Is a Dremel Enough?

[agaboric]

I was wanting to know if a Dremel is enough to rough out carvings? What I mean is if I have a basswood blank for a bear, or cowbow, snowman, whatever. I have a couple course burrs that I bought at Woodcraft to use. I also have the flex shaft attachment too, which I have used it for other stuff and it works real well. I guess what I am getting at is that I really do not want to drop $350.00 for a Foredom power carver if I am just going to use it to hog off wood. I have learned that roughing out is not all that fun and anything I can do to speed it along is okay by me! So I just wanted to get some feed back from some experts.

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by agaboric

I was wanting to know if a Dremel is enough to rough out carvings? What I mean is if I have a basswood blank for a bear, or cowbow, snowman, whatever. I have a couple course burrs that I bought at Woodcraft to use. I also have the flex shaft attachment too, which I have used it for other stuff and it works real well. I guess what I am getting at is that I really do not want to drop $350.00 for a Foredom power carver if I am just going to use it to hog off wood. I have learned that roughing out is not all that fun and anything I can do to speed it along is okay by me! So I just wanted to get some feed back from some experts.

In my opinion NO!
Your Dremel is not made for real heavy duty work.
Sooner or later you'll realise that your gonna need one of the heavy duty flex shaft machines if you want to get it done fast.
And your going to have to have a good dust mask and vacuum type device to carve over, that will keep the dust out of your way.

[Donna_T]

I used a Dremel for the first 5-6 years. If you don't force the bit and lug the motor down, you can rough out a carving. Just take your time, and get a good Kutzall or agressive burr. When I finally bought a Foredom, I got it at an estate auction for a fraction of the new price. Bought a new handpiece for it to fit my hand better, and I used it to do my roughing now. But I still use my Dremel as a back-up and to do specific things. You'll be able to use it as long as you're not wanting to remove lots of wood in one pass.
Donna_T

[susieq]

Donna is right, Andy. I got by with a Dremel for a few years. It doesn't have the power to bear down hard but it has higher RPMS so any little kutzal bit you put in it, will be a lot more aggressive at 30,000 rpms than at the 18,000 of the Foredom or comparable large shaft tool.... Eventually, you will decide to move up to a large unit just so you can use the 1/4 bits on larger pieces...but the Dremel will do it for now if you don't abuse it.

15 years after I started power carving, I still have 3 Dremels in use at my carving station.... I never put the smaller handpieces in my Foredom because I'd rather use the 1/8 bits in a faster machine. Those extra RPMS more than make up for a lack of power when using an aggressive bit.

[Claude]

I generally do most of the waste wood removal with my bandsaw and/or gouges and mallet. For my stylized pieces, I'll then use the Dremel to remove the last 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch of wood to get down to the final shape. As Donna_T says, don't try to take off a 1/4 inch of wood in a single pass - slow and easy will do quite nicely. My favorite burrs are the Kutzall cylinder, flame, and ball, in silver and gold finish (medium and fine grit). My non-burr favorite item for the Kutzall to help me get to the final shape is the 1/2 inch sanding drum. With the 80 grit sleeve on it, this will remove wood almost as fast as one of the burrs.

When you finish using the Dremel, make sure you leave it hanging vertically, or flat on the bench. The flexshaft should not be coiled up between uses, as it'll develop a "memory shape" and quickly have excessive wear.

Claude