help powercarving woodspirits

[wood_drifter_06]

I am just getting started with wood carving. It's something I have always been fasinated with. I have tried carving with a bench knife... boy is that scary. If anyone is dangerous with a knife it's me, so this week I went out and bought an expensive dremal tool with a flex shaft. I also purchased the wood spirit eproject from www.woodcarvingpatterns.com and have been working on that for a couple days now. I'm not doing so hot, but I'm determined not to give up on it before I get it down to a fine art. (who knows how long that'll take)
I could sure use some advice on what are the best dremal bits to use for doing a wood spirit. also any tips and advice on powercarving wood spirits would be apreciated. hopefully I could learn something to make my job go a little smoother.
TammyJo Jackson

[Ron D]

yo should post a picture of what you got done.that way it'll be a little easier to give you advise on what to do.
ron

[Irishman]

Hi Tammy Jo,

You may wish to revisit using the appropriate wood carving tools for wood spirits as I think you might find yourself limited to smaller pieces of wood if your only using a dremel. I have used a power tool similar to the dremel to get into tight spots when I carved wood spirits into a cane but 99.9 % of the time I use wood carving tools and a wooden mallet. The fittings on the dremel are small and great for detailing but you'll need something to remove much of the wood before you get started. Perhaps the experts who use power tools can give you advise.
Patrick

[Irish]

Hey, Tammy Jo! Glad to see that you found and signed up for the WCI Message Board!

Susan

[Callynne]

Hi Tammy Jo, Welcome! I can only offer what works well for me, and that is a combination of both power and hand held (nonpower tools). The size of burrs you will need will depend on the size your carving is. I am a big fan of the ruby carvers for detail work.

Does your project talk you through, step by step? If not, you should consider buying a book that does.

Don't worry, we were all once at the stage you are now, you'll learn what works best for you very quickly! And we're all here to help you along the way! Deborah