[Thomp]

So the hose out the window is only a fair weather fix,

then send it into a box divided in the center with a furnace hepifilter,
make the dust enter on the lower side and exit on the top, that way gravity will help keep the filter clean

[whitecree]

They call it a carver, but I think it is really just for engraving. At least, all through the propaganda, they kept hitting the word 'engrave'. 120,000 rpm for an engraver is good, since you aren't getting in too deep. But to actually remove larger amounts of material, 120,000 rpm is waaay too fast.

[Doug Ridley]

I'm with Whitecree. I don't know much about it but it doesn't LOOK like it will do much real carving. I say save your money until you can get a micromotor. My 2 cents worth.

[justanick]

Hi all! thanks for the input. I am not sure what the micromotor is. but after much thought I do not think I will get the ultracarver after all.
Could you tell me more about the micro moter?
thanks.

[Doug Ridley]

Nick-- The micromotors are small electric hand held rotary carvers that use little diamond or carbide cutters and most run between 30,000 and 40,000 RPMs. There are many on the market that vary in price from around $300.00 up to about $1000.00. Most all are good but considering price and quality I would recommend either the Rampower or the Optima. You can find and read about them on the WWW. Hope this helps. Here's one.
Doug

Changing carving bits is a breeze with the new quick change collet mechanism, just twist and your changing bits. The motor has excellent torque at both low and high speeds.

With virutally no vibration and true running collets, you'll be able to do fine detail like the pro's. The 35,000 and 45,000 RPM handpieces come standard with both 1/8 and 3/32" collets. Or, you may have the 1/8" collet and a reducer which allows you to easily interchange both 1/8 and 3/32" burrs without having to replace the 1/8" collet. I'll ask you about which collet configuration you wish to have when I e-mail you the shipping charges.

Optima 2+ 35,000 RPM Micromotor

Suggested Retail: $285.00

[susieq]

Hello Justanick,
Here is my 2 cents worth on micro motors, for what it's worth.
I love mine and have used one for fine detail work for about 10 years.
They are strictly for fine detail work but will do a lot more than that ultra carver thingie that you were looking at. You have the absolute freedom of movement while you work because the motor is in the hand piece....no flex shaft to worry about bending while you work, no air hoses to fuss with. DO USE A Dust COLLECTOR or A FACE MASK, better yet, use both.

What micro motors will NOT do is remove a lot of wood as in the initial roughing out of a piece. Do not bear down hard while using it. You will burn up the motor on it real quick if you do. Use a Dremel or Foredom (or some other brand of flex shaft unit) or gouges and chisles to remove large amounts of wood.

Also, becareful how you hold the hand piece as there are usually vents in the outer surface of the handpiece, toward the rear of the unit, that need to remain uncovered while you work. These suck in air to cool the motor. A friend of mine kept killing his micro motor handpieces and it turned out that the way he held the unit covered the vents.

Read the user manual on your micro motor unit when you get it. Most units tell you not to ever close the collet with nothing in it. Keep a bit in it at all times to avoid it. Never start the unit with the collet open. Make sure the collet is closed after changing bits, when you switch it on. After a days carving, I always unhook the handpiece cord from the power source and then open the collet to remove the bit, blow out the wood dust gently with a compressor, put the bit back in, close the collet and hook it back to the power source. Last thing I do before I shut down the studio til the next carving session. If you don't have a compressor handy, just keep a can of compressed air on your work table. It is available at most hobby shops. If you take care of your micro motor it will last a long time.

They are wonderful for texturing fur and hair, carving really small things like the facial features on my santas. especially eyes. I would be lost without mine. I hope this gives you some idea about the use and care of a micro motor.
susieq

[falconer]

I guess I'll weigh in on this topic. I think the amount of RPM's your talking about is over kill. Not to mention the special bits you need you'll need for that thing. I think 30K-40K RPM is more then enough speed to do what ever a carver needs to do. It's not a high torque tool but it's sure great for detail work. I think a power carver will always need a flex shaft of some kind and a high speed tool. I currently use a Brasseler "Upower" one of the more high end machines, but there are alot of different machines at competitive prices. It all comes down to what you want to do with the machine.


www.sierracreekstudios.com

[justanick]

Thanks for the input! Basically I am looking for something to do detail carving with. I own a foredom but I don't much care for it.
The micromotor looks good, however I don't want to pay for a glorified dremel either.
Primarily I want to carve gunstocks. and I want something that is easy to hold and not to bulky. Also not have a mind of its own.I'll have to take into concideration about you all have said and ultimatly decide what would be best for me. Thank you all very much.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by justanick

Thanks for the input! Basically I am looking for something to do detail carving with. I own a foredom but I don't much care for it.
The micromotor looks good, however I don't want to pay for a glorified dremel either.
Primarily I want to carve gunstocks. and I want something that is easy to hold and not to bulky. Also not have a mind of its own.I'll have to take into concideration about you all have said and ultimatly decide what would be best for me. Thank you all very much.

Look up "Paragrave".... not cheap but a good machine! I have had mine since about l984