I use a Dremel and a Roto-zip tile cutting bit to do piercing. It is pretty crude. Some of the work I have seen in the Members Gallery is incredible. Very fine, delicate detail that is impossible for me to achieve. I am interest in finding out what all of you, who do piercing, use. Thanks for your input.
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Piercing
- Thread starter Dick Wilson
- Start date
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Dick what you need is a really high speed grinder. The ones you are using run around 23K to 30K rpm. Even the small relatively inexpensive air grinders and mini electric carvers only run about 50K. These have a tendency to try and follow the grain as you cut so it's very tedious.
What the people like Binh Pho and other piercers use are the ultra high speed carvers that run 400K. These are basically dental tools or modifications of the same. The are pretty expensive but let you write in wood almost like your writing with a pencil. They don't follow the grain and are very easy to use. The downside is the wood needs to be very thin if your piercing all the way through.
You can find these in most of the woodturning and carving catalogs. SCM, Turbo Carver and NSK are 3 of the brands. If you do a google search for High speed carvers you will find references for them.
What the people like Binh Pho and other piercers use are the ultra high speed carvers that run 400K. These are basically dental tools or modifications of the same. The are pretty expensive but let you write in wood almost like your writing with a pencil. They don't follow the grain and are very easy to use. The downside is the wood needs to be very thin if your piercing all the way through.
You can find these in most of the woodturning and carving catalogs. SCM, Turbo Carver and NSK are 3 of the brands. If you do a google search for High speed carvers you will find references for them.
Donna Banfield
TOTW Team
Dick, many who pierce use high speed dental type drills. I use an NSK Presto Handpiece, that runs about 400,000 rpm. This is the same tool the Binh Pho uses for his work. It is used in the dentistry field to make dentures. It requires a compressor to use, and is not cheap.
For proper use of this type of equipment, the turning should be around 1/16" thin. Any thicker and you'll break a lot of drill bits trying to get through all the materials.
For proper use of this type of equipment, the turning should be around 1/16" thin. Any thicker and you'll break a lot of drill bits trying to get through all the materials.
Thanks All
Appreciate the info. Having to go so thin to use the high speed tools will require me to hone my technique and hold my breath.
Appreciate the info. Having to go so thin to use the high speed tools will require me to hone my technique and hold my breath.
You can actually pierce up to 1/8" material if you remember to use it like a plunge router - do between 2 and 3 passes going deeper with each pass.
The burrs for these tools are very small (some around 1/64 diameter). That's one of the reasons the tools need to be running at such a high speed. The 699L that Binh recommends is about 1/32 in diameter and has about 1/8" cutting depth.
Another reason for keeping the thickness down is the aesthetics - the piece you leave behind between two open spaces should have a cross section that is close to square.
The compressor should be capable of providing 4 CFM at 40 - 42 psi. Binh recommends at least 3/4 hp compressor and a large 60 - 80 gal. tank. You can use a smaller tank, but the compressor will probably run continuously, so make sure that the duty cycle is high enough (or plan on taking lots of breaks.)
Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of our work.
Cheers,
The burrs for these tools are very small (some around 1/64 diameter). That's one of the reasons the tools need to be running at such a high speed. The 699L that Binh recommends is about 1/32 in diameter and has about 1/8" cutting depth.
Another reason for keeping the thickness down is the aesthetics - the piece you leave behind between two open spaces should have a cross section that is close to square.
The compressor should be capable of providing 4 CFM at 40 - 42 psi. Binh recommends at least 3/4 hp compressor and a large 60 - 80 gal. tank. You can use a smaller tank, but the compressor will probably run continuously, so make sure that the duty cycle is high enough (or plan on taking lots of breaks.)
Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of our work.
Cheers,
More options....
Some turners, such as Malcolm Zander (website HERE) use an air powered dental drill to do their piercing. As for all air-driven devices, you will need a pressure regulator (and hopefully a filter) to provide controlled air pressure to drive the units. Note that it is easy to destroy the turbines of such units with excessive air pressure, so follow the manufacturer's pressure recommendations very carefully, and do not exceed the recommended ratings. My neighbor is a retired dentist and he reports that many handpiece turbines can last quite a long time in daily service as long as the correct pressure is maintained at or below the ratings; one or two defective air pressure regulators can cause very costly repairs in replacement turbines and service needed to restore the handpieces to functional condition!.
I have a Powercrafter high speed handpiece which works fine, however it does require oil lubrication for its use. I have been told that the similar NSK unit (the one used and sold by Binh Pho) does not require oil lubrication, but some other sources say that it does need lubrication. Most of these high speed units do not have much torque, thus the need to piercing and carving vessels with thin walls.
Other versions of medium speed carvers use micromotors and speed controllers. I wish I had the funds to buy one of the recommended NSK micromotor units - purportedly the best for woodcarving. J. Paul Fennell and Andi Wolfe (among others), use these and they say that these NSKs are outstanding.
Good luck!
Rob
Some turners, such as Malcolm Zander (website HERE) use an air powered dental drill to do their piercing. As for all air-driven devices, you will need a pressure regulator (and hopefully a filter) to provide controlled air pressure to drive the units. Note that it is easy to destroy the turbines of such units with excessive air pressure, so follow the manufacturer's pressure recommendations very carefully, and do not exceed the recommended ratings. My neighbor is a retired dentist and he reports that many handpiece turbines can last quite a long time in daily service as long as the correct pressure is maintained at or below the ratings; one or two defective air pressure regulators can cause very costly repairs in replacement turbines and service needed to restore the handpieces to functional condition!.
I have a Powercrafter high speed handpiece which works fine, however it does require oil lubrication for its use. I have been told that the similar NSK unit (the one used and sold by Binh Pho) does not require oil lubrication, but some other sources say that it does need lubrication. Most of these high speed units do not have much torque, thus the need to piercing and carving vessels with thin walls.
Other versions of medium speed carvers use micromotors and speed controllers. I wish I had the funds to buy one of the recommended NSK micromotor units - purportedly the best for woodcarving. J. Paul Fennell and Andi Wolfe (among others), use these and they say that these NSKs are outstanding.
Good luck!
Rob
Thanks Larry and Rob