Dremel or Grinder?

[Lockdown27]

I have a grinder but it only has a coarse wheel, and a wire wheel. I am either gonna buy a New grinder with a coarse and fine wheel, or buy a dremel? What should I get?


Thanks

LD27

[JackNco]

Depends what you have in mind for the tool they really are meant for very different purposes.

[Lockdown27]

Basically making rakes and stuff like that.

[JackNco]

cheaper to buy them if you don't already have the tool. but a dremmel type tool would serve you better. it can and has been done to great success with both.

[maintenanceguy]

I'd put a fine wheel on the grinder and get rid of the wire wheel.

A grinder cuts faster and if you keep a cup of water next to you, you won't ruin the temper. A grinder can do a more accurate job than a dremel since a dremel is hand held and prone to slipping. If you set your tool rest very close to the wheel (it should be this way for safety anyway) you can rest the piece on the tool rest and you have a lot more control than with something that's hand held.

I can turn out a fairly good pick on a grinder in about a minute. With another 3 or 4 minutes with a couple of fine files, you can't tell if I made it or bought it.

[freakparade3]

I use both. For a hook or half diamond I use only the grinder. For the more complicated rakes I rough out the shape on a grinder and then do the finish work with a dremel.

[zsoutendijk]

you shouldnt have to buy a new grinder... usually the wheels are interchangeable... like freakparade said, i use both. i would buy a new fine wheel and a dremel... should only cost you about 30-40 dollars. if not i would go for the grinder, i use a grinder more then anything!

Good Luck!

-Zack

[Tonka]

I am brand new to lockpicking and this site, but after stumbling across some of the threads posted here I immediately removed the blade from my hacksaw and attempted to make my own pick using nothing but my Dremel. I had more success than I was hoping for, but in the end I wished I had my bench grinder mounted.
The biggest problem I had was keeping the hacksaw blade cool enough during grinding. The initial small diamond I fabbed worked great, but started bending because I did not take care while grinding with the Dremel and the thin end got too hot causing the metal to lose it's temper. If I had a grinding wheel, I would have been better been able to take the hacksaw blade down to a size workable with a Dremel without it getting too hot. Liberally dunking my work in a bowl of cold water would have done the trick...if I had the bench grinder.
I am new to lockpicking as a hobby, but I am well versed in fabbing small pieces out of metal blanks in my home workshop.

[freakparade3]

For an easy way to mount a bench grinder buy a wooden TV Tray. Mount your grinder exact center and it will work great. It's portable and if mounted exact center will not jump around when you are using it.

[Tonka]

That sounds like a good way to make a portable table for my grinder...I'll file that one away in the old mental rolodex. I have plenty of old ply wood and 2x4 scraps to make something, it's just a matter of getting off my butt...

[zsoutendijk]

if your blade is bending quench it in water when it gets a little hot.

if you watch pyros video that will help.

good luck!

-Zack

[rekonstrukted]

if your blade is bending quench it in water when it gets a little hot.

if you watch pyros video that will help.

good luck!

-Zack

i would recommend that video to anyone who is new to making their own picks. if you are having trouble with when to quench, just do it every 2-3 seconds. pyro says in the vid that you should quench it as soon as it feels warm, but i usually quench mine before that. a friend of mine was having this same problem (along with making the business-end of the picks WAY too long).

[JB0311NY]

I used a dremmel to file down a bumprake I had after read about and easy conversion. It require's some touch, I did not have a vise to work with (I clamped it with a quikgrip) but a vise is somthing preferable I would say.

[muskratt]

you also have to remember the more picks you make the better they become in time

[Safety0ff]

With a rotary tool I found it almost mandatory to have a way to secure it ( like a vise or something.)
I've also experimented using cut off disc's to cut away strips of metal rather than grinding away.
I found using a rotary useful when making picks that have really thin shanks ( like southord slimline templates) or intricate shapes and I seemed to require less quenching as opposed to grinding.

I personally like having both as my disposal but my new found preference is the rotary tool ( notice the bias of my post? .)
I also use the small felt wheels to buff and polish the picks to finish them with the rotary tool ( which can be done on the grinder as well.)