Tools Carvers Use

Here are most of the tools I use for my carving. Ofcourse there are some in drawers that you cant see here but this is basically it.









There is another thread about Carvers spaces I'll find and bump up front. This should really be in there.

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua - edited title - 2006-11-28 20:53 ]

Wow Ben that stuff is amazing, alot of tools, I can just imagine how much you use all of those. And Congrats in reaching 1000.

Yikes! some of that stuff looks like things the dentist sticks in my mouth! Maybe you and JT should start a new brand of tiki medicine.
EEK-EEK,
Chongolio

Wow, Benzart, that was fast. Thanks for taking the bait!

(Benzart was responding to a request that I made in Mr. Dale's recent string of his new work: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10313&forum=7&24 . Really nice work by Mr. Dale, by the way)

I'm out of town for a few days, but I'm going to photo up my tools & post them when I get back.

I think everyone will definitely benefit from seeing ACTUAL PHOTOS of the tools that other TC artists are using, and maybe some explanation of what works best at different stages, and why... A picture's worth a thousand words - especially when you are just getting started, limited funds, and making decisions on your own limited carving experience as I, and many other new TC artists, I'm sure, are.

I hope that other experienced carvers here at TC are willing to share their wisdom and experience with respect to tools - both manual and power.

MAHALO IN ADVANCE!!!

Anybody..Anybody..???!!!???

Yikes! some of that stuff looks like things the dentist sticks in my mouth!

Man, you need a new dentist.

Ben, what are the tools with he rounded flat tops in the 1st pic for?

Some are called Knife cutters but are really Finger cutters. They all are for smoothing different shapes and areas unreachable by other tools. I use all these with the FlexShaft machines.

WOW. That's an incredible array of things to keep sharp Ben! I have known many guys who have a whole work bench full of tools and don't know how to use a fourth of them. YOU on the other hand consistently amaze us with your talent in utilizing those carving aids to turn out real artistic treasures. Some day I would love to watch you carving in person. What a treat! PS. Would you autograph a wood chip for me? Your pal, 8FT

Here are the 5 tools I use most, about 99% of the time, I carve small stuff, 2 feet or less and use hardwoods. These are a denny 3/4 inch #3, denny chip knife, denny 1/8 inch #5,two cherry's 2mm #6,henry taylor 1/4 inch #4.

My Tool roll

though alot of these knives don't get much use, every one comes in handy from time to time and I'm always wanting one more knife. My next set will be a micro set down to the 1/2 mm for detail.

[ Edited by: McDougall on 2004-08-17 10:08 ]

Hehehehe, I am newbie so I dont have nothing yet. I use only two chisels and two different sizes of hammers:)

You all have me missing seeing all my tools laid out like that!

Only one way to fix that BK, lay 'em back out!

here is a picture of my work place. nothing special. Next SUmmer it will be complettly changed but tell then this is it.

as far as tools, i have a normal straight set of chisels (Millar falls), there are about 8 in the set

the short brown handled ones are just a palm set i got from Lee Valley, they are Henry Talyor brand.

there are small silver tools, almost dentist like tools, which are mini chisels which i got at Lee Valley as well (like $9.00) they aren't great quality and will bend if used on harder woods, or if you use with a hammer.

a standard old box cutting knife with the blades you can break off at cirtain points.

a old rubber mallet, that isn't very rubbery any more, and the head will fall off every once in a while.

a pair of calipper, for the smaller stuff to make sure everything is the same size (or as close as possible)works well especailly when doing a pair of tikis like the cabinet handles.

a vise, a couple of files, sand paper, a chop saw when having to cut off the tikis from the dowl/baseball bat blank

I have a draw knife as well that i use to skin logs and occasionally use while carving, depending on the situation.

Okay, I just had to take a liberty & post Cheekytiki's "Arbortech" pics from Mr. Dales recent post. This "Chainsaw" grinder disk intigues the hell out of me. It's a little scary, but I think I must own one soon. How many fingers do you really need to carve anyway?....

On 2004-08-16 03:01, cheekytiki wrote:
Aaron this is an Arbortech woodcarver and fits on any small angle grinder. Unlike the chain versions it removes wood very quickly by chipping away rather than cutting.


Mr Dale what chainsaw do you use? I have a homelite with a 14" blade but I find it very heavy. I tried out a top handled Stihl with a 9" blade and its fantastic, you can use it one handed, its sooo light. Problem is they're around £500 new and rare as hens teeth on ebay and get snapped up!

On 2004-08-16 04:40, Benzart wrote:
Aaron, as you can see the "Arbortech is just a chainsaw type attachment you can put on a grinder instead of a disk. It has the same teeth as a chainsaw and sharpens the same way and removes wood the same way. I have used them and they are great for removing wood plus you can use the grinder as a normal grinder too..

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-08-17 23:19 ]

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-08-18 13:30 ]

I think I found a good source of inexpensive Dremel style carving bits - http://www.harbourfreight.com. I have this 6 piece set on order for $6.99 ($0.85 each) - compared with $5 - $11 PER BIT when you buy the brand name Dremel bits. Here's a link if anyone's interested: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47412

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. Hopefully the harborfreight bits will hold up a little better. Even if they don't, the price is right.
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Benzart,

That's an amazing array of carving bits. Have you used this supplier? Any other good (and inexpensive) suppliers?

AaronA, We have one of their retail stores here which is New. The tools mostly are cheap crap, but there are some bargains. Some of these burs may be out of round and made from soft steel that dull right up when they get hot. It may be worth a try, but remember you get what you pay for usually. I'm not saying don't buy there, just be cautious and if possibl;e Look before you buy

Thanks, Ben.

I didn't know that Harbor Freight had retail stores. I know you get what you pay for - these carving bits are cheap! BUT.... If they are going to wear out fast anyway, might as well get cheap disposable ones. At $0.85 each, I can get 8 of them for the price of 1 Dremel bit. My thinking might be wrong on this, & I'll soon find out when I start carving with them (haven't arrived yet).

Do you use name brand Dremels? If so, you've got quite an investment there. Do they last long for you? Can they be sharpened? I'm thinking that maybe I'm bearing down too hard & maybe wearing them out faster... Any suggestions?

Usually the burs are Not resharpenable. wear them down and throw them away. Your best bet is to get the Carbide burs that Lowes is carrying now. Like these, you use them for Heavy wood removal (on small carvings)


There are several sizes and shapes. You can get good prices if you shop around online. Do a google search for wood carving tools

Mine are fairly small since I only use them on Small carvings. The larger pieces I use gouges

These are the Knife cutters. They work well to cut straight lines and undercut things like ears and lips. They tend to "Get away" from you and will travlel all the way around the piece cutting it the whole way. If your finger is in the way, it will cut a slice all the way around it before you can say Sh**. Theyare Nasty, but useful. These can be purchased at Jewelry supply stores. Again google-'Jewelry tools and supply" and they are fairly cheap.

These are a specialty bur for creating large carbochon settings. For me they are useful on hardwoods to get the curves along the nose to facy and different lines like that.

The ones on the far end here arn "Saw" burs and can be used like a saw to cut linesor Stopcuts with straight lines. you can also print straight edge letters with these.

These are called Cup Burs and they will create a semiball or a row of half beads, thay can be used to makeasmile type line, or other round/half round decorativr lines.http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d639b3127cceb4fafd365b580000001610
The spiral deal is a spiral sanding disk to get into contours. these come in several grits and sizesand are really helpful in the santing and cleanup operations. the 2 next to it are Carbide cutters more on the Fine end. After the rough out with the course carbide kutzall bits, these come next to erase the deep lines left by the rough-out guys...(this is gonna be a long post..)

These are diamond burs. they come in 2 or 3 grits course, med and fine.they are good to clean up after the smoothe carbide burs. the last step before andpaper. Available at the wood carvers supply and the Jewelers supply stores, fairly cheep.

This is a.5mm ball bur, the smallest I have. I use it to get into tight places like between teeth, clean letters in a signature, anyplace that has a small space that needs to be cleaned up

These are different size and shapes used to clean areas that fit their shape, In a nostril, shaping teeth, hair, eyeswrinkles, bore holes.



These are small chisels and gouges used for removing wood and wax. in the last one you can see reflections of my fingers holding the camera. Thats how sharp I like to keep


These Hook Knives are my main tool on all but the Super hard woods. I can get the roughout with these fairly fast. On the hard woods like macassar Ebony, Maple, Cherry, Zebra wood, Cocobolo and such, I hac=ve to use the carbide tools on those and some woods Dull the carbides rather quickly. this is wha the super hard wood pieces cost more. They cost me more, not just for the wood, but for the tools and extra time it takes to carve it.
Well thats Lesson one on tools. There are still Many more tools out there, but these basic tools will create just about any of my small carvings. WAKE UP. No Sleeping in class

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-08-18 20:20 ]

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...

Benzart, McDougall & Octane,

Man, this is great. This is exactly what I was thinking of when I suggested this string...like carving 101. There is so much inspiration on TC in the way of photos and display of the art... but this is NITTY GRITTY DETAILS! I love it!!!

Benzart, you obviously put a lot of effort into that last post and your unselfish candor is so admirable. If more of our TC carvers reply to this post and share half as much as you have here, it will easily qualify as a "best of" string. Outstanding! Feel free to share as much as you like!
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Polynesiac,

I just got a new Dremel flexshaft kit - & only had a few carving sessions with it so far. I get 2-3 hours max carving time per week with my busy schedule, etc. Maybe I'm just getting impatient & trying to move too fast. I'm generally working full speed at 32,000 RPM. The bit hasn't been burning the wood, just not cutting as smoothly as before - I just assumed the bit was getting dull. Also, the palm I'm working on was dried for 9-12 months & may be a little harder than a fresher one. The carving is going pretty deep now & I think the wood is getting harder towards the center. The palm logs that you traded me are a lot fresher than this one, & may be quite a bit softer. We'll see on the next tiki. I think I remember you telling me that the fresh logs are a lot easier to carve. I'll slow down with the Dremel & see if it goes smoother. Thanks for the advice - I'll let you know how it goes.

Aaron

Aaron, at 32,000 rpm, you most likley Are or Have burned the burr, Once it gets overheated, it loses its temper and will not hold the sharp edge. And don't forget that palm wood has Silica running throuhg its veins which is Deadly on tools. Get yourself a Kutzall Carbide bit or 2. Grt the Course ones (red) and they will cut better and longer.The heat does not hurt them. In fact whaen they get loaded up with wood you can use a propane torch to clean them. Just don't heat to RED Hot!
I'm glad you liked my post. If it helps one little bit then it is worth it. I will add more later on a different set of tools.

I just discovered I have a Skill brand Hand Grinder (or something like that. I don't have it here in front of me). It looks just like a Dremel-type tool, except I think it's a bit heavier. Right now it has a little cone-shaped grinder bit in it, but I think it would take Dremel bits.

I don't know anything about the rmp's or other specs. We used to use it at work for shaping small pieces of brass and aluminum.

Does anyone know if this would be a good wood working tool?

Sure FinkDaddy, It sounds like a Die Grinder. It most likley has a 1/4 inch chuck and you can get a whole list of good burs for it. it is actually better than a dremel for log sized tikis as it has more power and the burs available are larger. There are steel burs at lowes and Home Depot, but thay will not last long. You are better off getting the Carbide burs. Here is a link to a good supply store. I use them all the time
http://www.treelineusa.com/frames/power.html
Just scroll down to the "1/4" Shaft Extreme Burs" and there you go. you have to click on each one to see the pic.
Good luck..

Excellent! Thank you Ben. I'm always flattered that such a world-class artist would help out so many newbies. It's good for the soul to see someone so successful be so humble. You are a credit to humanity!

On 2004-08-19 09:37, Benzart wrote:
Aaron, at 32,000 rpm, you most likley Are or Have burned the burr, Once it gets overheated, it loses its temper and will not hold the sharp edge.

Ben once again supplies some very key and useful information. If I was that burr, I'd be pissed too! So, what RPM should I be using for standard dremel wood carving bits with Fan Palm?

On 2004-08-19 09:37, Benzart wrote:
I will add more later on a different set of tools.

Since you offered....
You've covered the small stuff extremely well - how about tools for carving mid & large size tikis? I'm working on 2-footers now. Someday I'd like to do something really big (I loved your giant Maori Warrior posting - although something of that magnitude would likely lead to personal injury and possibly even divorce in my case). Another TC'er told me that you did all of the Tikis at the Tropicana in Vegas. I'm going to have to stop by and admire your work next time I go gambling.

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finkdaddy,
I saw some gnarly looking burrs the other day on line, but they were 1/4" drive - useless for a Dremel (I think Benzart shows some of these above). It sounds like they would work with your Die Grinder. Could you post a pic or 2? The Dremel is great for detail, but not good for removing larger amounts of wood on mid-size tikis. Cheeky's "Arbortech" (posted above) looks like a little too much. The Die Grinder sounds like it would be just right. :) :) :) :)

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-08-19 13:36 ]

Aarou, if you dig into the log with the bur at slow 5000 rpm speed, just see how it cuts. Keep increasing the speed until it stops cutting and starts loading up and not cutting. Every wood will be different. You will get the feel of it as you go. Usually when you purchase the bur it will show Max rpm. For the steel I woiuld say max would be about 8 to 10,000. The carbides about twice that.

Heres a pic of my workbench and the Birth of a tiki

Thanks, Ben - I guess I just thought faster was better. I'm going to try a new bit at slower speed & see what happens.

I wish my workbench looked like that.

Man Ben...you rock! Howza bout me and a few fellas just move in with ya for a few weeks and you give everyone a class!
You've got so much carving knowledge "logged" into that head of yours its unreal! Thanks again for this great post and sharing the wealth!
As far as all this goes and since Aaron asked, I do the rough carving of Tik's with a chainsaw. I put away my engine powered saws and 'invested' in a craftsman 3.5 electric, automatic oiling beast that I absolutely love. No fuss, no gas, no mixing.
Just add oil, sharpen, plug in and carve em up. And then when I get my basic shape I switch over to my 4" makita grinder with a Tunsten Carbide Grinding wheel that is the best thing I have ever found.
The construction guys on my crew build log buildings and shelters and etc. We have always been looking for an easy way to hollow out the 'saddles' the logs rest in and we used to use the arbortech attachments but we gave these wood grinding wheels a try and haven't looked back.
They are the same as what Benzart posted with the little carbide teeth but in the shape of an angle grinder wheel. They come in coarse, medium and fine. And in flat disced shape or curved disc shape and run about $50. Not cheap but we have yet to wear one out.
And lastly I use one of the carbide tips for my die grinder to get in and do detail work.
I can't find the angle grinder disc at Home Depot yet, I have to go through Woodcraft. But thats o.k. Those cats at Woodcraft really know their stuff.

And oh yeah, like Master Ben said, keep your fingers out of the way. These things all bite!

Mr. Dale,

Do you perhaps own a digital camera?

The Bigger tikis mean Bigger tools. For the redwood tikis I brought up my big saw A Stihl .090 with a 6 foot bar and full cut chisel chain, No safety stuff for this bad boy. When I cranked that saw up. folks came running because they knew I was doins something VeryDifferent . Mind you I worked for the Landscape department but was paid by the Entertainment Dept. I had to join anUniou and when they could not catagorize me they gave me Honorary membership. Half my job WAS Entertaining the hotels customers and I certainly did. They placed me out in their garden unmder a Willow tryy across from a grassy field that they figured could pack in 500 people.BAck to the ChaiSaw, it brought the 500 people and more. It was Me against the log and I had the chainsaw and it had nuthin but chipsThe big Maori is the one I don't remember too much of the carving part but I shaved the log down and had it roughed out the first day. Day 2 was detail and cleanup with my small saw the Stihl .020 . that was finished by noon and the rest of the day was smoothing with the 4" Angle grinder and a makita 4000 rpm 5" sander I had running through a router speed control.

This is the tool that gave me all the smoothe round curves and lines that were so straight The next day was down to chisels and my big 3/4 horse electric recriprocating Flex shaft chisel actually carved the tattoos faster than the timr it took me to draw them out. the mouth nose and eyes were all done with thaat tool. and I don't think I ever raised a mallet to the carving All Power but for the drawing whish was done by hand. The Hotel said I had the Largest crouds for that carving than any other. No wondwe whoever took over for me would nod let go until it was done. I hope this helps and if you have any questions not speak right up.

Hey ya mister Aaron, I've got a digital camera, juast haven't had time to use it. I'll see if I can post up a picture of those angle wood grinding discs. Hopefully this weekend.
And Mr. Benzart, where didja learn all this? Did you have somebody like you are to all if us? Or is it trial and error? Truly awesome things you've accomplished.
Oh, the guys at work mainly on pine and the bits load up pretty good, and we've tried all different ways of cleaning them without ruining the tool. And wouldn't you know it, just soaking them in warm water worked the best.
Mahalo

Just being smart-aleky about the camera Mr. Dale - your post is chock full of great info. Ben's talking about these big chainsaws & I'm thinking more like you & tikitony, who like the little electric Sears specials. Either way I'd probably wind up with a big pile of tiki chips. I think I'll just work my way up to die grinders & angle grinders & maybe someday graduate to the big dawg chainsaws like you fellas.

I guess what I'm hearing from you guys is that Tungsten Carbide tools are the way to go. It sounds like it takes quite a while to wear them out. Benzart set me straight on those cheapy Harbor Freight specials, but that was after I'd already ordered them. I'll see how fast I can wear 'em out.

The other thing I'm hearing is that the good tools are pricy, but well worth it for the long run. Guess I'll be selling a few tikis to stock up. It's funny, I keep saying I'm going to carve some for my place, but I keep finding new tools that I must have. Thanks to you guys!

Oh, & Mr. Dale - If you want to post those pics, go ahead. I figure if they're helpful to me, they'll helpful to all of the other guys that have never carved, stumble across TC, and get hooked like I did.

Ben,

How does that router speed control work? Do you just plug the sander into it? And you also mentioned a "big 3/4 horse electric reciprocating Flex shaft chisel". This sounds like a real badass tool. Is it hard to control?

I've got a few tools & I guess I'll get them posted pretty soon since you guys have put so much effort in here to help the neo-carvers. I've gotta say, though, my wish list is a now a lot bigger than my tool chest. Thanks a lot, guys!

Mr Dale, Most of this I learned on my own, However, I was Fortunate enough to have an old Master work with me for a few months when I was making the transition from Strictly chainsaw to some cs and a lot chisels. I offered him Half of whatever we worked on together and sold. I had the better deal, though he made aa decent amount of money and would have done it for free. I'll never understand him in the fact that he had No interest in carving brfore I met him. He had not carved for Many years and after we quit working together he went back to his Non carving life. So Yes I had someone to help me but he was FAR more the Master than I will ever be.
Aaron, the Router speed control is a small electronic desl a little thicker than a pack of ciggs and has a wire/plug coming out one end, a Female plug on the other and a dial knob on the top with a 2 way switch for speed control or full power. They cost about $40 and work with most routers, grinders and sanders. just plug it in, plug your tool into it. turn on your grinder and dial in the sspeed that works best for hat application. It gies you Control of your tools.
The big recprocating tool was awesome. Automach is coming out with one about half the size but it looks REAL Good, tho pricy. Here is a link to it
http://automach.com/pages/frame31/prod2-e.html
If it is half as good as the one I had it will be ten times as good as what I have now.
Well thats about it for now, my stitched up finger is throbbing. got a Tiki Bite and 5 stitches to stop the bleeding.
Later guys.

I tracked down some web pics of some of these tools for the other TC neo-carvers….

On 2004-08-19 11:39, Benzart wrote:
Sure FinkDaddy, It sounds like a Die Grinder. It most likley has a 1/4 inch chuck and you can get a whole list of good burs for it. it is actually better than a dremel for log sized tikis as it has more power and the burs available are larger. There are steel burs at lowes and Home Depot, but thay will not last long. You are better off getting the Carbide burs. Here is a link to a good supply store. I use them all the time
http://www.treelineusa.com/frames/power.html
Just scroll down to the "1/4" Shaft Extreme Burs" and there you go. you have to click on each one to see the pic.
Good luck..

ELECTRIC DIE GRINDER
http://www.toolking.com/dewalt/view.asp?id=215

KUTZALL EXTREME
http://www.woodcarvingstore.com/RotaryToolAccessories/KutzallExtremeBurrs1-4inShaft.asp

On 2004-08-25 12:44, Mr. Dale wrote:
As far as all this goes and since Aaron asked, I do the rough carving of Tiki's with a chainsaw. I put away my engine powered saws and 'invested' in a craftsman 3.5 electric, automatic oiling beast that I absolutely love. No fuss, no gas, no mixing.
Just add oil, sharpen, plug in and carve em up. And then when I get my basic shape I switch over to my 4" Makita grinder with a Tungsten Carbide Grinding wheel that is the best thing I have ever found.

CRAFTSMAN 3.5 HP ELECTRIC
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1316811399.1093895436@@@@&BV_EngineID=cchladcmglkjlmlcehgcemgdffmdflf.0&vertical=LAWN&pid=07134116000&bidsite=CRAFT

4” MAKITA GRINDER
http://www.makita.com/tools_Item_View.asp?id=78

On 2004-08-25 20:31, Benzart wrote:
The Bigger tikis mean Bigger tools. For the redwood tikis I brought up my big saw A Stihl .090 with a 6 foot bar and full cut chisel chain, No safety stuff for this bad boy….

……. Day 2 was detail and cleanup with my small saw the Stihl .020 . that was finished by noon ….

…The next day was down to chisels and my big 3/4 horse electric reciprocating Flex shaft chisel actually carved the tattoos faster than the time it took me to draw them out…..

STIHL .090

STIHL .020

AUTOMACH WOOD CARVER WCS-100

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Now, a slightly different subject….

PNEUMATIC CARVING TOOLS
Benzart was kind enough to share with me his vast knowledge in this area…

On 2004-08-30 06:38, Benzart wrote:
… Air tools ? I know they don't suck, they Blow…

Here’s my scenario…I have a friend with some extra pneumatic tools and a compressor that he’s not using & might want to barter for some tiki.

Has anyone out there been using air tools for carving? Any Pros or Cons to air vs. power tools? I’m trying to figure this out ahead of time because making this trade will definitely lead to more cash outlay down the line for more pneumatic components. And that means carving more tikis to buy more tools to carve more tikis…

So, should I stick with the power tools or head down the air tools path? Any opinions out there?

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-08-31 14:05 ]

There are Air tools for about every electric. I have never used Air, but would like a compressor to ADD to my tools. I like the air die grinder, pad sander and the "Air Chisel" is Very Powerful and you can get gouges that fit it.
I would go for it and keep a balance of air and power.
That oic of the stihl 0.90 make it look Small. THat beast comes with a 9 foot bar.you can get 24 inch and up for it.The power head itself is an arm full. The 0.20 is a small saw and was very popular with the pro tree trimmers.

I love this thread. Truly infomative.
Thanks Ben for starting it. Learning a lot.
Thank Aaron for posting all those pics. Good work again.
Had no time this weekend to post, lil' Tiger of a son is sick, wife is stressed, and all I want to do is finish Tiki #3.
Thanks for all you're guyz info.

Howdy all,

I recently acquired this 13 gallon oil-less air compressor, two die grinders, air drill & the other straight tool below from a friend who is a painter. We are bartering his spare air tools for some tiki. He wants a 2-footer, and is going to pick something out of the BOT. I’ll make a few changes to personalize it, & maybe add some tile inlay. It should be a challenge, cause I have no idea what he’s going to pick. It’s my next tiki project, & I’ll be sure to post some progress pics as I go.
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Compressor

Air tools

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A couple of questions for those who know:

1. Is anybody else here at TC using air tools for their carving? If so, are there any particular tools that have worked especially well for you?

2. This compressor is only 13 gallon capacity, and not really recommended for die grinders, orbital sanders, or other tools that need a constant air flow. It works pretty well, but sometimes I have to wait for the compressor to catch up. If I add another tank in-line, will it give enough extra capacity to help with the problem? Or will the motor just run constantly to keep up? Someday I might buy a larger compressor with bigger HP, but for now, maybe this will work as a quick fix.

Any ideas & suggestions would be much appreciated.

A-A

I have a small, yet heavy-duty hand grinder. I haven't used it yet because I have no bits. I'm going to stop by Home Depot today to get one for roughing out a piece of hardwood I found last night. I was hoping to get some advice on which bit to start with.

The grinder takes the Dremel-type 18 inch shaft bits. Unfortunately though, the grinder only works at one speed: 20,000 rpms! I believe at work we only used it to shape small pieces of brass and aluminum for heatseal dies.

Should I even use this tool because of the high rpms? Will buying a carbide bit be enough? I'm assuming I should get a wood burr, or is there something better? Are carbide bits very expensive?

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2004-10-14 09:42 ]

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2004-10-14 10:48 ]

Hi Finkdaddy,

I'm sure Benzart will give you some excellent advice on this, but I'm just curious - you mentioned a heavy duty grinder, but also 1/8" bits. What make/model is it? Not Dremel? I'm now to the point where the dremel only seems useful for small detail work - not the majority of wood removal. I'm using a die grinder with 1/4" bits for that - or will be on the next tiki. Just finishing up the current one.

Anyway, my experience is that anything other than the tungsten carbide bits will be a disappointment. The other bits I've used dulled up pretty quick. By comparison, the Tungsen bit has showed no signs of dulling so far. My Dremel goes up to 32,000 RPm, and I've been running it about 2/3 speed or greater. So, if you pick up a dremel 1/8" tungsten carbide bit and run is at 20,000 rpm, I think it will be okay.

The tungsten carbide bit I've been using is the Dremel No. 9901. I think it will work well for you.

Kono posted this on my string, and it may be a good bit for you, though I haven't tried it myself.

On 2004-09-12 18:02, Kono wrote:
I tried using diamond bits to drill through glass and I ate through several bits in just a few minutes. Of course, they were "flea market" dremel bits so I'm sure they were of inferior quality. Anyway...this is the best dremel bit I've ever used. You could burrow to the center of the Earth with this sucker. You said you used a carbide bit but not sure if it's the same one. It's a little more expensive (like $12-$15) but you can usually find it at your local Home Depot. They make other shapes of the structured tooth tungsten carbide cutters but I had to order them online.

Anyway, this should be some good advice for you. I know how tough it is to make the right decisions on tools when your figuring how to spend your tiki tools $'s. I've bought enough cheap, worthless, or just wrong tools to know!

Good luck...and show us what you're working on.

Ben?...Any wisdom to add for Finkdaddy?

Thanks Aaron for the advice. And you're right about the tiki cash flow. Sometimes it's hard to justify buying tiki stuff when the bills need to be paid. "Honey we don't need electricity right? But look at this COOOOL wall hanging!"

Anyway, the grinder I have is a Skil Model 146 Hand Grinder. It's pretty old, but it has a ton of torque. It looks like it should take a larger bit, but it just doesn't. And there is just an on off switch, no adjustments allowed.

I'll get something nicer eventualy, but free was a pretty good price for this one.

Again, mahalo for all the great carving tips. I will post pics as I go along.

Very cool thread!

First of all the comments on rotary tool speeds helped ALOT! I found that working at slower speeds helped with removing material while higher speeds worked better for finishing.

I have some experience with air tools and will tell you that depending on the amount of work you do, will dictate how well the tools work. The reason that most people use electric or gas tools is that there is no reduction in torque. No matter the size or horsepower on air compressors, if you use them alot eventually the pump will have to catch up (unless you go industrial). Ths comes from my days of doing auto body repair. The good thing is that air tools are alot less expensive than power tools.

Finkdaddy,

I know the feeling. I'm slowly upgrading my tools, but have to sell more tikis to do it.

Thanks, Aloha.

I figured out that "catching up" thing with the air comp. pretty quick, especially when using the die grinder. For now a cheap solution will be to pick up a 13 gallon reserve tank (about $30) & just connect it downstream of the compressor. Same problem, but it just takes longer to run out after the initial air charge. Long term, I'd like to pick up a larger HP/receiver tank model, but your talkin' a few bucks there. I will definitely NOT be buying any air sanders, because this comp. just won't hack it for that kind of use. Thanks for the advice.

Hey Aaron I can swear by the arbortech blades they're great.They also make a mini grinder adaptor that gives a smaller blade to go on 100mm grinders.Not only that thay also come in tungsten carbide which removes wood really fast.If it blunts you can rotate the teeth to new ones.
And no I don't work for the company although I think they are an Aussie company.
Oh yeah they are pretty lethal so don all your safety gear guys.

cheers from down under.

Thanks, Mate! Glad to see several new Aussies joining TC lately. I've got a few carvings lined up, & about 3rd down the line will be a 6 ft. ficus log that I just obtained. I think I'll get an arbortech disc & try it on that one.

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I cant begin to tell you all how happy I am to have found this site and how helpful the information here is it will defenitly shorten my learning curve. I thought I was all alone sitting out in my shed carving tikis. Thanks again for the inspiration.

Welcome Peterdragon, nice tohave you aboard.
Don't be afraid to post some pictures of your work, we Really want to See it. If you need help posting pioc's either look up in Help/faq's where there is a whole section on it, or ask anyone here and we will help.

Good time to Bump this up.