Post #20308 by 7TiKiS on Mon, Jan 20, 2003 6:05 AM

I too started out using just chisels. Wore my arms out trying to create my first carving, and it took two weeks.

Then used a b&d electric (14") chain saw for the rough out, then chisels for the details.
Still took too long, about a week for the second one.

Bought a right angle grinder at Home Depot, used the chain saw for removing the 'bark' and initial rough out work, used the right angle grinder with 60 grit sanding wheel attached, then chisels for detail work. Took 4 hours for the third carving.

The 14" chain saw had some limitations (radius of cuts) so I found a chainsaw type wheel called "Lancelot" for my angle grinder. I gotta tell you though, holding an angle grinder with a chain saw (circular) blade on it spinning at 10,000 RPM is a nerve racking experience, you can convert an arm or leg to hamburger faster than you can say kahuna with that thing! But man o man does it make short work of carving palm trees. Unfortuanatey, both the chainsaw blade and the sanding disk on an angle grinder create a lot of high pitched noise. You'll have neighbors crawling out of their caves to get a look at what's causing the racket using one :lol:

It worked so well, I bought another one at a flea market so I didn't have to keep changing over from chainsaw blade to sander.
The last carving took 6 hours, but included time for staining and sealing.

I'm still searching for the right tools to use for detail work - like small geometric relief cuts (patterns) in surfaces. I busted the flex shaft I was using, and I've bought a hundred dollars worth of bits that choke and wont remove material after 30 seconds of use.

The plunger / router concept sound interesting, dangerous I'll bet, but fast too.

How does everyone dry their wood? Shrinkage, checking and cracking has become a significant problem for me with the carvings I'm doing. Waiting 2 years for a sabal palm to dry out doesn't seem like a real option to me either... any ideas ?

7TiKiS