Appreciation post: my dremel finally paid for itself this week

I've been slowly building a case from an old steel server chassis I got for free, and this week I finally cut the side panel for a window. Used a dremel with a cutoff wheel, spent like 4 hours filing and sanding the edges smooth. My first attempt looked like a toddler carved it, but the third try actually came out pretty straight. I even drilled holes for a mesh intake on the front panel. Anyone else spend way too long on a single cut just to get it right?

2 comments

2 Comments

jakewhite4d ago

You say "paid for itself" but did you actually run the numbers? A dremel kit is like $60-100, and you spent 4 hours filing one cut. That's basically an entire workday for a side panel window that probably doesn't even line up perfectly. You could have bought a case with a window for $40 on Facebook Marketplace and saved yourself the headache plus the file blisters. And the mesh intake you drilled? Good luck keeping that dust free without a proper filter. I just don't see how this is a win when you factor in all the time and material waste.

loganhart4d ago

@jakewhite, a shop vac with a brush attachment works better than a filter for that mesh.