Reddit mentions of WEN 2305 Rotary Tool Kit with Flex Shaft

I use this thing. It's cheap, comes with plenty of attachments, and cuts through springs and aluminum stock just fine. The cutting wheels it comes with suck though, so plan to spend another couple bucks on some that are properly reinforced.

I purchased my screen from AAA Retro Gaming on eBay.

These kits and screens are all coming from the same place in China. One store won't have a magical better stock than another. The one linked above will come with the 40-pin Type B cable (if needed), along with a glass screen lens.

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Not necessary, but it'll make your life easier ... a rotary tool.

I chose this one because of the bundled accessories and case, along with it's high rating. I've used one and couldn't tell the difference between this and a Dremel.

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If you go the rotary tool route, get some eye protection. Bits may go flying directly into your face.

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Can't forget the soldering iron.

I chose this configuration because it comes with stand, solder and other accessories for only $16.

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Flush cutters will help you get to spots too tight for the rotary tool. This isn't necessary, but it's very useful when needed.

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For various other mod bits, I've ordered from quite a few stores.

• Hand Held Legend - If you're in the US, these guys are my favorite. They'll get your package out within 24 hours.
  
  
• Retro Modding - They're based in Canada and shipments are ... a bit timely. Personally, it took 18 days for my package to arrive (to Chicago).
  
  
• eBay - Just make sure where the seller is from. (If the item is too cheap, it's coming over very slowly from China.)

You can get a cheap rotary tool that'll probably do the job fine

Hopefully you enjoyed the process, so there will be more wood pipes to come from you.

You can get a WEN rotary tool kit for $20. It fits the standard Dremel bits. You'd need to get a set of wood carving bits, which would run you maybe $10. With the flex shaft it's just like using a power knife.

Followed this tutorial.

Got everything from amazon. Went with this dremel since it came with the polish wheels. This add-on item polish.
And these for safety. (And to meet the minimum for the add-on item.)

With 0 dremel experience, it was still easy. Didn't even mess up the glass, but I'd already upgraded mine to sapphire so I can only speak for that.

Look at the WEN kit on amazon. I got one last week for $20 and it came with the snake attachment to let you use it like a pen in your hand. Takes the same tools as a Dremel and even has speed control.
https://www.amazon.com/WEN-2305-Rotary-Tool-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8

I bought a cheap soldering kit from Amazon for $17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZ31W3M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_oedEzb5K4TWS4
Also a Dremel tool for sanding surfaces and cutting plastic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BYRFH8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_NfdEzbEYCCFER

You don't really need an angle grinder to cut a cable lock, I would buy a cheap rotary tool like this: https://www.amazon.com/WEN-2305-Rotary-Tool-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8

You'd be amazed how many things that will come in handy for once you have it. (Wear safety glasses and cut it outside)

Or you could buy a hacksaw with a metal cutting blade (about $10). Will take about 10 minutes and some elbow grease to cut through it.

Or carry it to a bike shop and ask them nicely to do it for you (bring a receipt or some kind of proof of ownership).

Just so you know I ordered this dremel for $20 on Amazon and it works great. Time is money!! Halloween approacheth! https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003BYRFH8?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

moar power!!! https://www.amazon.com/WEN-2305-Rotary-Tool-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8/ref=sr_1_4?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1481658063&sr=1-4&keywords=dremel

yea I have to agree with you there

Heres a great cheap Rotary Tool- https://www.amazon.com/WEN-2307-Variable-100-Piece-Accessories/dp/B003BYRFH8?th=1&psc=1

Home Depot is apparently going to have it in stores soon.

Thanks! Just keep the damn thing moving! When a rotating bit sits in one place to long it will create happy little accidents.

edit: that particular tool is on amazon.

On Amazon the Wen 2305 and up have pretty good reviews. Same with the Black And Decker one you suggested.

WEN 2305 Rotary Tool Kit with Flex Shaft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BYRFH8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_U240xb88A6B97

Are the collets universal?

Thanks for the help.

I bought a cheapo Wen off of Amazon. For the price of a Dremel^^TM accessory kit, I get a whole tool, accessories, and flex shaft (the accessories were so-so, but with the money I saved I was able to buy other fittings for it)... For what I need a rotary tool for, this one fits perfect. I've used many Dremel^^TM brand tools before, and this one is just as good.

Here's the thing with rotary tools tho, they're light duty. They're great for small/odd jobs, but if you're doing anything more than a few minutes work, an air die grinder and/or cut off wheel will be about 1000x better.

What do you need a rotary tool for?

Personally I ordered this one and it's been fine. Granted I am not using the tool a great deal.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYRFH8

Totally feel ya, these are some very soft screws. It sucks to have to do this but if you've exhausted the top three tricks for getting screws out you might have to dremel them out with a cutting disk.

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I bought $30 worth of tools and screws to do this and it's easy if you have steady hands, like the kind you get from handling tiny screws for a day ;) . Just cut a slot straight across the screw and then use a slotted (flat) screwdriver to take it out. I had to do a little damage to get a deep enough cut on the screw - here's the result with new screw - https://imgur.com/pqDU519

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This is all I used

Rotary Tool - This came with cut-off disks that worked on the stripped soft screws.

Screws - These replacement screws had all 3 of the right sizes for my XPS 15 9570, I suspect they will fit the XPS 13 but please check first. These screws are Phillips head and none have stripped on me in the last year.

Yeah, I've done this on a few pieces with a crap rotary tool I bought off of Amazon. Works pretty darn well actually.

This one actually... I say crap because it is pretty cheap but it has actually worked just as well if not better than my wife's Dremel.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYRFH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

WEN ($20) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYRFH8/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Taclife ($40) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6RH433/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01N6RH433&pd_rd_wg=PJD3y&pd_rd_r=9AWBVZAGWHC8CD634DX4&pd_rd_w=PY0Hg

This Dremel looks nice ($75-$120+). Idk, I'll pay for whatever is best. I want to make sure all my silver is shiny so when I die it will look pretty while my copse turns into worm poo.

WEN 2305 Rotary Tool Kit with Flex Shaft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BYRFH8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JhLbBbSFQ2VMG I got this one for 20 bucks and it works perfectly.

Hey man, I know what it's like to make videos and get knocked on. I'm actually an 11 year manufacturing engineer who's poured molten metal on an industrial level, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth. I've Programmed and ran CNC machines, cut metals, drill welding, worked with water tools, abrasive tools, etc.

I've been trained by my grandfather who's been pouring metal since the 50's and my father who's been doing it since the 70's. Along with another half dozen men who all have a minimum of 20 years experience in industrial manufacturing. I'm going to give you some practical advice on how you could drastically improve your safety.

 

• I saw your DIY foundry once, you used cement in the slurry mix. I hope to god you aren't leaving that thing outside. Actually I hope you never use that furnace ever again. Good move using the aquarium stuff but cement is literally the worst thing you can use for anything with a flame on it. Cement is porous, it will absorb moister. If that thing ever absorbs enough and you fire it up, it WILL explode. If you are lucky it will just crack and i know you'll probably reply, "well I've been using it for ....". Ok, that's fine but what my father taught me the first time i stepped foot in our shop, "Dzuari, all it takes to kill you IS once." Don't ever fuck with mother nature or machines, you will always lose.
  
  If you are still using that furnace, please throw it out and remake it so my grandfather can stop rolling in his grave. Use one of these materials;
  
  Fine Kiln dried lapis sand
  
  Silica Sand 6lbs
  
  2200deg Rutland castable cement Fire Clay
  
  25lbs Rutland castable cement
  
  Kaowool Insulation Blanket
  
  Your best bet is to use silica sand but it's typically more expensive, however it will last the longest. The refractory is really where the durability is. I'd experiment with different types, you could even try adding in fiberglass reinforcement which may increase durability. Oh and here is a K-type thermometer. You can buy some thermocouple leads and figure out the math to accurately measure your burn temperatures so you don't over oxides your metals.
  
  And honestly, if it was me, I'd remove that video and remake it. Someone will watch that video, go out and buy cement and one day it will explode on them. That's an extremely dangerous way to make a furnace.
  
   
  
  
• Electricity and water. You can easily make your videos a whole lot safer just by distancing your water source from the electrical components with something like this for your Dremel. Pretty much apply this methodology to anything that involves electricity and water. The farther your motor and 120v input is to the water source, the better. You can make a quick plexiglass cover to help seperate it, make an extension shaft so the cutting wheel is further distanced and always wear heavy duty, insulated rubber gloves.. Hell you could even make your own retrofit abrasive water cutter with simple motor and pulley system. Matthais Wandel has a great belt sander build that wouldn't be hard at all to make your own water/abrasive wheel setup.
  
  The way you set up that cuttoff wheel.... smh. Please don't do that. Also I'm sure you already read the comments but there are times when to wear gloves and when not to wear gloves. You need to use a vice or clamp any time you can if it means avoiding using gloves when using a high-speed cutter of any kind. Especially if it's a wheel. Again, it only takes once.
  
   
  
  
• General safety. You should really read every single MSDS sheet you get on anything you buy retail or salvage. I've seen you light stuff on fire with zero respiration protection or use things that should have been done on a downdraft table or you were wearing improper clothing. Some of the stuff you work with can really fuck you up and you blatantly did not know of it's harmfulness or willfully disregarded it.
  
   
  
  Overall man I like your videos but in my opinion of everyone DIY'er i watch on youtube, you are hands down the lease safe. I usually spot something you did wrong in every video you post. Whether you feel responsible for your viewers and what they do with the information you give them, is up to you. I just figured I'd give you some pragmatic advice from someone who does this stuff for a living. I actually did a few youtube videos about 6 years ago on my Channel over industrial level green sand. I'm planning on quitting my job within the next mont or two to start my own workshop/foundry/DIY/Youtube/website marketing thing from scratch. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll gladly answer them.
  
  Here's some random tips;
  
  
  Don't use pop can metal for anything structural. It's 3000's series aluminum and it's mades specifically to be malleable. Good rule of thumb for scrap metal is, if it came from something cheap, the metals cheap. The highest quality aluminum you can get for CASTING is automotive parts. Typically made from A356-T6, very good aluminum. I see a lot of guys metal down "Aircraft" or "Aerospace grade" aluminum for casting thinking it's going to be strong. It will not be, 6000 or 7000 series aluminum is all wrought/worked aluminum. It gets it's strength from massive presses that squeeze the metal into shape. Once you heat it up it looses all that strength.
  
  T6 heat treat is the most common treat process for aluminum. If you are making something structural, heat treatment will greatly increase it's strength. But you have to use the correct aluminum for or it can't be treated (Automotive parts/A356). The process is usually 8hrs at 800-1000F then either a quench/2hrs at 300F or age hardening. With that K type thermometer you can easily set up your furnace to heat treat. Also, most aluminum age hardens once poured, usually around 21 days.
  
  Please never wear shorts ever again when working with molten metal. It's not that it will burn your leg. It's that it will hit your leg, then fall into you shoe. Then you have a burning foot and a ladle of molten metal in your hand. I've done this with high top boots and jeans on. My father would fire my on the spot if he ever saw me pouring with shorts on. I saw a guy poure about 2lbs of aluminum into his boot once. 6 years later his still on disability. Please don't ever do it again.
  
  
  Random informational videos
  
  Metallugical nature of Aluminum and crystalizing structures
  
  Grain Structure of Metal
  
  Cold work vs Hot work metal. E.I. this is wrought metal like 3000, 6000 & 7000 series aluminum
  
  Cermaic Material for Furnace Insulation
  

I have this tool. It has a speed control, so I turn it to slow (ish) for drilling. It has a flex shaft so you can hold the tool end a bit more like a pencil or brush when working. I've used it for cutting and sanding/filing as well as drilling.

I had to buy some extra collets to hold my smaller drill bits.

I will say however that most of what I use it on are metal models (I'm an old-hammerer) and like others have said a hand turned drill may be fine on plastics.

I think I may have found a solution:

• WEN 2305-KC Keyless rotary tool chuck adjusts to accept any bit from 1/32" to 1/8", about $7
  
• WEN 2305 rotary tool, about $20
  
  That should allow me to insert brass rod of any pin-sized diameter and make my own pins. I will just need to figure out a way to hold the rotary tool steady. Hopefully it'll fit in my vise.

This $20 bad boy has outlived 2 Dremels and a Milwaukee and I have abused the shit out of it.

im thinking of getting this one. it looks like a fairly inexpensive kit that isnt tooo cheaply made https://www.amazon.com/WEN-2305-Rotary-Tool-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8

You'll need to buy a new trigger but you will be able to put a cylinder drop in into this gearbox. If the spartan triggerboard does not fit because of a certain pin (like mine did) you can dremel anything thats in the way. Here's a trigger and here's the cheap dremel i used to fit the board in.

I like it raw like u/overlyapologeticguy.

I don't really have any funny stories about that type "cough" protection.

Other protection related story. Was trying to tan before going on a date one time. Didn't think I would need any tanning lotion or anything like that. Well the employee recommended I try the lowest strength bed for 10 minutes... so I did. Holy shit. I was fine for about an hour and then it started. I was so freaking red all over my entire body. I'm a ginger so I burn really easily. Even the inside of my ears was bright red. It was so bad that my freckles all turned this weird shade of green. I spent the next several hours in a bathtub full of cool water and baking soda. It took about a week before my entire body peeled off in giant disgusting chunks of skin. So painful.

Long story short, I've accepted that I come in two shades. Snow white and tomato red.

I've been wanting this rotary tool kit so I can hopefully fix some small rust spots on my car before they spread any more.

Thanks for the contest.

I bought mine because it came with a case and had a nice speed adjustment.

Can't really say I'd recommend a Dremel to anyone though. Don't really think they outperform the cheaper alternatives considering how much more they cost.

For instance I paid more for the Dremel flexible shaft than this entire kit.

Don't know if you have a rotary tool already, but I just ordered this one from Amazon. Great reviews and wildly cheap.

I live in Vancouver. My glass is literally out of a photo frame that I got at Dollarama for $2.5. Nothing fancy.

I cut it to size using my dremel https://www.amazon.ca/2305-Rotary-Tool-Flex-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1501045676&sr=1-1&keywords=dremel with these wheels https://www.amazon.ca/SE-DW13-5-Piece-Diamond-Wheels/dp/B000P49NCC

I attached the glass with 4 binder clips, each measuring 15mm in width. Also from Dollarama; a pack for a Loonie.

Few tips. If you do this, get 2 or 3 frames because you will probably end up cracking your first one as I did. Also be safe. You need to protect your eyes, your hands, and your breath. Again, don't really have to be fancy. For my eye protection I was wearing just my glasses. I also had some good fitting working gloves (any comfortable slightly thick gloves would do) and I wore a surgical mask for protection from glass dust (a slightly damp cloth covering your mouth and nose would work fine too)

Alternatively, you could do this the normal and easy way and use an actual glass cutting tool https://www.amazon.ca/L-TMS-Professional-Handle-Cutter-Cutting/dp/B06X9GRGGD I didn't have one at hand to I just used my dremel.

Actually, if you read the reviews it's been universally rejected for hamster use. Seems that every user has had the hamster escape from it. I think it's meant to be a guinea pig cage.

I actually made my own bin cages and then connected them to an OvO habitrail system. but be warned I spent a fair amount of money by the time I was done. I don't know what your budget is, but making a bin cage (another DIY vid ) ends up costing around 25-50 bucks, and it 's pretty easy. This is the one I've used when I made my bin cages. It ends up at around 400 sq inches which is good. The nice thing is that since it's plastic it's dead easy to cut a round hole in it to add tubes.

If DIY really isn't your thing I guess this is the pre built cage I'd choose. There are a few questions about durability, you need to change the water bottle to a safer one, and it can only connect to the manufacturer's tube system, which isn't cheap. but neither were the OvO tubes.

There are much more expensive cages as well. You can spend easily 200-300 on a nice prebuilt. Or even make one out of a Ikea bookcase. Lastly if you do decide to build a bin cage I suggest you buy or see if you can borrow a dremel tool. It makes the whole job much easier than using any sort of knife.

What type of budget does your team have?

How much space is available as your work area?

How experienced at building robots are the mentors?

What build system does you team intend to use? How many custom parts do y'all want to make?

What level of CAD skills does the team have?

We need to know these things to give valid advice. If your team has $100 to spend on tools the list is really different than if your team has $500. If your team has ~$4000 and really experienced mentors the list is also totally different.

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Let's assume your team has really limited budget and wants to make the most of it. I will also assume you are using the REV system.

Here is my minimum tool list:
5.5 mm Nut Driver - http://www.revrobotics.com/rev-41-1119/

5.5 mm wrench - http://www.revrobotics.com/rev-41-1374/

Allen wrench set - https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Hex-Allen-Wrench-Ball/dp/B0776C2D6H/

Rotary Cutter - https://smile.amazon.com/WEN-2305-Rotary-Tool-Shaft/dp/B003BYRFH8

Hand drill - https://smile.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-DR260C-Drill-Driver/dp/B00T2VJ93C/

Hack saw - https://smile.amazon.com/Tactix-267031-Adjustable-Hacksaw-Frame/dp/B00ABBUU2Q/
Bench Vice - https://smile.amazon.com/WEN-453BV-3-Inch-Heavy-Swivel/dp/B07KKXQQ3S

Metric Drill bit set - https://smile.amazon.com/Drill-Warehouse-99pcs-1-5mm-Titanium/dp/B01NC25BRK

Pliers set - https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Tools-4-Piece-Pliers-Set/dp/B015X2NHOK


That works out to be ~$110 + shipping and tax. These are the bare minimum tools IMO. If you can answer the questions above I can give you some better advice.

- Frank

I bought this when my Dremel shit the best. I've carved the shoulders off Gold Dollars with it without problems.