Advice on decorating tools

[Bodrighy]

SWMBO has decided that she would like to have a go at enhancing my turnings. She has had a go at a bit of carving with a dentists drill (don't ask) and so I have been looking at what is available. Looking at the prices and range available I have become totally bewildered.

Dremel is the main name in the carving area but there are also things like this on the market. Are they worth the money or are Dremel the bees knees and worth paying the extra?

She also fancies pyrography as well but again the range is vast ranging from about £100 to £10. I know that often you get what you pay for but if any of you use these tools and can advise I would be grateful. If I keep her happy she may continue to ignore the trail of sawdust in the house bless her cotton socks! :lol:

Pete

 

[King Corragate]

Hi
If you are lookig for small drill/grinders look up minicraft,sorry do not know how to post link.They can be found through hooby and model shops.
gary

 

[dovetail2007]

SWMBO has decided that she would like to have a go at enhancing my turnings. She has had a go at a bit of carving with a dentists drill (don't ask) and so I have been looking at what is available. Looking at the prices and range available I have become totally bewildered.

Dremel is the main name in the carving area but there are also things like this on the market. Are they worth the money or are Dremel the bees knees and worth paying the extra?

She also fancies pyrography as well but again the range is vast ranging from about £100 to £10. I know that often you get what you pay for but if any of you use these tools and can advise I would be grateful. If I keep her happy she may continue to ignore the trail of sawdust in the house bless her cotton socks! :lol:

Pete

Hi Pete,

I have a lot of experience with small rotary tools, though I have not used them for carving.
What I would say is:
1) Don't worry about brand, but make sure you have a good guarantee
2) Make sure you get a flexible shaft (the body of the tools, although they are smaller than a drill, are nowhere like a pen to hold and can be quite cumbersome. With a flexible shaft, holding them for extended periods is easy.

I have got three at the moment, one Performance Power (B&Q) 135W corded, one Woolworths "Workshop" 135W with flex shaft and one Dremel Minimite 6V cordless.
The one which gets the most use is the Woolworths one, with the PP in close second place. I'd recommend trying to get the widest variety of attachments/bits to start with, as they can be pricey later, depending on what you are after, and don't kid yourself into thinking that it'll only be the missus using it - you'll find all manner of uses for it.

The one shown in your link looks a bit on the naff side; the body of the tool looks very cheap and tacky, which (if dropped or bashed) could easily come apart etc.

As I said earlier, I'd recommend taking a trip into a larger Woolworths store, and looking in the DIY department; they'll definitely have the one I'm on about, comes in a small perspex and aluminium case - I think mine was around £20

Hope this helps!

Sam

 

[DaveL]

Maplins have sets in a case like Sam describes, not sure if they are the same units.
Lidl/Aldi have them and boxes of extra bits that while not of the highest quality are very cheap. These come round on a regular basis on their special offers.

 

[Bodrighy]

Thanks Sam & Dave ( no relation I presume) I was looking at the B&Q one the other day. 1/2 the price of Dremel and more accessories. Dremel cordless seems to have bad write ups, battery not too hot. I'll keep shopping around for a bit.
Woolies & Lidl / Adi not even thought of. I'll have a look
Pete

 

[Shultzy]

Bodrighy, buy a foot operated switch if you can, I use mine permanently and its indispensable.

 

[Bodrighy]

Bodrighy, buy a foot operated switch if you can, I use mine permanently and its indispensable.

Hi Shultzy, good idea,

I started turning on a drill mounted lathe attachment and still have the foot switch for that somewhere. Easily adapted I should think
Pete

 

[engineer one]

the most important thing is to get used to using the things, and discovering whether you have any skill or enthusiasm.

as a railway modeller, i have the minicraft but i think they no longer exist, having eventually been taken over by i think bosch.

there are basically two types, the mains ones and the re-chargeable, obviously those that can be re-charged are easier to use, since they have a better balance. but the guys are right, an extension shaft is a good idea too,

start out under 50 quid with a kit since you generally will find accessories which you might never use, so it is a cheap way to check things out.

paul :wink:

 

[Russell]

having used Dremmel, minicraft and some cheaper ones in the past all did the job but didnt excel or prove reliable I now use Proxxon gear good quality German stuff but can be a little more than the others but worth it in my opinion.

 

[engineer one]

russell you are right, i just forgot what the proxxon was called

paul :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

The bees knees are actually none of the above but a class of small turbines
that run around 200,000 rpm - much like the dentists drills I think. I have seen wonderful work produced on turnings with such tools but we are talking prices in the region of £200 to £300 I think.

The main benefit in using this sort of tool, as I understand it, is that they allow great precision in what you are removing, requiing very little pressure to cut.

I just googled this for instance http://www.woodworkersauction.com/docdeewom2.htm

 

[Russell]

The high speed dentist drills cut with a fine router (carbide) it goes so fast that burns the timber as well only good on sub 3mm thickness its what Bin Pho uses very good and very pricey

 

[rjrl101]

I've got a Proxxon which I use for various model making tasks. I think it's great quality tool. Mine is the Micromot 50/E with electronic speed control and a separate transformer unit to make it smaller and lighter. There's a range of accessories for it too, vices, drilling stand, flexishaft etc.

They make chunkier more powerful models too but nothing they make is too big - they seem to specialise in making miniature versions of powertools. Micro-router or pocket angle-grinder anyone?

Richard

 

[DaveL]

They make chunkier more powerful models too but nothing they make is too big - they seem to specialise in making miniature versions of powertools. Micro-router or pocket angle-grinder anyone?

Have you seen the table saw or the planer? They are scaled down machines for model makers, if you scratch build models they must be very useful. 8)

 

[rjrl101]

Have you seen the table saw or the planer? They are scaled down machines for model makers, if you scratch build models they must be very useful. 8)

I've seen their table saws but not the planer. I'm not a scratch builder yet, I mostly use my proxxon to accomplish tasks that would be time consuming by hand such as polishing or removal of excess plastic from awkward locations.

Back on topic, I've dug out my catalogue and seen that Proxxon also make a dedicated carving tool too.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem is not the bit that spins the tool - loads of cheap versions of the dremel around, it is getting decent cutting tools for it at a reasonable price. Dremel tools are very expensive and most cheap kits have lots of those thin cutting discs or small sanding drums, but very few grinding/carving tools'

Mine came from B&Q at £14.95

 

[Bodrighy]

The problem is not the bit that spins the tool - loads of cheap versions of the dremel around, it is getting decent cutting tools for it at a reasonable price. Dremel tools are very expensive and most cheap kits have lots of those thin cutting discs or small sanding drums, but very few grinding/carving tools'

Mine came from B&Q at £14.95

Fortunately I have acess to dentists drills of various sizes. This would help on the cutting side. Most have the right size shank. I suspect that an initial purchase of a cheaper one such as the B&Q version would be worth while. If it is something that gets a lot of use then lashout on the Proxxon perhaps.

Pete

P.S.
My wife (a dental nurse) says that using a dentist drill is fine as long as you don't use a turbo. That's too fast and either glides over the wood or burns.