Carol & listers,

Dremels are nice, but they are really hobbyist tools and are underpowered.
They'll do the job, but more slowly and with less control, and have shorter
lifetimes. Check your local college's art department metals program, or a
local metalsmith/jeweler for recommendations for flex-shaft machines.
According to my local metalsmith (my wife), Foredom is the best. The bits
can be bought at either a local hardware store or from a supply company
like Rio Grande (I don't have an address handy, but can get one if anyone
is interested). There are other good brands as well. These are more
expensive than Dremels, however (sometimes much more).

The problem is that these are not portable tools--they either sit on a
bench top, or hang inverted nearby and require AC line power. I don't know
of any cordless models off hand, but the art people in the local metals
program ought to know.

Phil

>I was pleasantly surprised to see this topic come up today.  I am not
>using a dremel tool in the lab, but our wildlife health field crew is for
>doing necropsies on white-tailed deer.  They didn't want to spend the
>money for a stryker saw.  These folks will probably want to use the
>same instrument for cutting up seals, dolphins, whales, and sea turtles
>this summer.  Are there any negative implications for them personally, or
>specimen quality?  (I have managed to convince them to take chunks that
>aren't bigger than a megacassette, but they don't want to admit that you
>CAN collect a tissue that fits in a regular cassette IN THE FIELD.)
>
>Regards -
>Carol
>*****************************
>Carol B.  McCollough, HT (ASCP)
>Diagnostics & Histology Laboratory Manager
>Maryland Department of Natural Resources
>Fisheries Service
>Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
>904 S.  Morris Street
>Oxford, MD 21654

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