Advice needed: rotary carvers

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

gil in san diego

>Bob,

I don't do much carving and have not used either of those tools. When I did some power carving I used my dremel. My opinion would be to get the smaller one if you are only doing very small detailed work.

A friend of mine does some power carving and he uses a makita die grinder that he puts burrs onto. I believe that the burrs are tungsten carbide. When I tried his tool, it removed wood considerably better than the metal cutters I was using on my dremel. His application is mostly to detail bears, the smallest of which is about a foot tall. Since the foredom has a cable shaft, the business end of the tool is much lighter than holding the entire die grinder. I guess it depends on what your application is.

gil

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Richard Allen

>Foredom was at the 3M booth at the AAW symposium a couple of weeks ago. The rep said that the SR was being phased out in favor of the TX. He went on and on about the type of motor and such and how the TX was the wave of the future.

There was also some mention that the flex shafts don't like to have much bend in them and that the more powerful motor was more forgiving of a bending flex shaft.

There is also a flexshaft carver sold by woodcarvers supply (and others) called mastercarver. That is a 1/3 hp device.

I know of some woodturners who dislike the expense and potential short life of the electric flexshaft machines. They like the air powered die grinders like those sold by HF. The claim being that for $30 or $40 you can have a flexshaft (air hose) machine which last longer, has more power and is easier to maintain (replaced).

Good Luck

Richard

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

John Lucas

>Robert

I started using the Dremel and still use it for a lot of fine carving. I bought a flex shaft machine used at the flea mkt. I'm using it more and more because it's more powerful than the dremel. What I don't like about it is the speed. It only runs at 10K or less and mine is 1/10 hp. I've been looking at upgrading to a heavy duty Foredom. My friends who have foredom's really like them.

I use a right angle grinder with a chainsaw type cutter for really rough big cuts. I also use a sanding disc on this grinder with 24 grit paper. The paper is much more controllable and safer but throws tremendous amounts of dust.

I just started using air powered grinders. I love the power but hate the noise. Did I say I hate the noise. You definitely should wear hearing protection. The hand pieces I bought aren't very small so I'm going through a learning curve in trying to control them. I think I will really like them but will probably stick with the flex shaft machine for fine tuning and sanding. It's quiet and the variable speed is easy to control so you can take off exactly what you need.

For delicate cuts I'm looking at the small air powered grinders that run at 50k or less. They look like they would be easy to control. I played with the expensive motor driven small carvers. They are really nice but sound like bumble bees when they are running and cost about $300.

That's just the .02 cents worth from an amatuer carver.

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Bob,

I've had a Foredom "CC" 1/8 hp machine (with its antique rheostat foot control that still works) for 35 years. I've used it for carving, metal chasing, and a multitude of tasks. I've worn out handpieces, but have only replaced the shaft and sheath twice in that entire time. Right now I have it set up with a reciprocating handpiece for power chisel carving on turnings.

The new machines are electronically controlled and will reverse (for sanding and cleaning the burrs, mostly). Foredom does have a website, although I don't have a link for it.

I prefer the flex-shafts as they are much lighter and easier to use, and, I think quieter. With the air die grinders you will have to wear hearing protection or expect to go deaf more quickly than normal and be unable to hear complaints about the noise from your family.

I use vanadium burrs as well as carbide. You do, however, want to have a good mask and some dust collection going as power carving produces a lot of very fine dust very close to your face.

Mark

-2=mail

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Pascal Oudet

>I had the opportunity to use the pneumatic micro-carver sold by Woodcraft (75$), they run at a high speed (56k), the shaft is very flexible as there's only air in it, and they're very light. no comparison with the Dremel.

Pascal

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

John Lucas

>Pascal

by no comparison do you mean that it has more power or the higher rpm is more controllable. I'm really leaning toward getting one of these. I'd like to have one of the high speed dental carvers but $300 is too hard to swallow.

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>John,

I just got the Turbo Carver II (oil free) from Woodcarvers Supply for $200. If you have an air compressor that's all you need (aside from the burrs), but note that the high speed units have very little torque, and rely upon the hyperspeed to do the work. You can easily stop the burr by pressing too hard, so they, unlike the electric tools, need a light touch. Since I can easily stall my air-drive die grinder, I'd expect the 50k units to also be suseptable to stalling if you try to hog off material.

I could, however, be wrong in my expectation.

Mark

-2=mail

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Pascal Oudet

>by "no comparison" I meant it's much more comfortable to use: with the Dremel, I'm always bothered with the flex shaft which is never in a good position with regards to the motor. with the air powered carver, there is no such constraint. the handpiece in itself is very light. the higher speed also produces better quality cuts. I haven't tried heavy cuts to see if I could stall it.

I used it when I was taking a class with Graeme Priddle in NZ, so I did not spent much time on it, but Graeme was very happy with it (so I take this as a good point for the tool). He told me he bought them from Woodcraftv at 75$. Since then, I've been trying to find these high speed grinders "locally" (in Europe), but they are all in the 300$ range. guess I'll have to pay for the shipping cost from the US.

Pascal

Re: Advice needed: rotary carvers

Peter Teubel

>"I'd like to have one of the high speed dental carvers but $300 is too hard to swallow."

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Then check eBay. I got a 450,000 rpm dental handpiece complete with hose and variable speed foot pedal for $100. Just keep in mind that torque is pretty much non-existent with these units. These are used with a VERY, VERY light touch. But they will cut wood without the annoying problem of following grain lines.