Diane,

Perhaps part of the problem you were
experiencing was the length of your needle.
I initially tried some of the longer needles
when first setting up my dremel lathe. I
found the 2 1/4 to 2 1/2" upholstery needles
worked well. Much longer, they tended to
pick up a bit more vibration and became
unsuitable. Unlike a real lathe, the
dremel only supports one end of the mandrel
and too much length can be problematic. I
have found the shorter ones quite capable of
turning large bass and saltwater poppers
with no problem.

Maybe your thread will stir enough
interest for a dremel bug swap.*G* Or
perhaps a FOTW for the dremel buggers. I
have several I've been considering for
submission. Warm regards, Jim