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Question about Carving tools

David Somers

David Somers

Joined
Aug 8, 2005
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Location
Ballard (Seattle) WA and Volcano, Hawaii....on top
Aloha everyone,

I was wondering what tools folks prefer for carving on bowls. I was thinking specifically of carvers ranging from a tool like the mechanically driven carvers like Fordam (sp?) and the much higher rpm air driven carvers like the Turbo Carver.

I was interested in general and fine detail carving for the most part.

Mahalo everyone!
 
DAvid I like the flex shaft machines similar to the Foredom. If I only had one machine this would be it. It's strong enough to let you hog off material but you can take off very delicate cuts. You can even get a reciprocating handpiece.
I use a Dremel a lot. smaller rotary carvers like this are good for fine detail work and since you don't have the flex shaft they are easier to handle. The smaller carvers are even better for fine details. They aren't so good at hogging off material but if your patient you can carve just about anything.
I have only used the high speed turbo carvers for doing piercing or very fine detail work. I don't own one so I can't say how affective it would be for any other work. The high speed lets you almost ignore grain direction which is really handy for fine work. The slower speed carvers(20 to 50K) require that you carefully controll the cut when you have heaver grain or it will tend to run with the grain.
 
I use a Proxxon carving tool and find that it fits my particular needs nicely. It can work with various sizes and shapes of carving chisels. It is most useful for detail carving and would not be good for removing lots of wood quickly. It is NOT a rotary tool like some of the others, so it is a bit easier to control.

Bill
 
Finer the detail desired, the faster you want it to turn. That way you're not as tempted to press and bounce over irregularities in the wood structure, ruining your clean lines. Pneumatic is probably the nicest, but it demands a good size compressor.

Like most carving, a good outcome depends on being able to hold the piece in a way that permits carving and prevents injury. If you have a 1" x 8 TPI chuck, you can saw the head off a bolt and jam nut the chuck for depth. Then use your toolrest to get your perspective vertical rather than horizontal. It holds well enough to do hand carving, which involves a lot more pressure than buzzing away. You can get longer machine bolts at higher expense and thread them through hardwood to hold in your regular vise, too.

If you're going to do a lot, get the vise like the one sold at BestWoodTools.
 
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