I've seen some great work on this forum by Wowak and others modifying die-cast metal steam loco shells. I just need to grind a little material out of one for some extra clearance. Probably too much to remove with a file, and where it's located it would be hard to get a decent stroke. Would you recommend a Dremel tool for this purpose? What kind of bit should I use? Thanks!! -Ted
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I use the Dremel 199 High speed cutter bit in all such cases. It is very durable - evenh when I am certain it will dull it keeps cutting. I sort of carve the removal of metal slowly: asw you say it is often isnside and difficult if not impossible to get there with a file, but with this tool, I get there.
If you Google "burr bits" you will find a number of high speed steel, carbide, and/or diamond bits to remove material.
If you have room, a sanding drum would be easier to control. If not, my first choice is a Dremel carbide bit. They offer a nice set of quality carbide cutters.
Pete
I use either a carbide cutter or a grinding wheel.
If using the grinding wheel, they tend to "load up" after a bit of grinding. When that happens, I just "try" to grind it flat on the wheel of my bench grinder, shapes it very quickly and removes all the material. I don't turn the bench grinder on, the Dremel rotates the 8" wheel as it cleans.
I find it's a lot harder to clean the carbide cutter, which is why I tend to try to use the grinding wheel when possible.
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