Tools Carvers Use

I bought the $100 Dremel MultiMax/MultiaMate (whatever the heck it is). What a piece of junk. Must say it sanded well while it worked. The power switch went out once and I shipped it back (paid by me) for repair. It broke again for good about 2 weeks later. Please buy another brand... I see lots of competitors out there now.

I saw some Stanley Goldenberg gouges (made in France) around 7 of them #8 through #25 at an estate sale today. They were asking 12 bucks each but they'll be less tomorrow are these worth getting? And if so which ones? They also had the chisels, will they be necessary or will an old basic set of Stanley's be good enough? Keep in mind I'll just be starting to carve a real beginner. Any thoughts?

aloha, tikicoma

I think I would get all the gouges, even at $12 per.

Thanks Bill, but by the time I got back today they were all gone, gouges and chisels. :( So what should I do buy a gouge as needed or a small set of flexicuts? I know this has been talked about before but the info is scattered all over and I don't know if you can use a mallet on flexicuts. Also what I'm thinking of carving are logs.

aloha, tikicoma

I would suggest the Flexcut 4 piece sculptor set, it's what I use the most, other than a Stanley 2" flat chisel. I also have the Flexcut 6 piece starter set, and a few other gouges I bought individually.

Thanks Bill, I really appreciate your reply.:) I'll take your advice. Also the log I've got right now I think is cypress, will it be hard to carve? (not a lot of palm in Washington)

aloha, tikicoma

I've never used cypress, but Jeff (pjc5150) loves the stuff. Check with him.

cypress is great when it's still wet. carves like an apple. AND it lasts forever outside. :)

and I second Bill's chisel advice. the flexy 4 piece sculptor set and a flat stanley carpenter chisel will pretty much get the job done without you spending a mint I have them also. But I've also got about a thousand bucks worth of Pfeils that are my real preference...

:)

I use the http://www.arbortech.com TURBO Plane for taking the bark off and its amazing. Better then a chainsaw in my opinion.
I use the flexcut 4pc sculptor set for carving. The chisels feel a little cheezy but for the price, they do what I need them to do.

Here's what I use.

Too much???

Wish you'd post more stuff on your thread.
I for one enjoy seeing it.

Thanks Will!....haven't really done much Tiki in the last couple years (other projects)- that's why nothing new. But working on a few new things now!

Got this Wusthof hook knife for Christmas. It goes through a tomato like it was an avocado! Oh wait, this thread is for woodworking tools :wink: LOL

Just ordered a new toy for my angle grinder: the Bad Blade Carver by Kwiktool. Anybody have one of these? How well does it work?

http://www.amazon.com/KwikTool-BBC450-Blade-Carver-Reduction/dp/B000O3GPRK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421855965&sr=8-1&keywords=kwiktool+carver

That thing looks deadly. Do not use this on your own knee T!!

On 2015-01-21 08:56, AlohaTexasTikiCo wrote:
That thing looks deadly. Do not use this on your own knee T!!

I'm definitely gonna be stepping up my angle grinder safety procedures. I put the guard back on it last weekend. It was either this or the King Arthur chainsaw blades so I went with this one. Been wearing a dust masking and eye protection lately.

I have been using the 4.5" Bad Blade for about a year. It works great. I also have the King Arthur Lancelot blade which I highly recommend. I would recommend keeping the guard on for either one.

On 2015-01-21 09:45, JJ Mai Tai wrote:
I have been using the 4.5" Bad Blade for about a year. It works great. I also have the King Arthur Lancelot blade which I highly recommend. I would recommend keeping the guard on for either one.

thanks jj

2nd question Skew Chisel: what's it used for? I've seen some instances where a sharply angled chisel would have allowed me to dig deeper into a tight corner without cutting elsewhere. In other words sort of follow the line of a cut deeper down into the curve of an eye, between a nose and an eye, etc, etc. Thoughts?

I use chainsaws, grinders and different cchisels. Chisels can be used for detail by the eyes and mouth as you mentioned. They can also be used to add artistic design to your work as well.

BigT
Arbortech makes a wheel similar to that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8vp73Cv0js
I never purchased one because it's about 10X the cost of the Bad Blade. I just might consider getting one so report on your results.

On 2015-01-24 05:43, amate wrote:
BigT
Arbortech makes a wheel similar to that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8vp73Cv0js
I never purchased one because it's about 10X the cost of the Bad Blade. I just might consider getting one so report on your results.

Allen, yes I've seen the Arbotech version. You're right, the cost kept me from going with that one without getting to experience one. So, preliminary results on the Bad Blade are: It slices, it dices, it cuts wood like butter! I tried it briefly on a piece of pecan and it didnt even hesitate. Then I used it on some masks I am making. Certainly reduced the amount of time it takes me to remove large waste pieces of wood.

Now I don't know how the quality might compare with the Arbortech. For the price, i would expect this not to last as long. We'll see. Also didn't check warranty. for $15 there probably isn't one. :P

I just picked this up through Arbortech and it works a treat. It is a random contour sander that attaches easily to your grinder, and is great for internal work whilst also smoothing and rounding the outer portions. The small flexible pad can be jammed into tight spaces, but it is gentle enough not to snap any pieces off. Because of the random action it does not leave any kind of swirl marks or cuts. Don't expect it to remove huge chunks of wood but it is hard to beat for finishing.

On 2015-02-15 13:43, cy wrote:
I just picked this up through Arbortech and it works a treat. It is a random contour sander that attaches easily to your grinder, and is great for internal work whilst also smoothing and rounding the outer portions. The small flexible pad can be jammed into tight spaces, but it is gentle enough not to snap any pieces off. Because of the random action it does not leave any kind of swirl marks or cuts. Don't expect it to remove huge chunks of wood but it is hard to beat for finishing.

Thanks for posting that cy. I usually use those cardboard sanding discs in my grinder. but they can't get in small places. I'll have to look into that one. You say it's gentle? Doesn't it spin at the same speed as the grinder?

BT that part confused me too, but it does not spin as the grinder does. It goes back and forth randomly, sometimes it is not turning at all. I thought something was wrong with it at first, but as I researched and used it a bit more I finally got the definition of "random sander".

[ Edited by: cy 2015-02-16 08:17 ]

Any of these "Bad Blades" including the chain saw blades will be much safer and easier to control if yue use a router speed control to slow the angle grinder down. Even for those sanding discs it works great and will prevent the disc burning and becoming useless.
Just don't get the Harbor Freight version as those will rob you of needed torque, spend a few extra busks and get a decent one, the 20 amp one gives you all the torque your grinder has to offer and I promise a Much safer carving session!

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/speed_control.html

It's true.
All you do is burn up sand paper with out one.
Quickly.

On 2015-05-04 13:11, Benzart wrote:
Just don't get the Harbor Freight version as those will rob you of needed torque, spend a few extra busks and get a decent one, the 20 amp one gives you all the torque your grinder has to offer and I promise a Much safer carving session.

Oh crap, I have the HF one! :D It's lasted me years, and it's the only one ive ever used, so I don't know any different as far as torque loss.
Benz, the ones you linked are very affordable, and I've been wanting a better one. Question - my grinder is 10 amp, do I need the 20 amp control, or wouldn't the 15 amp be plenty overkill? Or doesn't it work that way, I'm no electrician...
Thanks.

When you shunt down power it really
beats up the contacts.
Make a long story short.
It's better to have & not need
than need & not have.
I burnt up the on/off switch in mine.
Replaced it with a heaver one & it gets hot.
I'd get a 30 or 40 amp one if I could,
find it or afford it.

Just as an FYI, the same ones (same manufacturer) are available on Amazon for the same price, if Amazon is more your thing - with my Prime membership I ordered the 'heavy duty' one today and got free same-day delivery.

It only gets 3 stars on Amazon - most of the lower ratings seem to imply that it doesn't give you full power when you turn the knob all the way up. I figure if I want full power, I'll just bypass the thing. Oddly, there's another one for five bucks cheaper from a different company that looks exactly like the MLCS one.

Rock on with your bad selves...

Cheers!

[ Edited by: DHTiki 2015-05-05 10:35 ]

I am not affiliated with this company in any way. People always ask what kind of knives are good for carving. These are a great example of fixed blade knives that are available. You can choose the blade style, handle style and even the color.

Or just use something like this.