I imagine the best solution is to find a hook or make one out of out of material that is the right size for the rotary tool. However, if that isn’t working, then instead of tape, how about a cold weld product like JB Cold Weld (found in automotive and hardware stores). You could even slip the ends into a short length of brass tube (found in hardware/hobby stores), with the cold weld prduct inside. Just make sure everything lines up and is pretty centered when it is curing.
First off, I completely agree about anyone getting themselves hurt. I know their are a lot of youngsters on here who most definitely think it would be the coolest thing to make their own string, so they get dads power tool… and the rest could go all kinds of ways. So to any youngsters reading this make sure to get Dad or even Moms help before you going try to twist some string of your own together.
As for the topic at hand, I like the brass tube idea with the the liquid weld. I do think it would be quite hard to align accurately. I was wondering, if we take the tube idea, cement a bit to it centered as possible. Then cement something flexible like a loop of electrical wire or something to the other end, and attach the hook to that… I think the flex in the wire will allow the hook with the thread to center itself with centrifugal force, in turn keeping the string spinning in nice straight line. Yes, I think this is what I will try. How does that sound?
Lol. i have never tried or thought about making my own string, but I’m a kid and good with (guys <3 love)powertools. And I can’t put a hook on something :(.
I think I understand what you are getting at. Under thread tension, you would imagine that the flexible shaft would be self centering due to the pull of the thread centering the hook. I had disasterous results using something similar in an early setup. It can be done, but the weight of the hook has to be very minimal, like that of a small paperclip, and the longer the flexible shaft, the more likely that it will start swinging around wildly. I would not to use this method for safety reasons, and if you do, please stand way back to test it and use a face shield or at least eye protection.
How to align things: I like to align things with old playing cards that I have in the tool box just for this purpose. Cold weld the brass tube to the larger of the hook or dremel bit (which should fit as close as possible) and tape that together to keep extra from flowing out where they meet. Then tape that vertically to a flat piece of wood or something flat and rigid with the brass tubing up. Then insert the hook (or dremel bit) into the cold weld in the other end of the brass tubing, and see how many cards you have to place behind it on the wood to center the hook front to back in the brass tubing. Tape the cards in place on the wood, and then tape the hook (or bit) in place so that it is centered left to right in the tubing. Let it cure over night. Sand any sharp bits of the cold weld and it should be ready.
Before you do this, if the bit and/or the hook ends that go in the tubing are completely smooth, then you might want to rough them up slightly with the dremel cutting wheel or sand paper for a good weld.
Anyway, balance-wise, it should provide better results than taping, especially if the two were taped side by side. Butting them together for the tape job sounds very dangerous for the same reason the flexible shaft would be. The rotating force would tend to send any misaligned weight outward perpendicular to the axis of rotation, kind of like standing off center on a playground merry-go-round. Oh, wait a minute, do they still have these?
Got my rotary today. Tried modifying piece of coat hanger to fit in the receiver, i got it to fit, but then the force of the spinning broke it haha, so I am currently working on another set up. Will post again after.
OK tried a second setup to little avail. It worked but like yal said the cable had to much weight. Headed to wally world to try and find a solution
Solution found. I bought a dremel collet kit with different sizes and also a wall hook like for mugs. The wall is already lined up with the screw part to make it easier to screw in. So then i just put the hook in the right collet in the dremel and voila
So confused about a few things. I’m not following the whole “create a contraption for the dremel” conversation at all. Isn’t the bottom line that you need a hook (ideally one that won’t kill you!) in the collet of the dremel? I’m surprised at the elaborate lengths people will go to to accomplish this!
Also, regarding multiple motors for a multi-string setup… it seems to me that a better idea would be a single motor with enough power and speed to drive several … hooks … ? at the same time, interconnected with any combination of gears and/or chains that you might have handy or which you can easily acquire. Cheap off-brand “dremel” tools may or may not actually spin at the same velocity when the switch is flipped. If they are set to somewhere in the middle of a variable rate dial, it’ll be even tougher to make them all spin at exactly the same rate.
The fishing swivel… what does this part get used for? Presumably to twist strings they need to be fixed on one end (the anchor) and fixed (except for being on a motor!) on the other end, otherwise they won’t twist together. A swivel is meant to prevent twisting, not encourage it.
Not saying there aren’t good responses to my above observations; just admitting that I’m losing the plot a little bit and not understanding everything that’s going on.
yea I’ve been lost for a few days too. I agreed with you about the Dremil tool. i just can’t for the life of me figure out a way to chain them together. I have had some bad experiences with actual chain. I’m afraid it would snap, plus they are heavy and would put a lot of load on what ever is spinning it.
I need to get out of this apartment so I can do some thorough testing. :-\
Definitely a chain would not work with a Dremel motor. You would have to find some sort of other motor like from a whipper-snapper or something. Motors come in all shapes and sizes, and can be purchased just as “electric motors” by themselves.
You are right i did go through some lengths to attach a hook to the collet, in the end it was just matter of the right size collet and the right hook. As far as the fishing swivel, it’s used to do the kink or the second twist. After the first twist, use the swivel to fold the string in half, bring the hook back to the source, then when you let the string go the tension on the string allows the swivel to spin and do the kink. It eliminates letting a yoyo spin or running a drill in reverse, which a dremel has none, so as far as i know the swivel is necessary if you are using a dremel.
Ah, for the kink! I see. I guess it makes the twist more reliable; otherwise the other option is to just make your kink and “let it go” and trust that it will twist up symmetrically.
The fishing swivel is a handy way to do the KINK quickly and easily, however it is by no means the IDEAL method.
It removes all forms of tension control from the KINK process and your end result relies SOLELY on the materials you’ve used and how they react to the initial tension amount you applied.
Try doing the KINK by hand and you can IMMEDIATELY feel a difference in the strings playability.
I am by no means discounting the use of a swivel but don’t go all, “WOW, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL NOW” without realizing it has a flip side. There are always variables in this process. Speedier does not equal ‘better’ when it changes the resulting string quality.
Here endeth today’s lesson from the string grandfather.
Well the ball bearing swivels I have, I am able to control how fast or slow it spins, or where it stops, it kind of works like a bait casting reel, if you do any fishing, the more pressure i put on the bearing the slower it will spin… Im not sure I know what mean by doing it by hand, could you elaborate?
Im not sure I like this idea of chaining a dremel together with some cogs and gears, or linking together multiple hobby motors just to spin more strings simultaneously. It sounds quite dangerous and beyond that, wouldnt this be taking away from the whole point of hand made string, the more and more mechanized your rig gets? I mean a rig that strings, twists, folds and kinks on its sounds more like a mass producing machine than a hand made high quality product with strict attention to the deatails. This is just my opinion and point of view, I am not by any means bashing anyones elses rigs or ideas. =]
Well, neither do I. I already said you couldn’t do it with a dremel motor. And I certainly wouldn’t link together multiple motors unless that “link” was just a power bar with a single switch (which would work fine… I was just saying you couldn’t be ensured consistency).
But a motor that is suited to the purpose should be more than capable of driving multiple rotating points via a chain or gear (or both) system. I believe you will find that this is how most machines with multiple moving parts works… a single motor driving multiple endpoints via a series of relays.
As for danger… I can’t imagine that shoving a set of naked cogs and naked chains together would be particularly safe. I made no claim otherwise. I’m not giving design advice, just making a high-level observation (a single motor driving multiple endpoints is the way to go for a serious endeavour). Beyond that, the details are up to anyone who would care to investigate. A belt instead of a chain… all of it enclosed in plexi, plywood, or metal chassis… who the heck knows what the real design would be in the end, but it’s not an inherently dangerous approach. It’s the normal and expected approach to the engineering problem at hand.
i have never tried or thought about making my own string, but I’m a kid and good with (guys <3 love)powertools. And I can’t put a hook on something :(.