Dremel tools

[P.B.Walsh]

I notice that a buch of people on here have used a dremel tool. Can anyone tell me which one would be better for wood. I am planning on making my own wood stock sometime and thought that this would be a bit easier then files, saws, and sandpaper by hand.

I went to www.dremel.com to see what they even looked like and how to use one. Dosen't seem too bad, looks kinda easy really.

But can I please get some opinions on which one would be better for stock making, I am favoring the Stylus:

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=1100

And if anyone has any experience with one or this particular model, please let me hear some feedback.

Thanks,
P.B.Walsh

 

[G27RR]

Personally, I would go with the most powerful corded model and then get the flexible drive shaft attachment. I used to use one of those for building model airplanes.

I will say the Dremels aren't heavy duty tools, so if you're working with hardwood you'll need to use light pressure and take your time.

Ideally, you would rough cut with a bandsaw or coping saw and get close to your desired shape before switching over to a random orbit sander and possibly a dremel for detail work. For final work, hand sanding may be your best bet.

I would also suggest looking into spokeshaves if you're not afraid of old fashioned hand tools. They can remove wood fairly quickly and leave a much smoother finish than a file or rasp. I highly recommend the ones sold by Lee Valley under the Veritas brand name. They have models specifically for flat, inside, and outside curves.

Good luck with your project. I love woodworking (mostly furniture) and I've been contemplating making a stock for fun one day.

One other suggestion - you could try a mockup using poplar first. it's cheap and easy to shape and that would give you some practice before spending $$$ on nice hardwood.

 

[Maverick223]

Listen to G27RR, use the bandsaw (or if you absolutely have to, a scroll saw or jigsaw) to rough it out, a spoke shave to refine the shape, and complete the contours with sanding tools. I also second the notion of using inexpensive mock-up lumber for a practice run, before investing in a costly hunk of well figured walnut.

 

[WNTFW]

P. B.,
If you want to try some shaping you can start with styrofoam. I have mocked up some parts from styrofoam. It is very easy to cut so when the piece is a waste of time the time was minimal. I cuts and sands quickly. Mess is incredible though.

On a smiliar note I thought of making stock from thin stock that would be laminted after being cut to size. The pieces would have to be shaped in the end to form a non-frankenstein look.

Another approach would be fiberglass.

With all the expense and effort the McMillan stocks look pretty attractive. Learning curves can be steep.

Dremel tools are kind of smaller project oriented. If you have access to a bandsaw use it. Buy a blade and learn to tune-up a bandsaw if you need to. It will be worth the effort. Figure out some jigging & fixturing. Keep safety your first priority. More wood is cheaper than more fingers.

 

[loadedround]

I have put in many hours using a Dremel Tool for many firearm and other projects and as the others have said, the Dremel is not a tool to do rough out work, but a tool for use in light to moderate work. It is a precision tool for specific purposed and not for roughing out a stock tool. Get a Brownell's catalog and check out stock making tools.

 

[earlthegoat2]

roughing in barrel channels can be expedited by a router

just use it judiciously.

 

[LaserSpot]

I think a belt sander would work much better for shaping a stock. You will never get a flat surface with a dremel tool. Spoke shave and rasp are good too.

You should inlet the action and barrel channel first because it's easy to mess up; also so you can test the comb height as you go. This is the only place I would use a dremel tool, but not to rough it out. The uneven surface can be covered with bedding compound (acraglas gel).

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Yea, the action inletting is the thing that I am worrying about.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Wear a mask if you're dremeling Styrofoam. Just sayin.

 

[LaserSpot]

For inletting the action, you could rough it out with a drill press if you have one. A router table would probably work well to rough out the barrel channel. Or you could save a lot of work by starting with a semi-inletted blank.

The flex-shaft in nice; as G27RR said, "I would go with the most powerful corded model and then get the flexible drive shaft attachment". There are lots of special hand tools; I have a special scraper and rasp that are designed for the barrel channel (from Brownells). Cover your action in lipstick or inletting black so you know where it hits the wood.

This looks like a good article:

Here is described inletting of a semi-inletted stock for an average bolt action design. Some rifles require additional inletting not described below. Following these procedures should equip you for other inletting tasks.

You will need sand papers , sanding block(s) , a small assortment of files, perhaps a small wood chisel, the barreled action and the semi-inletted stock. Having some inletting black may help. It can be found at such outlets as Brownells . A dremel tool may be helpful at certain spots if used with great care and at slow speed. Remove the bolt, trigger guard and magazine. Along with action bolts, set these parts aside. They will not be needed for some time.

The first objective is to get the action to fit far enough into the inletting for the barrel to contact and lay centered upon the barrel channel. At that point the barrel and action inletting can slowly be worked alternating between the two until the action appears that it would fully seat if the barrel could drop far enough into its channel. There can be some friction but do not force action into inletting as that may crack the thin walls of the side wood. Later all friction must be removed for the rifle to shoot with precision. If the barrel is not centered on the channel use inletting black to locate and remove wood stress points at the action. Do not fashion barrel channel until action is true with channel, otherwise barrel will run off center of stock.
...
http://riflestocks.tripod.com/inletting.html

 

[LaserSpot]

Or, if you want to use the dremel for everything, maybe you can find plans to build a copy carver/carving duplicator, basically a 3-axis router pantograph.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

I have no clue what that means.....

That link however is extremly helpfull!!

 

[LaserSpot]

Here's one style of stock duplicator (RADARCARVE ~$1000):

Here's a home made version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gIDT7CKvMo
Here's a smaller one with a dremel tool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHuMHYPhFi0