Some Miniature Wire Wheel Sources

THIS INFORMATION ON miniature wire wheels should be useful to people who aren’t satisfied with the accessories currently available through many retail outlets.

These are the small wire wheels with a 1/8” diameter shaft for use in Dremel or Foredom machines.

The one I have is a Foredom variable speed with a flexible shaft and keyed chuck that is perhaps 40 years old.

It is quite valuable for small jobs, or to get at the many areas of a larger job that a 6” wire wheel on a bench grinder cannot reach.

Finding quality accessories, especially wire wheels and cups, has been a problem since I’ve found that the ones from Dremel and Foredom in the retail stores or by mail order do not have the stamina to continue doing a good job.

Then I tried some from the Weiler Corp. in Cresco, Pennsylvania, (weilercorp.com).

On their Web site you can locate Weiler distributors, but Fastenal and Grainger are national accounts and Weiler items can be ordered through them. You will probably find some other useful items on their Web site (check out the table of contents), but these are the wheels that I have tried:

• #26005, .75” diameter wire wheel, list price $4.87 each.

• #26294, 1.5” diameter wire wheel, list price $5.96 each.

• #26076, .625” diameter wire cup, list price $6.44 each.

These are the stainless steel wire versions; I have also tried the wire wheels with regular steel wire, and the stainless ones did better, as expected, because stainless is harder and a bit stiffer.

I have used the .75” wheel for many tasks, but the 1.5” wheel is important to have when a slightly softer wheel is required for the job.

The 1.5” wheel has the same size wire (.005”), but the longer wire is more flexible, and it can be used tilted slightly for an even softer effect.

Tim W. Elder Louisville, Ohio