Make an Oscillating Tool From a Tooth-Brush

If you have an old tooth-brush lying around, you can make a mini Oscillating Tool.

Well, actually you can also make it from a tooth-brush you use on daily bases.

You'll have a 2 in 1 Tooth-brush/Oscillating Tool.

You can use it to brush your teeth and when needed, transform to a cutting tool. Crazy? Maybe!

I did not want to destroy my tooth-brush, that's why I made it with a help of a 3D printer, but I'll give you some tips on how to make it without a 3D printer.

Step 1:

You'll want to use a toothbrush with a metal rod.

First I removed the head.

Step 2:

I 3D printed an adapter for my tooth-brush.

It lets me use rotary tool's accessories with my tooth-brush.

It just slides onto the rod.

If you don't have a 3D printer, you can make an adapter from a dowel (just try to make it light)

Hot glue also works. When I was first testing this thing, I drilled a hole in the saw blade and glued it to the rod with some hot glue.

As you probably know, the hot glue can be easily removed with some alcohol.

Step 3:

Most of tooth-brushes are powered with 1 or 2 AA batteries.

To successfully cut something, we need to make the motor spin faster. Easiest way to do is by increasing the voltage.

I used an adjustable power supply.

If your tooth-brush will be used only as an oscillating tool, you can solder the cables directly to the connectors.

Alternatively you can make a power supply powered battery from "AAA to AA" adapter.

In my case I used a 3D printer to make a dummy battery.

Step 4:

I removed the sleeve from electrical terminals and cut off the fork.

After inserting 2 springs, I crimped paper binding pins to the cables.

Step 5:

Then I put on the caps to keep binding pins in place.

The spring will allow binding pins to move, so it will be easier to reach the contact.

And last, I glued the cable to the case.

Step 6:

That's it!

We have made a cutting tool that can transform back into the tooth-brush.

Does it cut?

Yes it does, but it's not very powerful.

It's best to use very thin saw blades.

Remember that by the end of the day it's still a tooth-brush, so it might break down by using it that way :)

Comments

[NeilRG]

Clever! As you mention, this is more load than the toothbrush was designed for but the idea has merit and could be reimagined with a more robust motor.

[BettyHill]

Tengo un cepillo electrico viejo y no sabía que hacer con él.
De repente veo tu video, y me digo: Qué gran idea ¿Porque no se me ha cocurrido a mí?
Muchas gracias, me encantan tus videos y tus ideas.

[Glumgad]

I suppose it is not very hygienic to use the same toothbrush for plastic cutting and for brushing your tooth.
But it is a great way to upcycle an old toothbrush!

[ShakeTheFuture]

Yes, probably not.
Cheers!

[VajkF]

Where are the files?

[ShakeTheFuture]

Well, I did not think there was point to include files as toothbrushes vary in design.