Rotary tools are great little handheld powerhouses that fill the void between manual tools and larger shop machines. They’re also kind of expensive for what they are, which is essentially a power circuit, a switch, and a high-RPM motor with a tool coupling on the shaft. If your tooling needs are few and you have the resources, why not make your own?
[DIY King 00] built himself a cordless rotary tool for less than $10 out of commonly-available parts. It doesn’t run nearly as fast as commercial rotary tools, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He made the body out of 2″ diameter PVC and mounted a 12 V, 400 RPM DC motor directly to one of the fiberglass end caps. Tools are chucked into a collet that screws into a coupler on the motor shaft.
For power, [DIY King 00] built a 7.4 V battery pack by wiring two 18650 cells from an old laptop battery in series. It isn’t the full 12 V, but it’s enough power for light-duty work. These 2200 mAh cells should last a while and are rechargeable through the port mounted in the other end cap.
Drill down past the break to see the build video and watch the tool power through plywood, fiberglass, and inch-thick lumber. Once you’ve made your own rotary tool, try your hand at a DIY cordless soldering iron.
Filed under: Tool Hacks
No comments:
Post a Comment