burrs for hard woods

[doug williams]

I have a saburr coarse flame burr and a couple ruby burrs that I am using in a Dremel with a flex shaft. Would the carbide burrs be better in hardwoods over time versus the saburr's. Which would hold up better over time. I realize the hardwoods will dull them faster, but I like the look when you put oil on the hardwoods. Trying my hand at wood spirits, working on getting the proportions right. Working on a 7inch wide walnut slab now. Would some of the ball end burrs be better at roughing out around the eye area? And what burr would be best for outlining the eye. I am enjoying this new venture and reading all I can find on this forum and others. Thanks for any replies Doug

[Mark Yundt]

I have only used Kutzall type bits and carbide cutters many years ago when I did decoys in tupelo as it's near impossible to carve it with chisels. I have also used both diamond and ruby carvers as well.
What size you need will depend mostly on the size of your carvings. Is the face 4 inches or is it 8 inches? A 1/2 inch eye is different than one that is an inch.
Most of the saburr/Kutzall will remove most woods fairly efficiently. Some hardwoods, and depending on the coarse/fineness of the bit can have a tendency to burn if pushed too fast or hard.
Diamond/ ruby cutters I'd say are best used for finishing and smoothing. Here too they can burn the wood if pushed too hard. Also if too much heat builds the bits can be rendered useless as heat kills the nickel that holds the diamond particles to the bit .

In my estimation the flame tip is the most useful shape to have.
And the sets that have 20 or so diamond cutters in a set have been in my experience basically useless. They just don't cut it, pun intended.