May she rest in peace.
I’ve been using this Proxxon rotary tool for a few years now and she served me well. This rotary tool has been used for ungodly jobs that would have put a dremel in the grave after one day. I’m not talking about detailing wooden decoys, I’ve been using this tool to cut through half inch copper stock. I’ve had smoke pouring out of it on a regular basis, and it still got the job done. I’m talking smoking hot folks. Sure I turn it off and let it cool, but I have tough jobs that need to be done.
I can’t remember who told me about Proxxon, I think it was nightcrawl and moderator007.
Anyway, I’m in the middle of building a light and I can do a thing until I get a replacement…yes, as soon as I post this, I’m ordering another Proxxon.
While I’m here, can anyone recommend a small grinder/cutting tool?
I’m not looking for one of those large profession grinders, but something small and powerful. I just need it for flashlight modding, mostly cutting copper. I usually use my rotary tool with a cutting disc, but it would be nice to have a tool that is more purposeful to the task. I don’t want to blow up another Proxxon.
This is the type of thing I will be cutting.
How I cut pieces of copper is with my small hobby band saw, which is also a Proxxon. It was not cheap but I abused it a lot over the (20 or so) years and all I have lost thusfar were broken or blunt saw bands that are not very expensive to replace. It looks cheap with lots of plastic but the parts that matter are high quality.
It is really bad idea to cut copper with this discs. I`m not sure that they can cut even aluminium piece of such thickness.
If you don`t have big tools you can try to use small reciprocating saw. Better way is milling, if you can`t have milling machine you can try drill press like Old-Lumens here: Tear down and mod videos for the Small Sun ZY-T08 .
Those who have outgrown dremel and proxxon with 20000+ rpm and less than 1nm torque can try this tools that are made in Russia:
6000-12000 rpm, up to 20nm torque:
I live in a small apartment, so drill presses and other major shop tools are out. Where would I find one of those Russian tools?
That band saw looks nice, but a little pricey for something I wouldn’t use very often. It’s mostly when I need to shape the thick copper bar stock. Mostly, I trace my circle and then cut out a square around it with a hack saw. I only need to use the cutting discs to lop off the corners. After that I can shape it easily enough with standard dremel sanding drums…then by hand. It’s that little bit of lopping off the corners that really taxes the rotary tool.
I saw a Proxxon angle grinder, but realized that it’s just the same Proxxon rotary tool with a modified head.
Is there any reason why I can’t just stick the cutting disc on the end of my drill? A rotary tool is really just a miniature power drill with a chuck. Also the motor in the regular dill should be able to lop off a few corners of copper without smoking and burning up. Besides, I can buy eight drills for the price of the Proxxon.
I used to use cutting wheels too but changed to a hacksaw and file to round off on the bigger pieces as it was less hassle. You could always just try the drill, i’ve tried that but didn’t like that either.
So which is better for cutting copper, slower or faster?
Drilling copper needs to be slow. Way slower than a rotary tool is capable of. I used to spend hours trying to drill a hole through copper. The slowest speed on the rotary tool only polished it. Then I learned I needed to use a regular drill and go as slow as I could. That did the trick.
Cant help Of. I was snapping drills in copper until I sped things up and used a cutting fluid. Is there a chart from whoever you get your cutting discs of with recommended rpm speeds?
Dont know. Could be a different type of copper. I’m talking 1/8’’ and smaller holes. Admittedly it was a a time I was taking things for granted that things would just happen and then breakages resulted.
I just went looking for recommended speeds on Google and apparently I do everything wrong. Its not the first time Google has told me this. For some reason though I can usually build something correctly by doing it wrongly. :person_facepalming:
As a machinist, those 1/8” rotary grinders are way, way to light-duty for that kind of cutting (1/2” copper) they were meant for much more detailing work.
a larger 1/4” rotary tool is more suited for heavier cutting. i don;t know if you have a air compressor or do the cutting in a shop or garage. I generally use a 1/4” cut-off grinder for stuff that heavy ( both Air powered and an electric model)
