Dremel died - hand tools live!

[Michael Daly]

I started a simple mod to add a fan. Everything was on a time-constrained basis - I wanted to get the server up and running the same day. So I emptied the case, marked out the hole and grabbed the Dremel. It started and then slowed to a stop. I spent an hour taking the thing apart, cleaning and checking it to see if I could get it to run correctly. No luck! Due to the time constraint, I couldn't go out and buy a new one right away.

I went with the backup - my coping saw with a metal cutting blade. Guess what? -- This hand saw cuts faster than the Dremel (in aluminum, Dremel using a reinforced fiberglass cutting wheel).

Now the time saved in cutting was lost in filing and finishing the edge, since the hand saw does a rougher edge than the Dremel does. However, if I used the hand saw to cut and had the Dremel to finish with grinding and sanding wheels/drums, I would have finished faster than with the Dremel alone.

If you have a big or tricky hole to cut, consider a coping saw instead - it's quite fast. The problem with the Dremel is a bit like having only a hammer - you only see one way to do things.

PS - case temps dropped about 5C! Just the sort of thing I wnted.