Underwater Dremel Tool?

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icechip

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Location
Maine
# of dives
200 - 499
I have been called a few times this season to unfoul line from propellers and shafts on lobster boats. I have a great titanium dive knife with both regular and serrated blades. It works for most applications, however, a few of the jobs involved some difficult-to-get-to angles to use the knife. Was thinking that a small toothbrush-size rotary cutting tool would be ideal in some of these situations. Like an underwater Dremel tool. Would not need to be industrial-size, not cutting wire or cables or anything like that, just rope. Anybody heard of some sort of small, cordless underwater rotary cutting tool for something like this?
 
I dont know about electric tool use underwater, it doesn't sound safe to me, I would look at a compressor and a air powered rotary cut off tool.
 
Some of our guys use Nemo battery-underwater drills and tools. They are rated for saltwater and have different spec ratings etc. Not cheap, but time is money when you can do an hour long job in 3 minutes.
Nemo Power Tools
 
Any airtool will work under water, think harbor freight as a cheap test. They are all aluminum so a little oil should keep the internals from corroding too badly. Or what about dental air tools maybe an abrasive disc would fit it.
 
Higher air flow is better when using air tools under water. Some of the small ones, which work great on land, will stall out or spin too slowly to be useful underwater.
 
We've used cheap air tools from harbor freight attached to a regulator LP hose. We did find that the high flow of the Posiden regulators worked best. We've used air chisels, cutoff tools, and shears.
 
This style of hacksaw blade holder is hard to beat for small clearing jobs.

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Milwaukee 48-22-0012 Compact Hand Operated Hack Saw w/ Tool-Less Blade Change
 
I like a throw away wood chisel for poly or nylon wrapped around the shaft. The sharp bit won’t damage the shaft, although once you smack the shaft, the wood chisel loses much of its usefulness...
 
Any airtool will work under water, think harbor freight as a cheap test. They are all aluminum so a little oil should keep the internals from corroding too badly. Or what about dental air tools maybe an abrasive disc would fit it.

They have a bunch of 1/4" Die Grinders and a cutoff wheel arbor. Get a 1/4" NPT threaded male BC fitting and you can run it right off of your BC hose. It will burn through your gas quite quickly, though.
 
For a "wheel job" I've always like a plain hacksaw blade with a handle made of duct tape. You can make them any size you want and throw away when finished or of you drop it King Neptune can keep it. However, I would love to see someone modify a pneumatic dental drill for use underwater.
 

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