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Master Carver/Foredom - burr question

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I recently bought a Master Carver with some typhon burrs to do some carving on some of my vessels/bowls. I have two questions to ask for those of you using a Foredom or Carver.................
Im calling tech support today from where i bought it because it slips inside the hand pc at times. I have dropped the inside shaft (coil) down near the motor and it works better but still slips......any body else run into this?
The burrs get clogged up easy with wood like concrete in them after a short time of use. I have been using oven clearner or CLR and soaking them which works but you have to let them soak a bit. Then take them out and with an old tooth brush clean them up............anything better ?

Thanks Dan
 
A brass brush is recommended.
Some folks use a light pass of a torch to char the crud a bit.
You might also clean more often , before the concrete stage.
Also using a coarser burr that might clog less and saving the fine burr for cleanup and finish work.

just a couple of thoughts.

Mark.
 
Mark has it right about the wire brush. I use a bronze brush mostly because that is what I have. If things a stubborn I will use a dental pick. I mount the clogged burr in a hand held chuck so I can get aggressive with the cleaning.
 

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power caving burr cleaning

I use a Foredom and I clean my carbide burrs aka.Typhon or Kutsall with a pencil torch and a brass brush. I torch it and with it running slow hit it with the brass brush,go back to work been doing it that way for a couple years no problem.
 
Thanks ..............ill try those tips.....the oven cleaner works good but i have to soak them for a bit and your suggestions will get me working quicker.......................Dan
 
I too use the small torch and brass brush. I read somewhere that the melting temp of carbide burrs is impossibly high, and I guess I can attest to it, as mine glow red a bit while I'm burning it, but it burns out all the concrete and leaves you with ash, that just takes a second to clean out.

I used only a brush for a long time, with unsatisfactory results for sure.
 
It's not the melting temperature of carbide that I worry about, it's the melting temperature of whatever holds it on the shaft. That being said I use the torch and brush method and on my small burrs it's pretty easy to get them red hot. I haven't noticed a single problem other than they aren't that pretty color they were when they came out of the box.
 
Stop and think about it for just a second. They use carbide inserts to cut metal with. The temperatures involved at the tip and metal are far above the temperature you are going to heat the carbide with a small torch unless you are using oxygen to assist like in a cutting torch.
 
I recently bought a Master Carver with some typhon burrs to do some carving on some of my vessels/bowls. I have two questions to ask for those of you using a Foredom or Carver.................
Im calling tech support today from where i bought it because it slips inside the hand pc at times. I have dropped the inside shaft (coil) down near the motor and it works better but still slips......any body else run into this?
The burrs get clogged up easy with wood like concrete in them after a short time of use. I have been using oven clearner or CLR and soaking them which works but you have to let them soak a bit. Then take them out and with an old tooth brush clean them up............anything better ?

Thanks Dan

Try spraying PAM first on burr -- after use, put a little into cup and then soak used bits for a while ... easy then to brush out. PAM helps breakdown heated sugars of the wood.
 
burr question

I looked up melting point of tungsten carbide and it is 5196 degrees F. Silicon carbide is 4936 degrees F . Most tools are tungsten carbide and abrasives such as grinding wheels use silicon carbide. I think the burrs are tungsten carbide (SC would be too brittle)and there would be almost no chance of getting your burr that hot with a propane torch. With an acetylene torch I am not sure of the flame temperature but other components would melt before the burr as mentioned by John Lucas. Another piece of not useless information but perhaps getting a bit off the track.
 
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