Iron Wind VTOLs: Bases and Stands

[OatsAndHall]

I've purchased several VTOLs from Iron Wind and I've had to drill a hole in the base and in the model for the stand. I've been using a Dremel tool that's woefully inadequate; it takes forever and I have to load the model up with glue to keep it on the stand. I'm looking for reasonably cheap drill and bits to improve this process.

[faithless]

I am a fan of the 4v ryobi. I use it for other hobby work as well.

Search for 4-Volt Lithium-Ion Screwdriver Kit. For the bits I use quick change drill bits. And it is pretty handy as an electric screw driver around the house too.

[Cache]

Do you have a standard drill? If so, use that for drilling holes for thicker wire like flight stands.

[OatsAndHall]

Thanks for the responses. No, I don't have a drill; I just have a Dremel with some drill bits for metal. That tool isn't getting the job done; it just doesn't have the power to drill deep into pewter.

[Sartris]

I find a pin vice to be adequate in a pinch

[OatsAndHall]

I find a pin vice to be adequate in a pinch

Thank you. It's the tool itself that's inadequate though. It's really my own fault, Dremel tools aren't designed to drill into heavier material like pewter At least not easily, lol.

[Cache]

Pin vise is what I generally use. Have a friend who puts his pin vise in a standard drill.

[jbressel]

Pin vise is what I generally use. Have a friend who puts his pin vise in a standard drill.

Ok, your problem isn't the drill, I use HAND drill pin buses for ALL my drilling. Bite the bullet, get some decent bits, preferrably titanium nitride coated(cheaper than it sounds). I drill metal, all the time, effortlessly, with minimum pressure. Just don't cheapo it.

[Joel47]

Ok, your problem isn't the drill, I use HAND drill pin buses for ALL my drilling. Bite the bullet, get some decent bits, preferrably titanium nitride coated(cheaper than it sounds). I drill metal, all the time, effortlessly, with minimum pressure. Just don't cheapo it.

This. In my experience, 90% of all drilling problems are caused by cheap bits. "High-speed steel" sounds cool, but actually ranges from bad to terrible -- and the tiny bits we use for this stuff are usually milder steel than should be used for the application. Either buy good bits or treat them as disposable (like razor blades).

[RickSteele]

IMO, a dremel spins way too fast for the relatively soft pewter type metal.  While, typically, you want to spin a smaller drill (bit) faster, the pewter (or lead) is a bit gummy, and the small bits are fragile.

Pin vise should be obtainable for ~US$20 or less and should take only a few minutes to drill out whatever you need.

If you feel you need a power option, a regular cordless drill should be ideal. You might need to get a collet or adapter to hold a small enough bit.  The one that comes with the pin vise works nice.

One final tip: drill a second hole in your VTOL and base, clip the wire down to 2 shorter pieces. Keeps the VTOL from spinning on the base and makes it less tippy, and easier to fit into a mini case.

HTH!

[klarg1]

I usually use a hand-held pin vise too.

I love my rotary tool (Dremel) but they rarely have the torque needed to push steel through pewter easily. You could try clamping the mini into a machinist's mill but that seems slightly overkill.