Just bought the Flexcoat RL100. I've got a corded 3/8" drill that I'll use with it and - although it's a variable speed drill - it will be difficult (if not impossible) to work the trigger to vary the speed when I've mounted it on the drill stand.

What I'd like to do is put some sort of device in line with the drill's power cord to allow me to vary the speed while I'm turning cork handles. I checked with the local Home Depot and they absolutely discouraged the use of a standard 'dimmer switch' for that purpose. Do you recommend another approach?

Thanks for any help --

Probably because of the amp rating. What IS you amp rating? I may have foot controls at a decent price that will work.


Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2007 08:00PM by Mark Griffin.

Bill,

If you tighten down the drill trigger (say with a piece of velcro) and plug the drill into a sewing machine foot pedal you'll probably be able to get the speed control you require. Some years ago. I modified my wife's sewing machine foot pedal for just this purpose, by adding a female plug to the correct foot pedal cord.

Stan

Does the trigger not have the little round thing on it that can be tightned down to various RPM's for "finger free" operation? Basicly a constant on switch which you can also adjust the rpm's. If not you might be able to use a small screw type hose clamp.

TJ

HOSE CLAMP!

Guys, I think he's trying to vary speed while turning.

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

What about using a router speed control?

[busybeetools.ca]

Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

I have used an old sewing machine foot pedal with the drill plugged into it. In the long haul it may be bad for the drill but mine has lasted 5 years with no problem. Good luck.

Stan

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I also got a response from John Anderson at FlexCoat -- one of his recommendations was also the router speed control. He offered to look into several manufacturers to see if they'd work with an electric drill. (I looked up the one at busybeetools.ca -- it's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind).

Again - thanks for taking the time with me.

Bill

Ditto on the sewing machine pedal. When I first stared I made a crude grip lathe powered by a 3/8" VSR drill. I would get SWMBO to run the drill while I shaped grips and would tell her to slow down and speed up as needed It worked OK, but my motor control soon went on strike and I had to come up with an alternative. I bought a sewing machine pedal at the local goodwill store for less than $2.00, took it home and hard wired the drill into the side of the pedal marked "machine". It worked just fine for right at a year, and then I built another grip lathe with a proper headstock and such. Offly enough, all my mandrels where sized to fit either a 3/8 or 1/2 inch drill chuck so I made an adapter which was a #1 morris taper with a short solid shank threaded to accept my keyless drill chucks. I then drilled and tapped the back end to accept a draw bolt and went to work. I later bought a 3 jaw chuck for the lathe, but never really found a situation where my drill chuck mandels wouldn't get the job done.

I'll do the stupid thing first, then you shy people can follow. -FZ-

Rather depends upon the amperage of your drill, and whether you want a variable speed via foot control or a tabletop dial. Easy enough to find a dial control,,, harborfreight occasionally has sales on router speed controls that will handle 10-15 amps (depending upon the model). [www.harborfreight.com] for example

A variable speed foot control is a bit trickier just because the most common ones have rather low amperage capacities. Sewing machine versions usually are only rated for a few amps, which is lower than most all electric drills. Might work, but I bet they can get quite hot in use. The discontinued Dremel 221 foot control goes up to 5 amps and can still be found occassionally on @#$%&. Some generic ones on @#$%& (gray metal) can look identical, but some are only 2 amp capable, even when they have identical housings to those capable of 5-6 amps. Foredom FCT and SCT foot controllers can handle up to 4 amps. Oddly enough, some of the pedal speed controls for manicure usage are rated up to 6 amps. Picked one up to play with on @#$%& for $15+$5 shipping. Haven't played with it yet though.

Oh and beware some of the @#$%& guys. At least one supposed 'speed controller' I looked at was actually just an on/off switch and not a rheostat/potentiometer.

Hope that helps. As you can probably tell, I've been doing a bit of searching on the topic recently myself :-)