# Tamiya Handy Drill



## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

I went to Colpar Hobbies in Aurora, Colorado today to buy the 1/1000th refit, which they did not have in stock. But I finally bought the Tamiya Handy Drill.

I was assured by someone at the store that it's a drill designed for drilling into plastic without melting the plastic or being hard to control like a Dremel (it's relatively slow speed and power by two AAs). And I still have thousands of windows to drill on the Enterprise E. So I went ahead and bought it.

When I came home and opened the box I went into hysterical Madeline Kahn like laughter. It's a kit! I don't know why I was surprised, but it struck me as indescribably funny.

I just hope it makes it easy to drill all those windows. I'm getting carpal tunnel from my pin vise.

Jennifer


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## omnimodel (Oct 9, 2004)

That is hilarious. Please post your results once you get it all put together. I've been looking for an electric micro drill for some similar projects


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Yes, I'd like to hear what you think, too!


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

I'll put this thing together tomorrow and tell you how well it works!


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## 67CamaroSS (Aug 15, 2009)

thats funny, I have one I got used but never knew it came as a kit


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I have seen this at my LHS as well. I am interested in the chuck or collet style and what size bits it can handle.

And I know what you mean about the pin vise and carpal tunnel!


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## Shizman (Nov 21, 2008)

I've had this drill for awhile now. It's great. It drills relatively slowly and holds a range of bits. I also feel safe letting my daughter use it when needed.

Should make drilling out windows nice, quick and controlled for you.


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## skinnyonce (Dec 17, 2009)

how about using something like this on a dremel to slow down the speed a bit,dont know if the dremel motor has to be variable also, but we can ask around the forum and see what others are doing

http://cgi.ebay.com/VARIABLE-SPEED-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item41486a597d


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## uscav_scout (Feb 14, 2007)

OMG I got to get one of those! My palms (from the pin vise digging in) will thank me.

and its a "model" too???!! BONUS

how much and where?


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Here is the enigmatic link on the Tamiya store page: http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=74041

You can see why I never ordered it from the Tamiya site. Not a lot of info. But the guy at Colpar (I really should learn names), said it takes Dremel collets, so it probably takes the smallest bit your Dremel can hold.

I'm hoping it takes a bit small enough to drill those E windows!

Jennifer


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

For my Enterprise E I used a 1mm drill bit. If it takes Dremel collets and collars then you can use the Dremel chuck that will hold any size bit without the need for changing collets. I have one on my Dremel and love it. I may have to pick one of these little drills up next weekend.

Here's a link to the chuck.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=4486


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## kylwell (Mar 13, 2004)

You can also rig it to run off a wall wart if needed (for those long stretches of drilling out Star Fleet windows).


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

kylwell said:


> You can also rig it to run off a wall wart if needed (for those long stretches of drilling out Star Fleet windows).


An excellent suggestion, oh ye who told me the refit would be available (although I suppose it is just possible it had sold out before I got there). I am grinning by the way. Never a wasted trip to Colpar.

Presumably I need to find a 3V transformer, which doubtless is somewhere in the giant box of wall warts I keep in the basement. But the last person I sent in there to find one never returned. Seriously though, a transformer makes a lot of sense rather than endlessly buying batteries. Unless I buy -- rechargeable batteries!


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## Shizman (Nov 21, 2008)

skinnyonce said:


> how about using something like this on a dremel to slow down the speed a bit,dont know if the dremel motor has to be variable also, but we can ask around the forum and see what others are doing
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/VARIABLE-SPEED-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item41486a597d


I have one of these for my Dremel. It works great. You can slow it down to a crawl and have total control.


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

petkusj said:


> Here is the enigmatic link on the Tamiya store page: http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=74041
> 
> You can see why I never ordered it from the Tamiya site. Not a lot of info. But the guy at Colpar (I really should learn names), said it takes Dremel collets, so it probably takes the smallest bit your Dremel can hold.
> 
> ...



This drill seems like it may have some good uses but for drilling hundreds of holes all in a row a straight as on the E I'd have some reservations about this kind of drill (i.e. right and angle versus straight like a Dremel).

As part of my job I set up production floor environments and frequently select tools for workers to do their given tasks. Experience shows the last thing anybody ever wants to do is give somebody a tool that is hard to control or one that causes fatigue. If you pick a tool for a worker you will definitely "hear" about whether they had a *good* or *bad* experience with said tool. (You really don't want to know what happens when *bad* ones are selected.) 

Anyway, a motion study comparison of the two types reveals that:

- Use of a right angle drill requires the use of most of the muscles all the way up to the shoulder.

- Use of a straight drill requires the use of the muscles only up to the wrist.

- Use of fewer muscles results in less overall fatigue 

- Use of fewer muscles improves accuracy (i.e. less opportunity to move the wrong muscle at the wrong time resulting in mis-drilled windows and the use of bad words) 

Lastly, when using a straight drill you can rest your elbow on the table top of workbench which improves stability. If you are using a right angle drill your elbow is constantly moving.

I hope I haven't stepped on anybody's feet here but I have bought my fair share of tools that "seemed like the right thing at the time" only to come to the realization that didn't do what I wanted. Again, the Tamiya drill looks interesting but for drilling lots of holes with good steady control a Dremel would work better. Maybe one of their cordless rechargeable ones would work without being too heavy? 

This is just my take, your mileage may vary.

Comments are welcome.

Regards,
MattL


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

^^ if all that's true, then why aren't guns shaped like screwdrivers?

the irony would be if the drill kit required that you drill holes in it to make it work


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

Lou Dalmaso said:


> ^^ if all that's true, then why aren't guns shaped like screwdrivers?


Guns are held motionless when they do work. Drills use forward motion when they do work.

I'll eat my apple and raise you two oranges sir. 

Regards,
MattL


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## halcyon_daze (Jan 6, 2004)

The Dremel Stylus has variable-speed control built-in, ranging from 2000-10,000 RPM, via a dial on the butt end of the tool. What I haven't been able to find for mine is a universal keyless chuck that will accomodate a variety of bit sizes negating the need for changing collets...the only one that I've been able to find isn't compatible with that model.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

This thing is so cool. Now I wish my DeWALT came as a kit!

Putting it together is very easy and the instructions are superb. The only place you could cause yourself trouble is if you forget to remove the flash from the gears. Or if you dropped the parts to the floor and had to fight the cat for a screw. It comes with one collet and one bit, both large. But I was able to use the smallest collet from my Dremel and use the bit I use for the Enterprise E windows.

It's just fast enough to cut through the plastic. You really wouldn't want to use it for anything other than plastic or balsa wood, but for this purpose, perfect.



















Jennifer

PS Like any true craftswoman, I have a 3mm and 2mm washer left over and an E-ring, but I suspect they gave me extra in case of the hypothetical cat contest.

PPS I'll probably be breaking more of these tiny bits, but I broke bits with my pin vise and the sliding spiral drill.

PPPS And before anyone else says it, yes, I know the seams are bad and I really should paint it before applying decals and I really should buy the PE kit and I will weather it eventually.


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

What scale is that Enterprise E?
Thanks


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

junglelord said:


> What scale is that Enterprise E?
> Thanks


It's the 1/1400 scale AMT Enterprise E reissued by Round 2.

You're welcome!

Jennifer


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Jennifer, are you going to open all the windows on the ship? I opened about 437 windows on mine. I estimate that was about 2/3 of the windows. How are you going to light it?


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

robiwon said:


> Jennifer, are you going to open all the windows on the ship? I opened about 437 windows on mine. I estimate that was about 2/3 of the windows. How are you going to light it?


I plan to drill out all the windows and fill all of them with resin or Kristal Klear and opaque the backside of the ones I want unlit (with maybe a drop of black to tint the resin).

Frankly, I don't know whether to go with CCFLs or LEDs. One method I've used before to diffuse light is to just throw in some lightly wadded Saran Wrap (or other cling film) and just randomly hit it with some colored clear acrylic from the airbrush. Adds some random splashes of color to the light shining through the windows. I might try that again.

Jennifer


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

petkusj said:


> It's the 1/1400 scale AMT Enterprise E reissued by Round 2.
> 
> You're welcome!
> 
> Jennifer


Thanks Jennifer, that is the one I am working one.
Nice work on the windows.
One more question.
What size is the drill bit?
Thanks in advance
Dean


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## kylwell (Mar 13, 2004)

petkusj said:


> An excellent suggestion, oh ye who told me the refit would be available (although I suppose it is just possible it had sold out before I got there). I am grinning by the way. Never a wasted trip to Colpar.
> 
> Presumably I need to find a 3V transformer, which doubtless is somewhere in the giant box of wall warts I keep in the basement. But the last person I sent in there to find one never returned. Seriously though, a transformer makes a lot of sense rather than endlessly buying batteries. Unless I buy -- rechargeable batteries!


Well I did say "I thought"... with $ being tight I don't make weekly trips to Colpar anymore. I'm happy to get there once a month.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

This is the ONLY tool you need. It's light weight, its says 5,000 to 25,000 but I have all the other 
Dremel tool and its much slower than the others which is good. I have never melted plastic using 
a dremel ( must be technique used )

You can hold this tool at least 3 different ways that I know of so far. I love it! 

That Tamiya tool looks like your hand will be hurtin big time after about 10 holes or more.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

kylwell said:


> Well I did say "I thought"... with $ being tight I don't make weekly trips to Colpar anymore. I'm happy to get there once a month.


It would be churlish of me to blame you. I should have thought they would be popular. And I do have this neat drill. Rrr! Rrr!


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## halcyon_daze (Jan 6, 2004)

fluke said:


> This is the ONLY tool you need. It's light weight, its says 5,000 to 25,000 but I have all the other
> Dremel tool and its much slower than the others which is good. I have never melted plastic using
> a dremel ( must be technique used )
> 
> ...


Yep, that's the Stylus I mentioned previously.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Thought you might like to see the other tool that will work with my new drill to make those windows in the E. I decided that the width of the windows is the same as the thickness of a No. 11 X-Acto blade, and with my Dremel and a cut off disk, created this tool:










By drilling a few holes, I just use this tool to punch out the window. It worked great with the pin vise, probably even better with the new drill. And it also makes a great scriber, as long as the line you're scribing is the width of a No. 11 X-Acto blade's thickness.

Jennifer


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

WOW! I like your thinking on that. Very cool! :thumbsup:


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

i use my dremel almost daily, but i think im still going to spring for one of those drills!


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

petkusj said:


> This thing is so cool. Now I wish my DeWALT came as a kit!
> 
> Putting it together is very easy and the instructions are superb. The only place you could cause yourself trouble is if you forget to remove the flash from the gears. Or if you dropped the parts to the floor and had to fight the cat for screw. It comes with one collet and one bit, both large. But I was able to use the smallest collet from my Dremel and use the bit I use for the Enterprise E windows.
> 
> ...


Could you please tell me the size of that drill bit?
Thanks so much.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

I can now happily report that I have drilled at least 10 holes without my hand or finger being tired. It's very light and doesn't take much of a squeeze to pull the trigger.

Its weight is pretty important considering the size of the bit I'm using, which according to my Drill Stand (a little round plastic doohickey with labeled holes for each bit) is .0225 74.

I do like the Dremel Stylus also mentioned in this thread (it looks like a phaser!), but I'm pretty happy with the Tamiya Handy Drill. Heck, the enjoyment of finishing a model (the drill, that is) in 30 minutes was reward enough.

Jennifer


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks, I will get a set of those ASAP.
I think I might get a Dremel Stylist, they are real nice.
Cheers


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## JeffG (May 10, 2004)

The irony of it; a kit of a tool to help build a kit! Tamiya is determined to make us modelers one way or another! Joking aside though, Tamiya's reputation for kits and tools is superb. I'm sure it'll work just fine. I should get one as it looks great for tiny, repetitious drilling chores. Like my DS Nine station I always wanted to light. Hmmm...


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

I got a set of those bits on ebay for a good price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390168041345&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Hope that helps.
I went looking for a dremel stylist, not a single one in town.
My town sucks...no models, no hobby shop, no micro drill bits, nothing.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

junglelord said:


> I got a set of those bits on ebay for a good price.
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390168041345&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
> 
> Hope that helps.
> ...


Try Home Depot if you have one. They sell them in the store, according to their website, and I believe I have seen them on the shelves.

Jennifer

PS But you should always try your LHS first, of course.


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

We do have a home depot...DOOH.
thanks for the heads up.
:thumbsup:


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## halcyon_daze (Jan 6, 2004)

petkusj said:


> Thought you might like to see the other tool that will work with my new drill to make those windows in the E. I decided that the width of the windows is the same as the thickness of a No. 11 X-Acto blade, and with my Dremel and a cut off disk, created this tool:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's an ingenious idea! I've always used a #11 blade, but it's somewhat imprecise especially in the smaller scale kits. I'm going to have to make me one of those!


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Gotta thank everyone for lauding this kit. Last week I remembered to order one from my local. 









Picked it up today, got it home, did my standard video review and built it in about 30mins. 
Proceeded to drill random density materials and was much pleased. I easily got the sense 
this is gonna be real good in combat. A perfect match to the dremel. I expect this might 
be great for all standard dremel bits to work at low speed aside from drilling.

I like the Stylist alot. Having the xp400 super ultra load, I'm not inclined to dremel my 
wallet further anytime soon though. But I really wanna get one, one of these days. 
By the time I do, maybe the nexgen will be on the shelf.

And that speed pedal for the dremel. 
Gotta invest in that cos that's just one more real cool thing to outfit my dremel with. 

I wish dremel made a hobby lathe.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Right outta the box:


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Here's the build. Originally about 30mins, condensed down to 3. 

The last two mins reviews the product and shows it in action.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Nice video and nice accelerated build! Glad you found the Handy Drill as useful as I have.

Jennifer

PS Please post your opinion on the ergonomics of the drill. Some people were worried it might lead to hand cramping, but I've found it pretty easy to use.


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## BARRYZ28 (Mar 3, 2007)

interesting, I may have t buy one.


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## Lee Staton (May 13, 2000)

JeffG said:


> The irony of it; a kit of a tool to help build a kit!


At a WonderFest about 10 years ago, a friend from Japan brought me an unusual gift: An injection-molded plastic model kit of a vertical injection-molding machine!

Now THAT'S irony...and a great conversation piece!

Model Man: Dremel used to make a nifty hobby lathe. I've had mine for 20+ years. You might try eBay for a used one.

Lee


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

Well I wanted to post a picture of my first attempts with a microdrill bit and a regular variable dremel and a 1/1400 E.


Its difficult to get it perfect. I have it set on the lowest RPM setting which is about 1000 or 800 RPM.
Maybe a slower speed drill, like the Tamiya handy drill would work better...Jennifer's work is much cleaner.



> Jennifer


I am however going to get a Dremel Stylus and try that model first.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

petkusj said:


> PS Please post your opinion on the ergonomics of the drill. Some people were worried it might lead to hand cramping, but I've found it pretty easy to use.



I have had no issue with the ergonomics at all. It's light, holds easy and is great all around.
--------------------------------------------------------------

I have found that it does not hold dremel collets though! I just wrote tamiya usa asking if there are different sized collets for this drill as I need to go sub-millimeter for hundreds of holes on the Jupiter 2 (and others eventually).

I tried using brass and aluminum tubes to buttress the dremel collets in the tamiya 'nozzle', but being japanese, it's likely metric and being in america, well we're still using, what, imperial british measurements (i.e. inches vs. mm). So the brass/alum tubing was a non-starter. 

Someone mentioned earlier it did take dremel collets, but that is not my experience. This does not detract from the utility of the drill. The included collet does fit a good range of bits, just not .5mm or smaller.

Will update this when I hear back from tamiya in up to 72hrs the website says.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

I've ended up with a wide variety of collets for some reason, including the ones that came with my X-Acto push drill (you know, that sliding up/down thing). They work great in the Tamiya drill.

I've also had no problem with the Dremel collets, but I can see how the length of the collet could be an issue, but you could use a cut off disc to shorten it (use a Dremel to shorten a Dremel collet to work in a Tamiya drill). I have an ancient Dremel model 395 and its collets works great in the Handy Drill.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

petkusj said:


> I've ended up with a wide variety of collets for some reason, including the ones that came with my X-Acto push drill (you know, that sliding up/down thing). They work great in the Tamiya drill.
> 
> I've also had no problem with the Dremel collets, but I can see how the length of the collet could be an issue, but you could use a cut off disc to shorten it (use a Dremel to shorten a Dremel collet to work in a Tamiya drill). I have an ancient Dremel model 395 and its collets works great in the Handy Drill.


I've got the xp400. The dremel collets aren't wide enough so they sit loosely, the length is ok. I wouldn't think dremel would change the sizes between models, but maybe they did? it's been awhile since I last tried, so rechecking is in order.

My hobby shop suggested crimping alum tubing around the collet. Might work.

Got the reply from tamiya this afternoon.



> Dear Tamiya Customer,
> We do not have different size collets. For your application you may need to get a special pin vice drill.
> 
> Roger Hewson
> ...


Too bad that, I still love the handy drill though! It could be so much more versatile though.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Good luck on finding an appropriate collet. And I should clarify that I don't see the push drill on the X-Acto website, so I don't know if it's a discontinued product or if my memory is faulty and it's not an X-Acto product.

Also, I'm wondering if anyone has tried out the Tamiya Handy Router. It looks identical to the drill, although a different color. Maybe it's geared differently?

Jennifer


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Ooh, I have another idea. Get a universal chuck! MicroMark sells this:










http://www.micromark.com/PRECISION-...IVER-60-80-CAPACITY-1and4-HEX-SHANK,8090.html

You just slip it into any kind of drill-like device that turns slowly: ie cordless screwdriver. It has a 1/4-inch hex shaft and can hold drill bits from #60-80.

I don't think that it will work in the Handy Drill because 1/4-inch is probably way too big, but I don't have it in front of me.

Anyway, I think a cheap cordless screwdriver would work very well for drilling plastic. In addition, I could also drill in reverse!

Of course, I'm pretty happy with my Handy Drill, especially once I either buy some rechargeable AAs or figure out a way to attach it to a transformer. Unfortunately the design of the Handy Drill doesn't really lend itself to just wiring it to a transformer. I'd almost have to make dummy batteries to have something for the contacts to resist.

Jennifer


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

petkusj said:


> Ooh, I have another idea. Get a universal chuck! MicroMark sells this:
> 
> ...
> Of course, I'm pretty happy with my Handy Drill, especially once I either buy some rechargeable AAs or figure out a way to attach it to a transformer. Unfortunately the design of the Handy Drill doesn't really lend itself to just wiring it to a transformer. I'd almost have to make dummy batteries to have something for the contacts to resist.
> ...


I do have a universal chuck for my dremel, but while that is the right diameter for the Handy D., the chuck is too long for the assembly!  Always one thing or another... 

On your other idea, using another drill, a hole is easily placed in the bottom of the Handy D's handle. A cord is then easily run through to the wall wart.

I've got a few ideas on this. What I want to implement is an option for battery or wall power. The wart must be the same voltage and DC, not AC., but that is the easy part. 

Where I wanna get complicated is making the power cord detachable via something like a 5mm audio jack. The wires are soldered to the power plates inside and run out the body to the 5mm jack. From there, i can connect or disconnect to the wall as needed and still be able to insert the batteries. 

Once I do this, I'll post the video of it, but no timelines guaranteed. :wave:

PS There is a push-drill on Tamiya's website.


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