I bought a dremel at Harbor Freight yesterday to cut my reflector for my bulb, but I should have known for $9.99, I get what I pay for... Looks like something one of my kids would play with....at least the plug adapter is 120V input, and 12VDC output at 500ma so I'll use it for my fans...Anyway, is there some kind of bit at HD or Lowes that can be used in a normal drill to cut the reflector? I don't want to spend $50 on a "real" dremel to use just once...if I don't have too...

You could probably find someone locally who could do it for you. Maybe someone you work with has the tools. Very quick, cheap solution for a one time job. Your socialbility is one of the greatest tools at your disposal. I don't know of any bits that'd work with a drill well. You may be able to use a small grinding stone. Those come pretty cheap.

I could not find one when I looked. I bought the tungsten carbide cutter for the dremel that cuts stainles steel. I will be using it in my craftsman all in one cutting tool. It was about $8. Unless you have a metal grinder, roto zip, all in one cutting tool, or a dremel, I do not know how you would cut it. I guess you could use a hack saw, cut to sides, peel it up with pliers and cut the bottom piece. Of course would be a rectangular cut.

My suggestion would be to look on ebay. Dremels are cheap, and can be used for many things. You will likely use it again.

You can cut it with tinsnips if you have no problems with it looking bad.

A word of warning on the Harbor Freight dremel 120VAC - 12DC adapter. My dad had bought a dremel there a while back (dont know if it is the same one) with the hopes of getting some cool bits. I was going to salvage the power brick for this project and then hooked it up to the voltmeter. It was outputing 18V. Not only was the dremel cheap so was the power brick. I would double check the voltage output on that brick before you use it.

Thanks for the replies. And for the word of caution on the dremel adapter. I just happened to buy a digital multimeter from Harbor Freight too for $9.99, seems like half of their crap is $9.99. Believe it or not, I've actually built a distortion pedal, and a chorus pedal, but have never used a multimeter. How do I check the voltage on the adapter...

Take your reflector to a body shop. They can use a die grinder to cut that stainless in about a minute. At average shop rate, that comes to around a dollar or less (much cheaper than buying a dremel or expensive bits).

Lots of people, myself included, love to use the dremel. But for this job there is a tool I love even more. It is a very easy, cheap and low-tech way to cut the reflector. If you don't have the tool you can find them at any home improvement or tool shop. It is called a coping saw. Most people use them for wood cutting but there are plenty of blades for cutting metal and even ceramic tile. I've used mine for cutting lots of intricate shapes in all kinds of materials. It cuts quite well once you get the hang of it (I would practice a bit on a similar piece of metal before plowing into your reflector). One suggestion for technique, to control the direction of the cut more precisely (especially when cutting curves) use minimal pressure in the cutting stroke and just gently nibble through the curve. It'll take alot more strokes and more time but it will be much easier to stay on line and produce a smoother curve. I've ruined a number of items using the dremel- one little slip can spell disaster.

You can use a saber saw with a metal cutting blade. The blades are long enough to be able to put the bowl upside down and cut through the back in one pass.

4" angle grinder from harbor freight with a cutoff blade. cuts like butter. I bolted the bowl to a workmate table and strapped the grinder upside down to the table at the proper height so the blade was just making contact. I then rotated the bowl as I put pressure on the grinder like a horizontal cutoff saw. Man did that work great. Cut the bowl perfectly in about a minute. My bowl depth is now about 2" which is plenty for the reflector.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went ahead and cut it with snips. Pretty easy, then smoothed out the cut with a grinding bit. Came out pretty good. Not as nice looking as some I've seen on here, but it will work.

do you guys happen to be talking about harbor freight in baltimore or are they in other states too

I count 40 states Here. Not bad for tools for a couple of uses.

yeah i got one of the cheap dremel tools and it ended up being more of a nail file.