Fun With Dremel
A while ago I purchased an old X-terminal and ripped out the guts, with the intention of using the case for BMOW. Upon opening it up, I discovered that the interior was partitioned into two parts by a steel divider welded to the base. The logic board was on one half and the power supply on another. Unfortunately BMOW needs the entire space in order to fit its oversized board.
Enter the Dremel tool. I got a Dremel and assortment of attachments for Christmas, but didn’t have a chance to try it until today. My plan was to simply cut the divider off, requiring about a 12 inch cut. The divider is made of 1/32 inch steel. Would the Dremel cut it? What kind of cutting attachment should I use? Would I slice off a thumb? I really had no idea how to use a Dremel, but a couple of the included attachments looked like cutting wheels, so I gave them a try. It took me about an hour and a half to make the 12 inch cut, and it looks pretty darn ragged, but the operation was a success. Sparks were flying everywhere… it was quite a sight! I ate up two entire cutting wheels, though, so I’m guessing a wheel made specifically for cutting steel would be better next time.
Here’s my handiwork. You can see the stump of the divider running from the case’s front to its back, about two-thirds of the way from left to right.
I had hoped to cut a large hole in the case lid, and cover it with a piece of plexiglass, to make a window where people could peer in and see BMOW’s guts. Given how this cut turned out, though, I think I’m going to abandon that idea. It would probably take me several hours to make a hole that large, and it would end up looked pretty ragged and ugly. Instead, I’ll just pop the lid when I do demos!
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From the looks of it you could have drilled or ground out the spot welds holding that divider in place. Drill through the middle of each weld with something like a 3mm bit then grind on the inside if you need to remove more.
Agh, where were you yesterday?? 🙂
That’s a great idea; I wish I’d thought of it before spending all that time cutting.
Your local hardware store should have the somewhat thicker (2-3 mm) Dremel tools. I have used those successfully for cutting a PC case into smaller pieces.
Also for cutouts don’t bother with Dremel, get a Nibbler instead. It still requires some filing but straight lines are quite easy to achieve : http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2289712&CAWELAID=107598244
For cutting the window hole, I’d recommend a reciprocating saw (a kind of powerful electric saw that moves a straight blade forward and back) and use a metal cutting blade. Those things will chew through anything – I once cut the back off a Volkswagon Beetle with one!! It will still take a steady hand to cut straight, but it will look better than a dremel and take seconds not hours. You can cut a 2 inch long pilot hole (pilot slot?) with the dremel to stick the reciprocating saw blade through so you can start the cut. If you can cut a fairly straight edge with the saw, you could then rivet 1 inch wide, thin aluminum strips over your cut edges to make a “window frame” that would hide the unsightly cuts. (You can buy aluminum strips at the hardware store.) I did this to hide the rough edges of cuts on a PC case mod I did, see link: http://dennisferron.blogspot.com/2008/03/small-form-factor-case-mod.html
Oh, almost forgot, when using the metal cutting blade on a reciprocating saw, you should pour motor oil over the blade while you’re cutting. The oil won’t keep the saw from cutting, but it will reduce friction and cool it down. If the blade starts smoking, you need more oil.
Thanks for the cutting suggestions! I decided to skip the window, since it looked like it was going to be more effort than I wanted to spend. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably give the nibbler a try. It says it cuts up to 18 gauge steel. I don’t know how thick that is, but my cover is pretty thick, and I have some trouble imagining a hand-powered tool cutting it. I suppose enough mechanical advantage can accomplish anything.
Ironically nibblers have more trouble if the material is *too thin* (because the metal gets pulled up into the mechanism without severing, and jams it). I’ve found that anything else that will physically fit into the craw of the nibbler can be cut; anything thicker can’t fit in the first place. But, the real problem with a nibbler is the length of cut you’re needing: I’ve found that my hands hurt after just cutting holes large enough for 2×24 LCDs, and it takes a long time to nibble that much. If only someone made a power nibbler…