Dremel mod question...straight line guide?

[bchalker]

Anyone have a tip for cutting straight lines (a guide maybe) when using a Dremel (or other rotary tool)?

 

[Goatsan]

mark a strait line with a ruler or something, follow that line

 

[bchalker]

Thanks. Yea, that's how I've been doing it, but I need something a bit more precise.

 

[QueBert]

I wish you the best of luck, I had the idea I would borrow a dremel and pimp out my case window. I decided to pratice on some scrap metal. The results were dastardly. If you find a good source let us know! I haven't given up but I definately won't be using this Dremel until I get some help

 

[cleverhandle]

I use steel strips, apparently designed for mending or reinforcing joins, at my hardware store for less than a buck a piece. They're made of sturdy steel and come in various sizes from about 1"x3"x1/8" to 2"x8"x1/4".

Tape or otherwise cover the surface, measure and draw the line, line up the steel strip on the mark, and duct tape or clamp it down. Makes for a decent guide. You'll still have to do some finishing work to get things looking really nice, but it does prevent the most flagrant acts of stupidity and/or clumsiness.

 

[Ikonomi]

Do you think your steel strip method would work when using a sabre saw as well? I suck at cutting straight lines with ANY tool, even scissors.

 

[LED]

I use the same method as cleverhandle except the PCI plates from the back of the Case and Duct tape work fine for me ...Ikonomi, I fear that the vibration may be to much in your Case n Point

 

[cleverhandle]

Yeah, the bigger the tool, the less confidence I'd have in my half-ass way of doing things. Dremels are fine because they're easy to manuever accurately along the guide. A small jigsaw would probably be OK, too. But anything bigger and I'd worry about digging into the guide with the saw and having the whole guide/saw/case become one big moving part.

 

[Ikonomi]

Haha, I assumed it'd be all clamped down together. I'm just looking at alternatives because my Dremel skills suck hardcore. I should just get my friend to do whatever Dremeling work I have.

 

[Wuzup101]

FYI: Dremels have their place in computer modding. However, cutting straight lines is definitly not one of their great strengths. It can be done perfectly if you have one of those router bases and you set up a fence of sorts. You would set up a ruler or something taped parallel to the line you want to cut and just drag the outer part of the router base on this ruler. However, a far easier way is to use a jigsaw. It will cut through even the toughest cases (IE the older antec 1080s w/ steel sides) like a hot knife through butter. You will be smacking your self for ever using a dremmel. I personally used a dremmel for my first window and have used a jigsaw for the last 2. With the jigsaw the total job takes about 20 min if you are careful to tape up everything so there are now scratches on your new case. About 2-5 min of that is actual cutting. Also, a blade specifically for cutting metal will be very cheap for a jigsaw and last you quite a while (my guess would be atleast 10 window mods... probably more if that's all you use it for). Those reinforced cutting wheeles cost major cash when you figure you could be going through a 5 pack for a single mod.