Dremel + Wand = ?

[AJLoCascio]

I'm looking to make some relatively professional looking, but rather inexpensive wands for some friends. I don't have access to a lathe so I thought I might be able to wrestle something up with a dremel and wooden dowel. Has anyone attempted this approach ?
My first 3 wands were made using a pocket knife and stick and I wand to do something with more of a "spun" look to it... and with less of my blood on it.

I also need any kind of advice on what kind of Dremel to get - inexpensive, but effective it key here.

This is the style of wand I'm looking to do more or less:

Moony
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[AJLoCascio]

....bump

 

[Panzer]

Well maybe if you could stabilize the dremmel and have it held down by something. Then you could run the dowel down it and apply more pressure as you reach the end. It seems worth a try. It would be hard to keep it entirely straight though. I'm hoping someone has a better answer then me, I would like to know this too for future reference.

 

[fevereon]

for something like that, you might want to go the route of a lathe.

I made a ghetto budget lathe with a drill, cutting the end of the dowel down to fit in the chuck, clamping it to a table and running it, while using either a very sharp tool of my cheap dremel to "turn" it.

You can see it in the first couple pics at the top of this wipset ^^

http://www.fevereon.com/props/bigimages/vashgun_1.jpg

 

[AJLoCascio]

Yeah - even that lathe idea is a little too heft for me - I'm not looking to make this sucker 100% clean - just something that would be easier to do than a pocket knife and bloody fingers.

 

[Hazelrah]

I think if you made a " trough" for your dowel to sit in that had a mount that your dremel could be attached to that rode back and forth on drawer slides or similar rails the full length of your piece, you might be able to mount a small router bit into the dremel...just a thought...hard to describe, but simple in theory...lol

 

[Cosmic Ash]

what kind of dremel do you have?

 

[Hogosha]

Yeah - even that lathe idea is a little too heft for me - I'm not looking to make this sucker 100% clean - just something that would be easier to do than a pocket knife and bloody fingers.

If you have a hand drill, or can borrow one, a "ghetto lathe" can be rigged. If you are not that handy, n=maybe this will do the trick without breaking the bank. It is $47.95

H2669 Hobby Lathe

Cheap drill from Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-variable-speed-reversible-drill-3670.html

 

[AJLoCascio]

what kind of dremel do you have?

None - I'm looking to more or less to just secure the wood in place and dremel the sucker. Not necessarily rotate it at any high velocity

 

[teecrooz]

It's takes quite a bit of time to get one to look "spun" without actually spinning it.

I used some carving tools to get the basic shape of a custom one a few years ago, and then sanded the heck out of it to get it to look semi decent. Probably 3-5 hours of work and the sucker still isn't straight. It was fun to make by hand though.

I might have to try the Hobby Lathe in the link above.

 

[kimncris]

you might have better luck with a sander than a dremel for the wand shape. the handle end will be easier with the dremel or a set of files, but the long taper will be a pain in the butt.

 

[nomuse]

I've seen an Instructable for a "rudimentary lathe" that basically involved Dremel, a length of U-shaped aluminum stock (like Orchard and Home Depot stock), and some pipe clamps. The trick, especially for something long like a wand, is the tailstock. The Instructable I'm thinking of used a piece of dowel and a nail (and lots of WD-40) as a dead center.

On the other hand, if you are cutting yourself with a Dremel, I hate to think of the trouble you could get into with a home-made lathe. May be worth it to you to get a real one. Better yet, look around and see if there are classes in your area. There's a place called Tech Shop in my area that has woodworking classes and workshop rental for very reasonable rates.

Sorry if I'm out of line here.