Bloggy Christmas and a Bloggy New Year

It has been quite a while since I blogged, I was busy ok.  The lead up to Christmas is always busy at Quackadoo, so I spent many days in hotel rooms, chasing lost passengers and the setting sun.  Luckily this year I was rostered of for Christmas so got to spend it with my loved ones, but I did spare a thought for all those out there working.  Funny, when I was younger I thought only firemen and policemen worked Xmas, how wrong I was, for many it is just another working day.
Not only was the aviation game busy leading up to the big day but so was my workshop.  It was my youngest' last year at pre-school, so we wanted some good presents for her fantastic teachers.  Last year my wife led the way with mug rugs and coffee cups, this year was my turn and pens.  My daughter picked the acrylic colours and my son helped to drill the blanks.

The pens were well received by all the teachers, especially as they had my daughters input.  I also had some pens to knock out for a great project run on the woodwork forums sight called “pens for the troops”.  A couple of times a year pens are sent to service personnel overseas as a gift from home.  This is the second time I have participated and am sure I will be back for more.

Finally was my pen swap for the IAP Fall PITH.  This is always fun, swapping pens with people overseas. Here was that I sent, rosewood and she oak Polaris. Pens swaps are great and if you want to be involved the woodwork forum is holding one here.

Now that the silly season is over what does this year hold?  Hopefully a few more blog posts, hopefully a new house to talk about and maybe I will get around to some more reviews including this bad boy .

Until then sit back, relax and enjoy the journey.

A Quick Quartet

 

Having set up the new work shed today it was time to test it out.  Here was a quick quartet of acrylics.  Two Rifle Bullet pens in Australian camouflage, and green and gold Cigar and what I like to call the purple haze click. 

The purple haze was bought from a bargain bin for about $1, it was brittle and nasty to work with. Every time the tool touched the blank it seemed to chip, but a sharp tool, slow speed, some sanding and patience paid off. I think it looks great.

Christmas is coming and some of these pens are available at my etsy store, get in quick or contact me direct.

Dremmel 3000

I love a Dremel!  It is one of the original rotary tools.  I used to own a cheap brand version and was not very impressed by its construction or performance, however that can't be said for the real McCoy.  I was a lucky duck and was given one by my wife recently, just for being a great Hubby!  So with a new toy comes a new review.

This is the Dremel 3000, the latest evolution in the Dremel range and the new model replacing there most popular model the 300.  It comes in several packs, this was the 26 piece pack giving a great box of all the basic accessory bits. 

Looking at the Dremel it looks sturdy, and I have always reckoned the best way to look at quality and durability is at the cord, if that is thick and solid then it is probably a reliable tool.  I was a little sceptical about its size to fit in the hand for ease of use, but it is a comfortable fit and design.  The ON/OFF selector is also the speed control (5000 to 32000RPM) which was an easy single finger operation.

Changing drill bits and accessories is also straight forward and they have come up with a great design to stop you losing the nut wrench.  They call their new system the EZ Twist nose cap, basically you unscrew the nose cap and that is the wrench, no chance of losing that! Press your finger on the blue button to lock the spindle and turn, even I can do it.

So what can it do? I have employed it on a number of tasks, first was to sharpen a few garden tools, plus drill a few holes, no problems there.  The more tapered nose allows for an easy pencil like hold.  One of the bits I had lurking was an engraver, so why not give that a whirl.  I would post a picture of my glass engraving efforts but they were poor, no fault of Mr Dremel, more a clutsy operator.  With a range of carving bits available though I am very interested in trialing it with my wood work (stay tuned).

I really could list all the different attachments but there are too many, just check out your local hardware store to see or just click here.  I am sure I will be adding a few more to my collection.  The tool itself retails around the $100 mark depending on which pack you buy so would make a great fathers day gift.  The four year warranty means you can have piece of mind that it will last.

Overall I haven't found any flaws with mine, it has been up to the job.  It is a little noisy but certainly quieter than other make I have tried.  This model comes in a hard carry case which I am not fan of.  I did prefer the previous models soft bag to hold but that's just me, I already have too many hard plastic cases in the shed.  It is my favourite rotary tool on the market and their continued success means they are doing something right.

If you need more info just check  out the Dremel website.

What tool or gadget do you love in your shed?