Dumb Dremel Q: How do I attach an accessory?
June 25, 2016 3:58 PM Subscribe
This is definitely a silly question that I'll feel dumb for asking later, but right now it has reached COSMIC MYSTERY levels of frustration.
Today I popped out and got myself a Dremel 4000 kit. I opened it up and went to attach my first accessory. None of the accessories that come withe the 4000 seemed to fit in the Collet. "Well, that's dumb", I thought to myself. I went back out and dropped another couple bucks on the set of 4 collet sizes.
Came home, same issue.
The collet always seems too small. Now, I'm presuming that there must be some kind of chuck-style way to adjust the size of the collet, but I'm baffled. I've read the instructions backwards and forwards. I've looked at over a dozen tutorials. They all say the same thing: Just go ahead and slip your accessory into the collet! Easy peasy!
I'm feeling insane right now. What am I missing? Additionally, how do collets fit inside the collet nut? The one that came with the kit seems stuck inside, the ones that I bought don't seem to fit. I'm missing something obvious and big.
Thanks for the help!
The collet always seems too small. Now, I'm presuming that there must be some kind of chuck-style way to adjust the size of the collet, but I'm baffled. I've read the instructions backwards and forwards. I've looked at over a dozen tutorials. They all say the same thing: Just go ahead and slip your accessory into the collet! Easy peasy!
I'm feeling insane right now. What am I missing? Additionally, how do collets fit inside the collet nut? The one that came with the kit seems stuck inside, the ones that I bought don't seem to fit. I'm missing something obvious and big.
Thanks for the help!
You're not the only person this happened to. . . I saw this review on Amazon:
When my Dremel 4000 arrived, I noticed that none of the included 1/8" shanks fit into the collet. I think some of the other buyers who ran into this problem concluded at this point that their Dremels came with the wrong-sized collet.
However, when I took it apart a little I found that the collet had just been jammed tightly into the collet nut, closing down its diameter so that the shanks wouldn't fit. I unscrewed the collet nut from the Dremel and used a small screwdriver to push the collet out of the back end of the collet nut. This allowed the collet to open up to its full diameter; all of the included shanks now fit.
posted by ananci at 4:05 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
When my Dremel 4000 arrived, I noticed that none of the included 1/8" shanks fit into the collet. I think some of the other buyers who ran into this problem concluded at this point that their Dremels came with the wrong-sized collet.
However, when I took it apart a little I found that the collet had just been jammed tightly into the collet nut, closing down its diameter so that the shanks wouldn't fit. I unscrewed the collet nut from the Dremel and used a small screwdriver to push the collet out of the back end of the collet nut. This allowed the collet to open up to its full diameter; all of the included shanks now fit.
posted by ananci at 4:05 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
If this kind of thing happens again, I've had real help from their phone support for similar problems (I didn't realize I needed a smaller collet for their tiny diamond-tipped drill bits; they explained very patiently, now I'm a fan).
posted by amtho at 6:09 PM on June 25, 2016
posted by amtho at 6:09 PM on June 25, 2016
You're probably going to want a keyless chuck soon anyway (so much easier than the collets), so you may as well just order it now: Dremel 4486 Keyless Chuck
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:03 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:03 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by GilloD at 4:03 PM on June 25, 2016 [3 favorites]