotated slowly. A little more pressure and it speeds up without a huge jump in RPMs. Very controllable. No affiliation or financial interest. I bought the drill/light combo but the drill alone is on sale with a Harbor Freight coupon for $16.99. The light works pretty good too.

[vintagercr]

Tom, I bought a woodcarvers drill from Harbour Freight a few years ago.   I love it because it has the powerhead and a flexible shaft with foot pedal to control the speed.

[Bullitt]

I purchased this from Amazon.com, works great. 

Tamiya 74041 Electric Handy Drill

[Jantrix]

What are you doing that requires a power drill for styrene? I've never needed more than a pin vice.

[crazyjim]

I like the Dremel battery drills.

[misterNNL]

I have and love the Dremel stylus drill.It has variable speeds,is cordless and fits my hand very well.It also uses all the various dremel  accessories that I need for grinding and rough finish work.Righly recommended tool.

[crazyjim]

Agreed on the Stylus.  Why did Dremel stop making it?

[High octane]

What are you doing that requires a power drill for styrene? I've never needed more than a pin vice.

Ditto!

[Modeltruckbuilder]

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Edited December 26, 2017 by Modeltruckbuilder

[crazyjim]

I use my little 4.8v Dremel for drilling the heads for spark plug wires & distributor, throttle linkage & fuel lines, and other little holes.  I use a #70 drill bit.

[BigTallDad]

I have to chuckle at the comments about not needing a power drill. I suspect that those folks will, on occasion, use a Dremel. 

I posted a tutorial (A handy accessory) on using a power drill as a lathe, tire-treatment too, etc. and without that drill cradle, a lot of accuracy (and time) would be lost. Unfortunately, Photobucket is applying their extortion to me (as well as everybody else) and the pictures don't show.

Keep on truckin' Miatatom!

Edited July 13, 2017 by BigTallDad

[Jantrix]

I have to chuckle at the comments about not needing a power drill. I suspect that those folks will, on occasion, use a Dremel. 

I posted a tutorial (A handy accessory) on using a power drill as a lathe, tire-treatment too, etc. and without that drill cradle, a lot of accuracy (and time) would be lost. Unfortunately, Photobucket is applying their extortion to me (as well as everybody else) and the pictures don't show.

Keep on truckin' Miatatom!

I use a Dremel minimally for grinding or cutting, not for drilling a tiny hole. 

[BigTallDad]

I use a Dremel minimally for grinding or cutting, not for drilling a tiny hole. 

Perhaps the OP has arthritis or (hopefully not) missing fingers.

[SSNJim]

Dremel, and no doubt other manufacturers, have 3 jaw chucks available that will fit the Dremels and similar tools. The one I have didn't work on my Stylus, but it does on my bigger corded and cordless tools. Dremel says theirs will do 1/32" to 1/8" shanks, but it seems to me mine goes a little larger. I do use my Dremels for things other than plastic, too. 

https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/accessories/4486-dremel-chuck

[Muncie]

I've always used a pin vise and will continue to use one to get the drill started in the right place - but many times I wished I had a mini power drill to save my finger tips - My dremel is too big  for fine work. -  I'm going to have to check these out. - thanks for the tips

[BubbaBrown]

Love my  Tamiya and I recomend  it .

[Miatatom]

I have to chuckle at the comments about not needing a power drill. I suspect that those folks will, on occasion, use a Dremel. 

Keep on truckin' Miatatom!

Perhaps the OP has arthritis or (hopefully not) missing fingers.

No, BTD, I've still got all 10 of them but at 73, dexterity and just generally shaky hands make it hard to use pin vices. I've found that the drill from Harbor Freight is a relatively light, easy to use piece. And, as I originally stated, the feel on the trigger is really nice and graduated. Makes pinning tiny pieces really easy. That was the big reason but scuffing slicks and race tires is also easy to do in a chuck I made to hold tires. 

[retired & glad]

I have a dremel but at Harbor Freight the other day I bought a mini drill, like a dremel, for $6.99. It is walwart powered and it came with a bunch of bits, sanding , polishing and lots of small grinding bits. I usually use a finger drill but thought for $6.99 I can't afford not to get it. It does work good but will probably just use it for the grinding part. I usually build stock box so the drilling parts don't get used much. It also had 3 or 4 collets for the different sizes needed.

Richard

[misterNNL]

 

Same here!

In answer your question about why I would  ever need to use anything other than a pin vise drill for a styrene plastic model project......one I just finished this year is a scratch built 1/25 th scale 1940's travel trailer. That required me to drill 850 Individual holes in the outside shell to add detail. The other project I gave my drill was a scratch built gas station diorama from last year that I drilled 1,100 holes into for exterior fuel tank detail.

 

[1930fordpickup]

In answer your question about why I would  ever need to use anything other than a pin vise drill for a styrene plastic model project......one I just finished this year is a scratch built 1/25 th scale 1940's travel trailer. That required me to drill 850 Individual holes in the outside shell to add detail. The other project I gave my drill was a scratch built gas station diorama from last year that I drilled 1,100 holes into for exterior fuel tank detail.

 

They both look incredible everyone. 

[Pete J.]

Why something other than a pin vise?  Because sometimes you just need something a little more precise! 

[peteski]

Ah, a Sheline mill with some cool accessories!  Are those chuck jaws custom-made? I don't recall seeing them in their catalog.

[Pete J.]

Peter, no, they are the "replaceable" jaws.  You can get them in Delrin(which these are), nylon, aluminum, soft steel and  brass.  Here is the page. http://sherline.com/product/chuck-top-jaws/ I contacted Sherline after I bought a set and got the dimensions for the soft parts and now make my own to suit my job.  Quite handy!

[peteski]

Thanks Pete!  I never ran into these on Sherline's website (but I don't visit there often since I have most of the accessories I need already). But I should go there more often because they always add more useful and innovative accessories.

[Pete J.]

Thanks Pete!  I never ran into these on Sherline's website (but I don't visit there often since I have most of the accessories I need already). But I should go there more often because they always add more useful and innovative accessories.

 Are you a member of the blog or newsletter?  Great stuff talked about there. You can never have all the accessories you need.  They always come up with a widget or gadget that I just can't seem to live without.  My other problem is that I am within 20 minutes of their factory and museum and I can drop in for advise, which is free but always seems to cost me a couple of hundred!