Motor
Flexible Shaft
The shaft consists of two parts; a rubber outer sheath which protects the inner shaft.. The shaft does require regular maintenance to keep everything running in optimum condition.
Safety first! Unplug! The last thing you want is for things to start spinning at high speeds with your fingers in the way. By the same token, long hair should be pulled back, loose clothing should be tucked and the general area should be clean and clutter free. Gather all your materials and tools, I hate being in the middle of a task and then realizing that I have to drop everything and run to get something else.
Slide the sheath back on, leaving 19-25 mm (¾-1”) of the shaft key showing. Tighten the set screw at the top of the shaft.
Hand Pieces
The #30 is a general purpose hand piece with a 3 jaw Jacob’s chuck that will accept any size shank up to 4 mm (5/32)”. This hand piece is basically maintenance free, requiring no lubrication
Speed Controls
Hand operated controls are mounted on the bench and allow you to set a speed. You can then return to that speed time and again by using an on/off switch.
Foot operated controls sit on the floor under the bench. They are a variable speed control, just like a gas pedal in a car, the harder you press it, the faster it goes.
Speed controls are also maintenance free, though I find that the foot operated control needs to be cleaned every now and again.
Motor Mounts
Flex shafts can be mounted on a bench top, but are more commonly hung up like a pendant. For the pendant style, you can buy ready made hangers for one or two motors, or there are many DIY projects that will work as well.
DIY Flex Shaft Hanger
I've added a few pictures of the finished hanger as requested in the comments. :)
Accessories
Burs, drill bits, diamond bits, sanding discs, buffs; these are just a few of the hundreds of tools that you can use with the flex shaft. I’m not going to even try to name them all because there really are too many to list! Instead, I’d like to touch on a few accessories that make this incredible tool even more invaluable to your studio.
This tool would be of particular interest for jewellers that carve wax models, as the flex shaft can be turned into a mini lathe.
For those projects that demand a number of holes to be drilled, or need a lot of precision in the drilling process, this handy attachment turns the flex shaft into a drill press.