DREMEL PIN ROUTER

This project is based on commercial devices for the router known as "Daisy pin router". The purpose of these devices is to consistently reproduce letters, shapes or figures on a piece of wood (work) using a template. To this end, the template is provisionally attached to the workpiece, and by guiding the contour of the template against the pin (placed on top) will result in an identical carved at work piece with the bit of the router (placed at bottom).

Instead of the router, a Dremel mounted on an accessory router table fixed to a base is used. The "pin" is a punch of the same caliber of Dremel bit (3/16 ") which is placed on an arm fixed to the base. In order to have a hands-free device, I use a footswitch that controls the on-off.

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morsa

I find the concept of this tool really interesting. I have never heard of a "Daisy pin router" before. I can't think of an application I would use it for right now but I have a feeling I will find a use for it sometime in the future.

Thanks, scorch. With these terms (“Daisy pin router”, or just “pin router”) you can find commercial and homemade devices at Youtube and Google, where you’ll also find the way they work, and examples of the possible applications.

You can think of these devices as copiers, both of external and internal shapes, and once you have a template you can make as many exact copies as you wish.

Making such a device with the Dremel is because it will let me do works of smaller size than I could do with the router.

That's a nice rig. Looked up the router table-based daisy pin router and it costs 49 bucks for that simple arm? I'd rather go with your route and fab one up from a toggle clamp and tubing. Thanks for sharing, morsa.

Al

Thanks Al, and you’re right; before I made this jig, I was thinking to make a router pin with a metallic arm attached to the router table and a "horizontal" toggle clamp (placed vertically) to hold and slide the pins (in two or three different diameters, to match the diameter of the router bits), but at the end I gave a try with the Dremel and the router table accessory.

Thanks morsa! We've added your Dremel Pin Router to our Routing category, as well as to your builder page: morsa's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/dremel-pin-router"><img src="http://www.homemadetools.net/uploads/134010/dremel-pin-router.jpeg" /></a></div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/dremel-pin-router">Dremel Pin Router</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/morsa">morsa</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/dremel">Dremel</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/punch">punch</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/router">router</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/rotary-tool">rotary tool</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/switch">switch</a></div> </div> </div> </div>

Hi morsa,

Very resourceful! Your Dremel Pin Router is the 'Tool of the Week'!

You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:

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Just let me have your details (size, color choice, and mailing address) via PM and we'll get things processed directly.

Congrats!

Ken

Very good idea. I believe these are often referred to as an overarm router. It is always interesting to see what creative people have done with the simple Dremel.

Thank you, sholcombe. Even though they are based on the same fundamentals, "overarm" devices means that the machine is positioned above the work. By the way, I have tried this arrangement with the Dremel and the same template, and I will be posting it in the next hours.

It would appear that your way of mounting the tool under the stock instead of above would be safer as the tool is never exposed. I wonder why typical overarms are not done this way. I have used an overarm many years ago in my fathers cabinet shop, it worked well. You do not see them much anymore, probably due to the commonplace of CNC routers today. We could cut your patterns via CNC mill in my shop if you ever need to.

You are right, sholcombe; I agree that it is safer if the router or Dremel are fixed below the table. However, if all safety requirements are met, the "overarm" devices would have the possible advantage that you can see firsthand how the work is developing.
Indeed, it is possible to compare the CNC router with overarm devices, with the huge difference that the control is automated.
Thanks for the offer to cut patterns in your shop, but I guess the great distance should make unaffordable the cost of shipping.

That's a neat tool. I made something similar with an actual router some years ago to trim some PC boards to final size. The router was in my shop made router table and the over-arm was a piece of 1x3 or 1x4 that was suspended on both ends on spacer blocks. A 1/4" pin was fixed in the bottom of that board and located directly over the router bit. The router bit I used was carbide to handle the fiberglass PC boards.

I could make up a stack of 5 or 10 PC boards with the aluminum pattern on top. A holes in the boards and pattern easily allowed alignment: two diagonally opposite holes for alignment pins and two more for countersunk screws to hold it together. Set the height of the pin and router bit to handle the stack. Then I made not just one, but a whole bunch of identical parts in one simple step.

The use of a piece of flat wood provided an almost fool proof safety factor. There was almost no way that I could get my fingers to the cutter. The use of a pattern allowed me to make not just rectangular PC boards, but any outline that I needed.

I think for a Dremel I would design around using a variety of cutter diameters. A smaller cutter would allow finer work; 1/8" or perhaps even 1/16" would seem desirable. And a 1/4" or even larger for roughing out.

Thanks for commenting your experience, Paul Alciatore.
That's right, once you have a functional pattern, you can make as many identical copies as you like. It is possible that only CNC router can beat this setting.

If someone is really into this there is a related technology for routers called "Pantograph Routing". It's like a pin router with the router and pin seperated by a four bar linkage. By altering the length of the linkages you can scale designs larger or smaller.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elizabeth Greene

If someone is really into this there is a related technology for routers called "Pantograph Routing". It's like a pin router with the router and pin seperated by a four bar linkage. By altering the length of the linkages you can scale designs larger or smaller.

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More here...

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...332#post113279

on pantographs as well as the mathematics of setting up the pivot points for a desired copy ratio.

Here...

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...9038#post70044

is a description of a fixed 2:1 ratio pantograph engraving machine for use with Foredom/Dremel tools that I built.