Power carving suggestions

[drpeal]

I am looking at the turbo 300, or the mastercarver pro. Does anyone have any thoughts about either of these units or have a better idea? I am interested in doing detailed work on wood or glass.
Thanks

[Donna_T]

I've not carved with either--but I do use the Ram for higher speed, micro carving on wood. I use it for animals and birds. Have never tried glass carving. Hope someone else can give you some feedback on those two options.
Donna_T

[carvingbarn]

I have a Mastercarver and the Foredom. I would not buy another Mastercarver. I will stay with Foredom or go to othe Ram tools.

[telecarver]

To answer your question accurately I would need to know what type of carving you do and how much you carve. I would not recommend the turbo 300 unless you are planning on only carving gunstocks, bone handles or other small highly detailed pieces. It's only for fine detail. Are you referring to the Mastercarver Micro-Pro high speed tool or the Mastercarver Pro flexshaft tool. The Mastercarver Pro flexshaft tool would be a better choice than the Foredom flexshaft tool because the Foredom is too slow to be versatile. The Mastercarver turns 30,000 RPM so it will work for detail as well as roughing out. If you plan on using a high speed micro motor for detail, in addition to a flexshaft tool, the Foredom flexshaft would work fine for roughing out. The Mastercarver micro-pro is essentially the same tool as the Ram. They are designed for detail and will wear out quickly if used for heavy roughing out.

[Mottles]

I have a Foredom powercarver it has been good to me. I have been bad to it one time when I first got it. I broke the shaft by burying my bit into a carpet sample I was using for a mat. Never did that again threw away the carpet sample.

[susieq]

Turbo carvers are for gunstock checking, glass etching, ostrich egg carving...
You are pretty limited in the size of bits you can put into those extra high speed tools because anything larger than a dental bit would not be safe at those speeds....

A good micro motor that goes at least 45000 RPMs, is a good choice for fine detail work and you can use the small or medium sized bits in them without fear of a disaster....although it's still recommended that you don't use certain bits much over 30000 RPMs.

Foredom 1050 or Marathon 700 are great machines....kind of pricey but worth it. Actually, they are the same machine made in the same factory in Korea. One gets the Marathon name put on it and the other gets Foredom put on it. NSK is another top of the line micro motor. The reason these guys are so pricey is because of the new generation of handpieces...the brushless, high torque units. They are more powerful than the lower end, old style handpieces and range in price from $675. on up to $1300.
I love mine but I still use my smaller micro motors too. I keep a 1/16 collet in one of them and use it quite a bit.

Entry level micro motors run around $300 and are a lot better than they used to be. You could probably get by with one of those until you are ready to spend more on one of the really good ones. I bought a Master Carver Pro when my other unit was down for repairs and was surprised at how decent they were for the cost. If you don't abuse it, it will do you for a while. I've heard good things about Ram too. I can tell you that 15 years ago they were not that great but they've come a long way since then.

One downside to micro motors in general, is that changing the collet is such a pain in the !@#. I don't like the adapters but other people seem to do ok with them. I never put a 1/8 bit in my micro motors. If I need a bit that size, it goes in a Dremel. Remember that in a micro motor, the motor is in the back end of the handpiece, itself. It's delicate. There are just certain things you shouldn't do with a micro motor when a sturdier tool will do the job and not tear up your micro motor doing it.

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by carvingbarn

I have a Mastercarver and the Foredom. I would not buy another Mastercarver. I will stay with Foredom or go to othe Ram tools.

I have a Master Carver and it's a good out fit, never have had a problem with it. I was my fault when I snapped the inner shaft, as I had it bent too tight.

I also have three Dremel tools hanging from the bench where I stand to do trimming.