I have been asked to trim a few inches off a damaged butt. I haven't done this before, but I have seen a few suggestions that recommend using a dremel tool and cut off wheel for this.

Any do's or don'ts, before I proceed? I have the cut off wheel for metal, would the one for plastics be better ?

I have an old blank I can make a couple of practice cuts on .

Thanks for any help

Take masking tape and tape the cut line on the "want to save" side and cut along that tape line. I usually run the tape around the blank a time or two. A thin diamond cutting wheel works best for me and I like the dremel on a higher speed to help prevent any "grabbing". I usually hold the dremel still and turn the blank by hand and let it cut only one side at a time and work my way back around to complete the cut. Dont breathe the dust! Wear glass's.

DR

ditto what DR said

DR's right, as always (well, as usual, then).

You want to make the cut as clean and as much 90deg to the shaft as possible. Once you start the cut, don't stop till it's done.

We found a "mini"-chopsaw about a year ago, that uses a carbon cut-off wheel (no teeth). It only has one setting - straight down. You square the rod or whatever you want to cut and with one slice it's done. Prevents splitting, cracking, chipping, or peeling - seriously. But if you have the Dreml, that'll do it too. In that case use the brown cut-off wheels. Find the speed that cuts but doesn't melt the rod material; it'll probably be higher than you think.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

I cut them like Dr. If it's not a perfectly square cut , I then use a fine cut file to smooth and square it up.
I use a dremel and the little brown carborundum wafer blade. It does a nice job.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I used, before Dremel, a triangular file like Duane uses the cut off wheel. Now I cut blanks like Duane.

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.

If you do much blank trimming or other trim work - a chop saw works really well.

I have a couple of chop saws, both with abrasive disks mounted on the saws.
I modified an 8 inch miter saw to take 8 inch machinest cut off wheels. Since an abrasive wheel wears down and gets smaller, I raised the deck of the cutting surface by adding a piece of 2X3 steel channel to the deck. This allows me to chop all the way down to a 4 inch wheel, before the motor will start hitting the stock.

The other saw that I have is a little 2 1/2 inch chop saw - picked up off the internet for $20. I removed the metal saw blade and replaced it with a 3 inch thin abrasive wheel. This little saw makes very quick work of any blank trimming. I also use it to chop arbors.

I typically use the large saw when chopping handles or similar work.

Take care
Roger