Adding Bevel/Airfoil to fins with a Dremel Router table

I hadn't felt the need earlier to add bevels/airfoils to my rocket fins since my local club has a low waiver, so why bother trying to go higher?

However I'm working on a 4" X-15 from Hangar II and from what I can tell, extra altitude/less drag would be good for this bird. Additionally, it looks so good that it deserves that extra bit of effort and square chunky leading edges don't seem like it will do it justice.

So how would one air foil *6* 1/4" plywood fins consistently? I've wanted to use a router table; however getting a full size one seemed overkill for fins, so I looked into a Dremel router table which I've known about for quite a while, but never pulled the trigger.


The table itself is about $30 (I got mine from Amazon) and requires that you fit in your own Dremel tool. I actually have a Dremel 395 Model 1 from about maybe 30 years ago that I had sitting around and still works, so I used it!

The table was quick to mount to my bench with 4 wood screws and it was fairly easy to install the Dremel rotary tool and set up. Nice and simple.

I also used a Dremel 618 Chamfer router bit...it has about a 45 degree cut, which was close to what I was looking for:

The router table has an adjustment to raise/lower the cutting bit, so it was simple to get it where I wanted. Here it is with me doing a quick look-see before mounting it to my bench.



I tried it on a test piece first and adjusted it to where I wanted and then let it rip! It made fairly quick work of the fin edges; however I had to set the rpms to about 3K and also made sure the fins were flat against the table as I was feeding them. Here is a pic of the fin after beveling both sides (pic taken with fin picked up to show the edge):



I then sanded the edges with a Medium sanding sponge and the results look great to me!



Hope someone finds this helpful! I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger.

Of note is that I'm not sure if I would use this on balsa since that wood is so soft that it would be easier to just sand. I would use this on Basswood and harder. YMMV.

Oh, very nice. I'm in an apartment but that's small enough to justify.

hornet driver said:

Oh, very nice. I'm in an apartment but that's small enough to justify.

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Thanks! For an apartment, you might want to duct-tape a vacuum hose to the bottom of the table where the bit is to cut down on saw dust.

The table made quick work of these 6 fins...I can't imagine how long it would've taken me to do it manually and while the sanding jigs I've seen are really cool, I just couldn't find the time to make one.

Very nice work. I was wondering if this toy would work that well or not. Now it looks like my last excuse for not buying one went poof with your first post.

A real router / table combo in conjunction with a raised panel bit works better.

JD

I've had a router table (the same as in the OP) for a while (too bad the Dremmel itself died). However, I'd like to do longer bevels, say 1/2" - 3/4" from the edge.

Can it be done with a Dremmel?

JDcluster said:

A real router / table combo in conjunction with a raised panel bit works better.

JD

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Agreed; however if workbench space is an issue and you don't need a full size router, this is a good economical alternative. Obvious bonus if you have a Dremel of course. :wink:

K'Tesh said:

I've had a router table (the same as in the OP) for a while (too bad the Dremmel itself died). However, I'd like to do longer bevels, say 1/2" - 3/4" from the edge.

Can it be done with a Dremmel?

Click to expand...

That's quite a bevel! That would depend on the bit and I'm pretty sure they don't make one that would fit/accommodate that for the Dremel. Maybe with a full size router with a really long/tall/wide bit and a table that angles you can.