Header Cutting Dremel Jig

Alex demonstrates a home-made jig enabling accurate cutting of female pin headers using a Dremel.

I have an occasional need for 13-way female headers. Actually they are a component in both the RasPiO 7-seg kit and the RasPiO Breakout.shop.rasp.io/products/raspio-7-seg
shop.rasp.io/products/raspio-breakout-fits-all-ras…

But 13-way headers are not as easy to get hold of as other sizes, e.g. 15-way, unless you want to order eleventy-billion of them imported directly from China. If you only want a couple of hundred or less, it's better to buy 15-way and cut them down to size. It's certainly quicker if that's what you already have in stock.

It's rather an unpleasant job, but to do it well with a fair number of units you need a 'machine'. Ideally a small modelling table saw, tile saw or something like that - even an industrial guillotine would do it nicely. But how do you do it in a "hacker's garage" using just what you already have?

Well my solution is to use a Dremel clamped into a jig to make a kind of small table saw. It's certainly not as safe as I would like it to be. One day, perhaps I'll make a modified version that places the 'table' above the blade. But this is what I have for now. It's an interesting hack and I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy the video...