Power Carving Questions

[Gerold Griffin]

I am interested in doing some carving on some wood turnings and am confused as to what would be the best all around tool to get. What I have in mind is using some scroll saw patterns on the turnings, so I guess you would call that pierced. I would also like to do some relief work with the same tool.
Looking at the Foredom 5200 and wondering if that will do what I want it to do or should I go with an air rig like the Power Carver of Power Crafter? If an air unit which would one is better made and which gives the better cut? Price is about the same until you figure in the cost of a special air compressor which puts the Foredom unit ahead. The air units are way ahead on rpm's (400,000) compared to the Foredom's 18,000. Another thing I am looking at is being able to use it on various material. The air units seem to be able to to carve in anything from eggshells to some metal. Not sure on the Foredom units. Can anyone shed some light on this for me. At this point I am leaning towards one of the air units but hate spending the extra $150 just for the compressor.
Thanks

[Jim Finn]

Years ago I started woodcarving with gouges and mallet. Then got into woodworking and now do a little relief carving on woodworking projects. I still have all my gouges but when I carve now I use a foredom type tool called MasterCarver. (About the same as Fordom but a little cheaper) For carving I rarely use the rotary bits on this tool. I have a carving handpiece that fits this tool (or Foredom) and works like a mini jackhammer. It works very well and is easy to use.

[Mike Pounders]

The high-speed tools (45,000-400,000 rpm) work similar to dental instruments and are used for fine detail work, letting the high speed do the cutting. Foredom and others also make micro-motor tools (0-45,000 rpm) that have small motorized hand pieces connected through a thin wire to a DC speed controller, controlled by a dial or optional foot pedals. Both of these types of tools should not be used for removing large quantities of materials or roughing out. They are easily damaged if you try to force them, rather than letting the speed do the cutting. They typically will use 1/8" and smaller shaft burrs and are great for really detailed work or some types of carvings that are difficult to duplicate with hand tools.

The Foredom-MasterCarver-Wecheer rotary shaft tools (0-18,000 rpm) can do delicate work and also accept larger burrs with 1/4"shafts, in addition to the smaller burrs. They also make the reciprocating chisel hand pieces that Jim mentions above. These are great general purpose tools, in that you can do rough-shaping on smaller carvings and detail work.

A simple Dremel tool (0-30,000 rpm) can do a lot of things also. They do not take the larger 1/4" bits for roughing out and I don't think they have foot pedal controls. But you can get a flexible shaft and they are less expensive than any of those mentioned above. You just need to get carbide burrs and bits from some place besides Dremel, for the best results!

Finally, if you are working on big stuff, chainsaws, angle grinders, sanding drums, and long-neck die grinders can be useful.

If it was my money, I would get the MasterCarver http://www.woodcarverssupply.com/NEW-1_2-HP-HANGING-BASIC-SET/productinfo/797422/

It's a pretty good deal, 0-30,000 rpm, 1/2 hp motor, footpedal and a chuck-style handpiece that goes up to 1/4". A super deal.

[Gerold Griffin]

Mike, thanks but will not be working on any big stuff. Most of what will be done will be detail work. Basically pierce a turning from the lathe to create a picture, like you would with a scroll saw, but on a round enclosed form. Example, using the wolf pattern on a round object.scroll saw.JPGBoth of these were done on a scroll saw. No way to get a scroll saw to work on round vase!! Both of these pictures are just what I had handy. To do them on a turning they would have to be resized. Others patterns in my collection would work just fine but unfortunately I don't have any pctures of them. So for this type of work will the Foredom be the better choice?

[Jim Finn]

Personally, I did not opt for the foot speed controler. I do not want to have to hold my foot it just the right position and angle all the while I am using this tool. I use a variable speed benchtop unit that has a speed dial on it. Works well for me.

[Mike Pounders]

I would still go with the Foredom or MasterCarver, but that is just my opinion. You might look at some of the techniques used in gourd carving, especially since they do a lot of piercing using Proxxon jigsaws. http://www.amishgourds.com/site/1278922/product/P27503

[David Perich]

Just a word about Flexible Shafts...
They're not just used as hand held carving tools. Companies like Suhner have been making them for power transmission in industrial applications for quite a while.
One thing I found out about them early on was that flexible shafts are good at transmitting power that is high-speed/low-torque. This evens out the stresses in the shaft. If you use it for low-speed/high-torque, not only will it be much less efficient, but it won't last long.
The higher RPM it is driven the better. If there's a gear train in the design of the tool between the motor and the work being done, the flexible shaft should be located at the point in the gear train that is the highest RPM. In other words, if there's a speed increasing gearbox or belt drive, it should be placed before the flex-shaft and if there's a speed reducing gearbox or belt drive, it should be placed after the flex-shaft.

[randall rosenthal]

just my opinion but if the motors not in the hand piece i have no interest. i used flex shaft tools for years BTW.

[Jane Henson]

Gerold,
Check out WoodCarvingIllustrated.com forum. You'll find many threads that will help answer your questions. and the magazine did a spread on carving turnings just this last summer.

Jane