Post #109086 by Polynesiac on Wed, Aug 18, 2004 10:06 PM

Great post here. Ben, thanks for all your insight and thanks to Mcdougal and octane too - it's always great to see what people are using to create such great works. I'll post my stuff after this weekend when my digi cam comes back from vacationing with my fiancee. but I had to respond to this:

My first $6 Dremel wood carving bit is already dulling up, and I haven't even got through one tiki yet. Since there's really no way to sharpen these bits, it could get pretty expensive.

really? my dremel carving bits have lasted me a VERY long time. Granted, I use them mostly for soft wood (redwood) and occasionally for small exotic wood, but I've only had to replace one so far (in about 8-10 months). I'll probably have to soon, but that's a good run. Aaron, if the carving bit is burning the wood, instead of carving, check the RPM speed of the dremel and how you are carving with the bit - those can cause wood to burn with the bit being sharp.
the bits I do go through rather quickly are the grinding bits I use for smoothing palm, fine palm detail and rough sanding redwood. A new one of those runs about $2 at HOme DEPOT, but if you're selling the tiki...a new one for every 2-3 footer...not a bad investment.
pics later...