Hey Folks,

In the last three years, I've turned
over 4,000 dremel bugs, still using the
original 2 1/2" upholstery needle from Wally
World. I make bodies that fit hooks from
#20 up to 5/0 and range up to 2" long by
3/4" diameter. No extra support or any
mods other than my original description in
the article. It works well for me and I
consider it a practical method of shaping
bug bodies safely.

HOWEVER, the use of corn holders or specialty needles, or whatever, scares the
pure living (censored by author) out of me. That dremel spins at up to 35,000 rpm. For those that don't know, thats
about 6 times faster than the family car
engine will spin in neutral with your foot
on the floor! Some specialty needles may
be heavily tempered and break under the
right conditions. Others may be too soft
and bend. No offense to whoever suggested
it, but most corn holders are just nails
set in plastic. Ouch. Put an untempered
needle or modified "whatzit" in a dremel
and turn it at speed and you may invent a
slicer/dicer that Ron Papio would lust over. My suggestion is that if the
recommended needle is not working, your
foam is probably too soft or of a rubber
base rather than a closed cell plastic foam.
If you want to try another method, check
out Sleazy Steve. He sells tools designed
to work with a dremel for making foam flies. No affiliation.

For what it's worth, I've received over 100
emails from folks that read the article and
have successfully created dremel bugs in the manner I described. Warm regards, Jim