Topic: Will a dremel be able to cut through a 550 rear fender?

[elquenada]

i dont have any heavy duty tools and I i'd like to shorten my rear fender.  will a dremel metal cutting disk do the job or will i just make a mess of it?

[moham]

It would probably work but you might go through a few wheels doing it (would be a nice detailed cut, though!). An angle grinder with a thin cut-off wheel will have it off in a jiffy.

[Loki]

i just cut a portion of a exhaust with a dremel, because i couldnt use my grinder in the space, so you should be able to do it, just you'll go through alot of disks.

[elquenada]

thats what i was thinking.  I'll give it a try this weekend.

[Alan F.]

The last time I needed my dremel I realized I was out of cutting discs, then I remembered how lame they were to work with.  A quick trip to sears found me some replacement discs from a craftsman rotary tool that are quite a bit stouter than the dremel discs.  Picture a smaller version of the big die-grinder cut-off wheels with the reinforced weave instead of the flimsy dremel discs.
I was able to mount these wheels in the dremel wheel's arbor too, I just had to nip the tip off a ball point pen to act as a centering spacer as the hole in these wheels is a tiny bit larger.  Found this pic on the web, it looks like what I'm talking about.
The discs I got are about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2" wide give or take and were actually cheaper since you can buy them as singles instead of by the tube of dremel discs, I think they were like $1.50 each
I highly recommend them.

[moham]

Nice.

Good tip (pun intended)...

[BlindJoe]

You can probably buy an angle grinder  at Harbor Freight for less than you'd spend on bullsh#t Dremel discs

[Alan F.]

You can probably buy an angle grinder  at Harbor Freight for less than you'd spend on bullsh#t Dremel discs

Possibly, but it wouldn't produce the type of precision results you'd need when bobbing a fender.

[BlindJoe]

use a thin disc, put tape where you want the cut to be, cut below the tape, flap disc the rest, then file

[campbmic]

My bike came with a cutoff fender if your interested in swapping Ill send some pictures. Theres only so many of these left in the world it would be a shame to kill one!

[Gordon]

I used a Dremmel to cut the dented front section off the front fender on my 550.  Went through it like a hot knife through butter, and only took one disc. 

[McGriff]

Yup, i got through the rear fender on my '74 750 in about 10 minutes and one disc with the dremel.  I used the angle grinder to smooth out the little variations and i think the edge came out alright.  i plan on covering the edge over with some car door trim.

[camelman]

A dremmel tool can cut through a lot without destroying the disc.  Just make sure you keep the disc perpendicular to the cutting surface, and don't push hard.  It cuts very fast, and very accurately.  I see a lot of people destroy loads of dremmel discs in seconds because they are trying to force the cut, not keeping the disc perpendicular, or are leaning the disc through the cut.  Just let the disc do the work.

I use the thinner discs if I want to cut quickly.  The tool only has so much HP to offer.  If you use a thicker disc, then you will need to slow down your cut due to HP limitations.  If you have steady hands, and know how to use a dremmel, then you can accomplish what you want quickly and with minimal discs.

Camelman

[elquenada]

great tips and advice thank you. 

My bike came with a cutoff fender if your interested in swapping Ill send some pictures. Theres only so many of these left in the world it would be a shame to kill one!

my fender is in really nice shape so i am thinking I may buy a snottier one and cut that one instead.  I'd hate to ruin a good one.