DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder - Page 2

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 21 to 38 of 38

Thread: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

  1. #21
    Registered
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    56
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Pics

    Testing this upload as promised...

    Laid it out so you could see how it was made...

    enjoy.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder-engraver1-jpg   DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder-engraver2-jpg  


  2. #22
    Registered
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    327
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Aksess View Post
    Just currious. How much would someone pay me to make them one?

    I am in need of one but don't have the equipment to make it myself. Given that, I would probably pay between $50 and $150. Mine needs to have a 1/4" shaft and hold either 1/8" or 1/4" bits. If you do decide to make them please let me know.

    Gary



  3. #23

    Default

    Seems like the tool holder would be the hardest part to make. Makes me wish I had kept some of the dremel tools I have burned up over the years. Hmmm...

    Bob La Londe
    http://www.YumaBassMan.com


  4. #24
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    22
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    I would like to buy one from someone at a decent price. I think $400 is a bit pricey.



  5. #25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    I would like to buy one from someone at a decent price. I think $400 is a bit pricey.
    I bought one from Swain for what I consider to be a very reasonable price. If he included a fancy piece of paper with some instructions, a couple different springs, and some documented suggestions he could easily sell them for more. It took some experimentation to make it do what I wanted. I found for plastic, soft steel, and 5052-T6 aluminum I got a pretty good engraving by NOT using an engraving tip. The engraving tip tended to cut into the material too much. I took a broken tungsten end mill, chucked it up in my mill and put a dome on it with a fiber cutoff wheel in my rotary tool. With the rotary tool spinning one way at 10K and the mill spinning the other way at 10k it did the job. The best I could get was a dome, but it did a pretty good job as a drag engraver in the spring loaded tool holder I got from Swain.

    I got the idea to go with a very dull engraver because of the angle of the point in the picture of another spring loaded engraver I saw on Ebay. (also a pretty reasonable price)

    Here is the tip that inspired mine. Theirs is diamond point, but tungsten carbid seemed to work just fine.



    I wanted to see what I could do so I took another broken end mill and chucked it up in my rotary tool and took it over to the bench grinder. I was able to put a conical point on each end. One very wide angle, and one a little steeper. The actual point is not surper sharp. I was able to get decent results on a variety of base materials with the moderate cone. I did shorten and reduce the spring pressure pretty substantially by cutting off several coils and then stretching the spring to maintain compression. I made satisfactory skinny line engraving on aluminum, the steel side case of a cheap knife, a couple deep sockets, and on a simulated wood plastic covered pressed paper box.

    It was all done by drag engraving. I never got great results by spinning up the tool.

    As a side note. I have a couple rotary tools in the shop. The two I tried for this were a Sears Crapsmen, and a Dremel. The Dremel was by far the better tool and put my points closer to center when grinding the tungsten mill to a point. It was still not perfect, but I actually had to turn my engraving bit to see it was not perfectly centered. With the Sears tool I could see the point was not centered from down the street and around the corner. For those thinking about using a rotary tool for other projects its quite obvious that price makes a difference. A local jeweler I know spends quite a lot more than the drice of the variable speed Dremel for his rotary tools. (They also spin faster)


    This is more pressed than scratched in the surface of the box, which considering the material is a desireable result.


    This is a nice scratching/etching on the 5052 aluminum sheet. Except for dressing the edges to fit neatly under my clamps this is a warped unpreprocessed piece of scrap left over from another project.

    Anyway, with a little experimentation I got some great results from Swains spring tool, and it didn't cost anywhere near $400.

    Last edited by Bob La Londe; 11-03-2009 at 01:37 PM.
    Bob La Londe
    http://www.YumaBassMan.com


  6. #26
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    US
    Posts
    37
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    I was just looking at this thread because I am working on some cutting on some somewhat warped 1/4 inch birch and it doesnt take much of a warp to go from lettering to hole all the way through. Just thought I would throw out that dremel makes a screwon chuck that makes the tool holder end of it abit more adjustable so you could use a bigger selection of tools.

    Visit Dagger and Rose 3D Vector Tattoos at http://daggrnrose.sqweebs.com


  7. #27
    Registered PropNut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    US
    Posts
    61
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Aksess View Post
    Sorry it took so long. I have a photo that will make it easier for you to construct one. This was my first prototype the plans can be improved on.
    I am going to necro a five year old thread in order to say thank you to Aksess. I found this thread after a frustrating attempt to do very tiny (.125") text in painted acrylic and failing miserably.

    Thanks to the picture that you posted I was easily able to create my own tool holder and now the text is perfect. Thank you sir!

    I have not yet gotten around to threading the end but it is very easy to change springs (if I ever wanted to) from the tool end so I might just leave the plug driven into the upper end. The 1/8" end mill is in the picture for reference only. I am using a 30 degree engraving bit for the work.








  8. #28
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    49
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    It may not be worth your time to engineer one for the price of this Complete
    Spring Loaded Engraving Tool Kit that sells for $149.00
    The Tool Holder is only 1/4" X 1 3/8" Long!
    Take a look at this new Kit by CNC-Aid.com

    DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder-engraving-kit-included-parts-jpg

    Last edited by allaces; 02-20-2015 at 04:53 PM. Reason: Add info


  9. #29
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    124
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    whats everybody's slop/runout like?

    Cant seem to nail a perfect fit hole on the lathe.

    bits 0.123. Thinkin of making one with a collet, but, can't ponder how to do the slotting. Any input guys?



  10. #30
    Member CNC-Pal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    32
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Quote Originally Posted by allaces View Post
    It may not be worth your time to engineer one for the price of this Complete
    Spring Loaded Engraving Tool Kit that sells for $149.00
    The Tool Holder is only 1/4" X 1 3/8" Long!
    Take a look at this new Kit by CNC-Aid.com

    DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder-engraving-kit-included-parts-jpg
    The price for the Complete Kit is $89.00
    NOT $149.00



  11. #31
    Member HelicopterJohn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    769
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Check this one out. I used it as a drag type engraver. Also, I turned down the spindle end to fit an existing collet I had.
    https://www.tormach.com/store/index....show&ref=32447

    2007 HAAS TM-1P OneCNC XR5 Mill Pro. Shopbot PRT running Mach3 2010 Screen Set, Super PID and PMDX Electronics.Check out my Gallery on: http://www.johnsmarinesolutions@gmail.com


  12. #32
    Member CNCLaserBeam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Posts
    2
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Quote Originally Posted by HelicopterJohn View Post
    Check this one out. I used it as a drag type engraver. Also, I turned down the spindle end to fit an existing collet I had.
    https://www.tormach.com/store/index....show&ref=32447
    I just looked at the one that CNC-Pal just pointed out from CNC-Aid.com, and it is a "Complete Kit" that does Power Engraving and/or Diamond Drag Engraving
    It is very small which is what I need and able to get into very tight places.
    The price is right ($89 with FREE Shipping)), so I'm buying one and hope it will work as good as I'm expecting



  13. #33
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    210
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Quote Originally Posted by CNC-Pal View Post
    The price for the Complete Kit is $89.00
    NOT $149.00
    Well, it WAS $89. I'm pretty sure this thread caused the vendors to jack the price. 109 to 139 now. Probably will fall back in a few weeks.



  14. #34
    Member CNC-Pal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    32
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by philba View Post
    Well, it WAS $89. I'm pretty sure this thread caused the vendors to jack the price. 109 to 139 now. Probably will fall back in a few weeks.
    It is still is $89 Including "FREE Shipping" on the CNC-Aid.com website. eBay and Amazon is the price you stated.

    Check for yourself.
    http://CNC-Aid.com



  15. #35
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    21
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by CNC-Pal View Post
    It is still is $89 Including "FREE Shipping" on the CNC-Aid.com website. eBay and Amazon is the price you stated.

    Check for yourself.
    http://CNC-Aid.com
    I guess the price difference on "Amazon and eBay" is due to the high price they charge for advertising on their sites.
    $89 with FREE Shipping is a darn good price for this complete Spring Loaded Engraving Tool Kit!



  16. #36
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    49
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Quote Originally Posted by philba View Post
    Well, it WAS $89. I'm pretty sure this thread caused the vendors to jack the price. 109 to 139 now. Probably will fall back in a few weeks.
    About 3 years back, I bought my first Spring Loaded Engraving Tool Kit from CNC-Aid.com for $149.00. It was then the "old design" which only accepted the split type engraving bits. It worked great then even with that limitation. But it has now been redesigned and can handle pretty much any carbide 1/8" (3.175mm) engraving bits as well as Diamond Drag engraving bits. I bought the new Kit version about 8 months ago for $89.00 with FREE Shipping. I included then their Optional Diamond Drag Bit. This is the standard new price now on their website, It is a well made spring loaded engraving holder. The internal workings are more complex than the original one so as to handle rotation and holding the engraving bit.

    I can now do Drag Engraving as well as Power Engraving at crazy speeds. I use it mostly for marking part numbers and info on machined parts and it works fantastically well for that. I struggled in the past when all I had was solidly mounted engraving tools. It was very difficult to keep consistent visible part numbers and info due to tool wear or unimportant varying 1/64" machine surface tolerances. I experimented with Diamond Drag Engraving using this holder (Spindle OFF) and it can do very fine details when you need that. I also tried it on my CNC Router that runs at 20,000 RPM and the RPM is no issue for this new engraving holder. I've not found ANY other Engraving holder that is capable of 50,000 RPM!

    One other thing to note: Most Drag Engraving holders are NOT capable of rotation and therefore can only do Drag Engraving. This one can do both.

    This is probably too much info, but I read other posters asking for more info which I included in this one.



  17. #37
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    210
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Quote Originally Posted by CNC-Pal View Post
    It is still is $89 Including "FREE Shipping" on the CNC-Aid.com website. eBay and Amazon is the price you stated.

    Check for yourself.
    F.E.T. is the Ultimate and Most Affordable "Floating Engraving Tool" kit available!
    Yeah. illustrates the drawback of just using amazon and ebay for shopping. I have to admit, I always go to amazon first because their delivery is sooo much faster and, USUALLY,they have close to the lowest prices. On a $10 part, a slightly higher cost is nothing if you can get it tomorrow or the next day instead of a week. A $20 difference or more easily gets my attention.



  18. #38
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    347
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    Im pretty sure this could be converted and used as a drag engraver...i would turn down shaft to 1/4 then cut taper off and drill 1/8 hole with set screw on side... i actually made 5 of the these many years ago for keeping tap straight...i have to find them..i want to try convert as a drag bit

    https://www.msdiscounttool.com/catal...RoC4lUQAvD_BwE



  19. #39
    Member CNC-Pal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    32
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: DIY spring loaded engraving tool holder

    You don't need to convert anything.

    It will do Drag or Power Engraving.

    Read the info at:

    CNC-Aid.com



  20. #40
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    347
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Yes i understand...read my post again

    Im trying to come up with inexpensive alternative for drag engrave



Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


About CNCzone.com

    We are the largest and most active discussion forum for manufacturing industry. The site is 100% free to join and use, so join today!

Follow us on


Our Brands

CNC Seminar Kansas City, MO

CNC Seminar Kansas City, MO