Dental Lab Marathon-N7 35K R.P.M

[p3aul]

Has anyone heard of or used this in woodcarving? How does it compare to the Optima 2 ? It' listed on Ebay from $140 to $169 US. here is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/35k-MARATHON-N7-Handpiece-Polishing-Dental-Lab-Denti_W0QQitemZ120505765268QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageN ameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:101

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by p3aul

Has anyone heard of or used this in woodcarving? How does it compare to the Optima 2 ? It' listed on Ebay from $140 to $169 US. here is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/35k-MARATHON-N7-Handpiece-Polishing-Dental-Lab-Denti_W0QQitemZ120505765268QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageN ameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:101

My concern is will this unit be heavy duty enough for wood carving? Dental work does not require that much power.

[p3aul]

You have a point there! I think a comparison in horsepower might be in order. Thanks for the suggestion. The measurements of the handpiece it's self seem to be along the lines of the Optima 2 handpiece, but that's no real indication.
Paul

[BobD]

Most rotary power carvers and micromotors were initially designed for the dental industry and then re purposed for woodcarving. They're usually used to shape dentures and things like that.

Bob

[p3aul]

Most rotary power carvers and micromotors were initially designed for the dental industry and then re purposed for woodcarving. They're usually used to shape dentures and things like that.

Thanks, Bob. Does that mean then that they would have about the same horsepower? According to the specs on Ebay, The torque was about 400 gr/cm I can't get a torque rating for the Optima 2 even though I talked to the guy at PJL. He did say the unit was rated at about 60 watts . That doesn't mean anything either because input power sure doesn't equal Output power!
However, He talked for about an hour and I was much impressed with his knowledge.