Air or electric

[Peter Blair]

I am really interested in adding a little more detail to some of my pieces with an Ultra High Speed tool.
I intend to use it for piercing and surface carving. I don't want to spend the farm on the tool and wonder if I should be looking at air or electric power.
Any suggestions? I do see quite a few very low priced tools out there but am always a little hesitant to buy something three or four times just cause I wanted to save a few bucks at the beginning.

[Scott Hackler]

As a Presto NSK high speed tool owner/user, I can tell you that without the "turbine" aspect of the "dental tool", I don't think you will get an electic version that spins anywhere close to the same speed. My Dremel, for example, spins around 35,000ish and the Presto is 350,000. There is a huge difference in control and vibration when doing delicate stuff. That being said, I still use my dremel and my die grinder for bulk removal during carving pieces.

You can buy a used real dental tool and they will work pretty well, just not quite the level at the $400 setup from NSK. IMO

[Peter Blair]

Thanks Scott. I do see some electric ones that spin at the 200k rate, a little more expensive though.
Do you use your NKS with a shop compressor or a dedicated one?
The NKS Presto is one of the ones I am considering.