Dremel bits

[jamiecrawford]

I'm thinking about giving carving a go, to add to pieces, and am lost in the myriad of bits on the market. Does anyone know if there's a difference between high speed steel and tungsten carbide bits for carving wood? I read a review on a tungsten item and it said it chewed the wood up. I'm guessing the chap might have been trying it at too low a speed, or on a crappy old piece of softwood, but thought I'd better ask the experts

 

[ChrisR]

Not Dremel bits I know, but have a look at the below site for good information on different types of bits, their use and speed.

www.wealdentool.com


May be of help.

Chris R.

 

[jonluv]

Can only speak on my findings using HSS and Tungsten Carbide---- Tungsten "Chews" the softer woods but really removes the wood. HSS cuts cleaner and in some situations can shift a lot of wood.

However some of the best carving bits are only sold in USA--- it can be worth looking at Proxxon and in my mind some of the serious rotary carving tools.would be a better buy

A word on Dremel --just gone through my 5th in 6 years and will never buy another

 

[Claymore]

Jamie, I use these for carving/shaping wood they aren't cheap but never wear out and give a lovely smooth finish http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DuraGrit-Dura ... 2c603eb465 . They make them in various sizes and shapes and you use them like you would a normal sanding drum/bit in your Dremel (only need light pressure as they remove wood quickly compared to sandpaper drums) for very fine carving i use tungsten carbide bits. One thing i do have to be careful with is the Dremel speed as it sometimes burns the wood if too fast and varies depending on which type of wood i am using so best experiment on a bit of crap wood before trying them on your projects.
Cheers
Brian
Ps check this website out, Tim's a brilliant power carver and his videos are very helpful...... he will also answer any questions about it personally and knows his stuff. See if you think he should be called "The Lofty Gnome Carver" lol check out his videos and you will see what i mean http://carvingonwood.com/

 

[jamiecrawford]

Cheers, Chris, will have a look of that in a mo. Jon, I was recently salivating over the SCM 400xs. It's outside of my price range at the mo, especially with P&P, but I figure I'd give carving a go with my CoTech rotary tool, which spins at 36000, and if I enjoy the process as much as I think I will, I'll start filling a piggy bank. The CoTech came with the flexi shaft, so once I create the famed HooverWok, I'll be set up to terrorise loads of off cuts

 

[jamiecrawford]

Cheers Brian, that's more great advice. I knew you lot wouldn't late down. #bestforum

 

[thedax]

Hi Jamie the best ones I have found are the saburr tooth web site http://www.saburr-tooth.com/ incredible cutting very clean but watch your fingers as they like to run them over ( you will only do it once) but it removes wood like you wouldn't believe.