Dremel as Cut Off Saw Advice Needed

[J-KID]

I'm getting ready to do some real arrow tuning now that deer season is winding down.  I usually order my Carbon Express 150's cut to length with inserts installed.  I finish up the fletching on the Bitzenburger.  I REALLY don't want to have to buy a cut off saw just for tuning this one time.  I have a Dremel.  So, two questions.  1. Can someone give me some detailed instructions on cutting with the Dremel (process and blade needed) and squaring the ends.  2.  Should I start the tuning process at 30" or what?  Right now I'm shooting 29.5 but I think I can get my arrows to fly a little better by tweaking length and point weight.

[LKH]

I have used a dremel from time to time, but it is virtually impossible to get the ends truly square.  Whatever you do, wear eye protection.  I also recommend a fan to blow away the dust.  Carbon dust is not something you want to breathe in.  

Mount the dremel and try and make some kind of jig to hold the shaft. Then you can slide the shaft into the turning cutoff wheel and then rotate the shaft.  

I bareshaft CX terminator hunters, but they are extinct so I will have to try the Heritage next.  Only ones with good weight.

[koger]

I just clamp my dremel in a bench vise, and have line marked on the shaft. I use a larger cutting wheel, 1&1/2" and mandrel that I get at a local flea market, I think harbor freight has them, about$2.50 for the mandrel and 6 blades,what I pay there also.

[Whitetail Chaser]

I use a dremel for all my carbons.  I also have the G5 Arrow Squaring Device.  It costs $40, but that is a whole lot cheaper than a cut-off saw.

Brett

[beyondmyken]

I use blue painters tape wrapped around the shaft at the length I want to cut off, ie 1/4 in. This gives me a guide for a perpendicular cut.  Clamp the arrow shaft close to the vise so it won't vibrate. If your cut is slightly uneven, you can still make fine adjustments with a cutting wheel.

[oldpaths]

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=mini+cut+off+saw&Submit=Go  (Works really well.)

[ChuckC]

BE CAREFUL !   at 30,000 rpm that thing will lay you wide open before you even know it is happening.    They are great tools,  but be very careful.
ChuckC

[doeboy]

buy the time you get all the other gizmos you should just buy the saw. I haveseen them real cheap latly, 69$ or something like that. Now you can buy all your shafts raw and save the cost of the saw.

[pseman]

I do mine just like beyondmyken. You can get them pretty square this way. I use a chamfer stone that came with some Axis arrows on the end of each shaft after cutting and squaring with the dremmel.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

I've used a Dremmel for several years to cut carbons, much the same way LKH explained. But I've never had any problems getting the cuts square.

[Bill Tell]

Originally posted by Whitetail Chaser:
I use a dremel for all my carbons.  I also have the G5 Arrow Squaring Device.  It costs $40, but that is a whole lot cheaper than a cut-off saw.

Brett

[fyrfyter43]

I also use a Dremel with a reinforced cutoff wheel to cut carbons. After they're cut, I square up the end by butting it up against the cutoff wheel.

I tried the Harbor Freight saw, but when I tried to replace the blade with an abrasive blade, the screw stripped.

[J.Williams]

I do the same thing as fyrfyter43...works just fine.

[john fletch]

Now that I have purchased a small bandsaw I use that, but I also have the drill press for my Dremel tool.  If you turn around the clamp and lay the press flat on the table, it will stay very stable with the cutting end sticking out the 'top'.  You can then place a wood block as a stop guide to keep your shaft turning square to the cut.  I suppose you could build the whole jig around a table vice as well.

I believe the secret to a good cut is a stable cutoff device and a guide for turning the shaft to keep the cut square.

[Missouri Sherpa]

I have been cutting my carbon shafts with a dremel, freehand, for the past 12 years without a hitch.  A few hundreds off of perfectly square does not seem to make any differnce to my arrows after the inserts are glued in.

[Ray Johnson]

I cut mine freehand with a dremel and they are not perfectly square.I do the best I can by laying the end of the shaft on the flat side of the dremel and taking a little off where needed.A little off square doesn't make a difference once the inserts are in.I can't tell the difference at all in arrow flight.

[LONGHORN]

I use one I made,didn't cost much to build and cut square once set-up.I do wear a mask for carbon shaft.