Cork on a Dremel

All about flies Fly Tying
1

I have been turning flip-flop poppers since reading about them on here last winter. It?s a lot of fun and all the ideas everyone shared helped the learning curve immensely.
I was at my sister in laws a while back and took a couple of here wine corks to try and make some cork poppers. Next thing you know she delivers a huge bag of them and I still hadn?t used the original ones (I guess she like wine, alot).
So I tried 2 and they both kept slipping on the needle and I would rather not have a hole through the center if it could be avoided. I would like to cut a slot in the bottom and mount them off center if possible.
What I am looking for is an alternative way to mount them on the lathe. I have tried using epoxy to glue them to the head of a roofing nail. It works OK but takes time. I figured I would ask and see if there is anyone else that has done this a different way or just has another idea.

2

How about using a small screw that is about as long as the needle.

Rick

3

Glue a round tooth pick in the center and see if it will fit in the chuck. Cut it off and then cut your slot. Might not take the side pressure.

Bill

4

You might want to try modifying one of those corn cob forks that they have, the ones with the two prongs that you stick in the ends of a corn cob to eat it when it is hot. I have been meaning to try it but haven’t had the chance yet. The only modification would be to grind down the handle to get it to fit the dremel. The forks should be cheap

Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

5

Search for “Sleazy Steve’s Soggy Bottom Fly Shop” you can probably use his foam shaping tool for cork.

Have you tried the Dremel bit for holding polishing wheels and cones? It has a reverse thread that you can screw into the cork.
[url=http://dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=401&color=666666:9fe96]http://dremel.com/productdisplay/display.asp?sku=401&color=666666[/url:9fe96]

I have not tried it yet so I cannot tell you if it works or not.

HTH.

[This message has been edited by classicflytyer (edited 31 August 2005).]

6

I was thinking along the same lines as CFT. When I go to work later, I will look for a HANGER BOLT (which is a machine screw on one end and a wood screw on the other) in 1/8" size to match the biggest collet I have for my Dremel. I also have lots of wine bottle corks and hadn’t really considered turning them down till I read your post. I will chuck the machine screw end in the Dremel and use the wood screw side to mount the cork.

I’ll let you know how it turns (get it – turns --haha) out.

Clint

7

Bet you could get those corn cob forks at the doolar store.

What about those more recent plastic wine bottle corks,anyone tried those?

8

I just did a little experiment. Also being a model railroader I use a lot of small tools. What I tried was impaling a good quality wine bottle cork on a COARSE SQUARE NEEDLE FILE. The coarse grade I tried was really coarse, It was one of those made with sintered-on grit. Not one with a conventional finely cut surface. I found these at my local “old time” hardware store for $.50 each. The grip in the cork seemed very good and no crumbs came out later indicating that the cork was merely pushed aside so it could spring back later. Of course the file would have to be broken-off to shorten it for the Dremel collet.

9

Hey Folks,

Here we go again with the corn cob

holders. Please keep in mind, the dremel
is a HIGH SPEED motor tool. It turns 10’s
of thousands of RPM at top speed. It can
break, come apart, or whatever and do bodily
harm to you. Honest! The only thing I
recommend using in your dremel is a straight
heavy duty upholstery or darning needle.
They work well. Put something heavier in
it, let it get a bit out of balance at those
speeds and you can get hurt. If you want
something heavier to turn, check out Sleazy
Steves site. He sells arbors that may suit
your needs. Warm regards, Jim

10

It was an idea, thats all. I tried the needle and it didn’t seem to work thats all. When I get more time after thesis writing season I will probably try what ever I can get my hands on.

Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

11

I have taken a piece of heavy steel wire of a gauge that fits the dremel collet and hammered one end of it to flatten it. This is then filed to the shape of a narrow blade about 1" long and shapened.

this will cut into and force aside the cork and provide enough surface that it will snot spin in the cork at moderate pressures during sanding.

keep is short ~ 2" overall and KEEP IT STRAIGHT…

12

Report back on the Hanger Bolt idea. Nope… The smallest Hanger Bolt I could find is a #8 and the largest collet I have is a 1/8".
The bolt is too large to fit the Dremel.

Clint

Wise men still seek HIM…

13

Hey Bluegill Bud,

Not sure but perhaps a drill motor might
work for shaping your wine corks. It’s
slower speed by a bunch but that might be a
good thing given the density of the cork.
The drill motors will chuck anything up to
3/8 inch normally. Good luck. Jim

14

On the Hanger bolt idea, chuck the screw portion of it in a drill press and use a file to turn the bolt end down to fit the Dremel.
Bill

15

I’m with Jim hatch on this one. The first time I used the dremel to shape a popper, the needle I had was not quite right, either too lightof a needle or slightly off center/bent. The end result was a very rapid failure and a 90 degree bend at about 2500 rpm. Oh yea, I also had a very sore thumbnail where it smacked me, the kind where you take a few seconds to look at it because you suspect that the nail is no longer there. This happens so fast, you can not react, in fact you don’t even know it’s about to happen until it’s all over. Stick with very simple like the heavy duty upholstery and even then be very careful with something so large and heavy as a wine cork which could be slung off like a bullet.

Good luck and be careful.

Jim Smith

16

If you want to set up a power drill perhaps you would be interested in this thing to hold it…could be used for a dremel also…it’s the inexpensive gray thing in this rather poor picture but I didn’t bother to remove the reloading tool I have clamped in it…note the hose clamp that is used to hold the drill.
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v185/ducksterman/IMG_0001.jpg:81094]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v185/ducksterman/IMG_0001.jpg[/url:81094]