Mike Dillen Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 Do any of you folks have any experience with the rotory tools for woodcarving or better yet for use in intarsia and scroll saw work. I have a Dremel look alike but that is too heavy to hold for long periods of time and gets hot after awhile. I have arthritis really bad in my hands and am looking at the flex drive models that are out there. I'm looking at something similar to this: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2005541/16476/foredom-5200-deluxe-kit.aspx During my work on the Heart box it would have been nice to have something that I could use to sand and clean up the fretwork. It would also be nice I believe for shaping and carving pieces for intarsia projects. Any thoughts out there? I'm looking for a used one on Craig's list and e-bay but the ones I've found appear to be very old and over time and use the flex shafts become worn as well as the hand pieces if they aren't maintained. www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops
John Morris Posted February 18, 2013 Report Posted February 18, 2013 Mike, join the club, I have been looking at something similar for my chairs, I think a flex shaft with a drum sander attachment kit would work really well for fairing the curves in my rockers. Let's research this together!John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project
Mike Dillen Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Posted February 18, 2013 I've done some research and the Foredom seems to be pretty versatile. As far as shaping the rocking chair pieces it may be a little on the small size however you can run a fairly large drum on it. The one pictured above will accept up to 1/4" shaft. Not sure if that's big enough but I have some more looking to do and I'll get back to you on what else I find.www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops
Mike Dillen Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Posted February 18, 2013 John in my rescearch I found out that unless your looking to do fine detail work then you would be better suited to using a pneumatic die grinder using larger HSS rotary files used mainly for metal working. Here is a link that discusses the topic:Â http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?43583-Does-anyone-have-experience-with-the-Foredom-Flexible-shaft-toolsI hope this helps.www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops
DRAGON1 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Posted February 19, 2013 while you guys research it, I OWN 6 of them. I own all the dremel hookups (router table, router base, lathe and the rest). I also own 3 foredom setups like the one pictured and 3 aftermarket ones that look exactly the same. The TYPHOON BURR set (available through foredom) is great for small carving and removing wood at a better pace than most high speed "burr" bits found in pneumatic die grinder catalogs. Â They are meant for metal, not wood. The TYPHOON BIT WHILE PRICEY is well worth the cost. There's a BIGGER burr set meant to be used on a regular grinder in the shape of a wheel. Â It is VERY agressive and meant for detail work carving a full size bear, lol. There's also various sizes in between that can be used for smaller stuff. By the way, you can wrap a leather (or neoprene) strap around your hand and the tool to improve your grip, just don't scratch your head with the tool while its running, lol. I've used my dremel stuff ( i just lump it into dremel stuff, lol) for carving, intarsia, inlay, fret work, routing, and anywhere i needed detail. If you look real close at the bottom pic you'll see that the black (woodburned) parts are actually at a different depth than the rest. So are the fins. so for edge shaping intarsia it's nice. John I would suggest you get a motor with a jacobs chuck attached to the shaft and use a drum to shape parts. Â More control and ease of use. Â You could also use the setup with a flap sander, and bufffing wheels to finish parts before assembly. Woodcarvers supply has the bigger burr discs. Just type in wood burr bits.
Mike Dillen Posted February 19, 2013 Author Report Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks Dragon that is very helpful info in my search. Good looking fish and dragon! Thanks again.www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops
Mike Dillen Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Posted February 20, 2013 John! After a lot of research looking at videos, reading several hundred reviews from furniture builders, carvers, scroll saw craftsmen etc etc...I found that this tool is very versatile and with the right cutters, burrs, sanding drums and chisels it can remove a lot of material in a short amount of time and can perform very delicate machining. And yes I said chisels, you can get a reciprocating hand set accessory that uses small chisels for carving and shaping soft and hard woods. There are other manufacturers out there but none that have the long track record and customer support that Foredom has. I decided to go with the Foredom 5200 deluxe set pictured above. The family got it for my birthday coming up here on Friday. Gift certificates are great!After opening it up and looking the tool over I'm finding that it is one of the best constructed power tools I've seen in a long time. The motor is fairly quiet and the hand piece has no vibration. The foot pedal is made of cast iron and is heavy and stays put while depressing the pedal. The transition through the variable speed is very smooth with no dead spots. The only caviate to the kit is that it doesn't come with the hanger for the motor. But because of the various configuration and applications that craftsmen use the tool for there are several mounting options that are available.www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops
Cliff Posted February 27, 2013 Report Posted February 27, 2013 you will not regret buying one of those.I used them for years in machine shops. They are great for polishing mold cavities. Very powerful very smooth wonderfully flexible.
Gene Howe Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Mike, for a hanger, I just put four feet on a 2x2 and screwed in a coat hanger at the top.Since I use it most often at a "WorkMate" while sitting in a chair, I sized the 2x2 to fit. It's only elegant in it's simplicity. But then, I'm cheap and lazy.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
DRAGON1 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 By the way, as I was thinking about it the other day, the "flexible" lines do get hot after awhile and do need to be greased occasionally. Â Check the instructions, mine are way older and they may have gotten a better set up.but then again, mine while being the same set up ARE older, lol.
mike fancher Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 john- i made one of the rockers last winter and i bought the inflatable drum sander called the Guinevere from king arthur tools (www.katools.com). What i bought was the flex shaft sanding kit (199) and the dust extractor kit (49) along with various grits of sandpaper. I skipped the motor and just attach it to my tabletop drill to turn the shaft while having the drill plugged into my festool dust extractor- when i turn on the drill the dust extractor starts and i would say it collects 95 percent of the dust.It worked fast to get the shape i wanted. They had video on their web site last time i looked, John Morris said:Mike, join the club, I have been looking at something similar for my chairs, I think a flex shaft with a drum sander attachment kit would work really well for fairing the curves in my rockers. Let's research this together!John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project
John Morris Posted March 1, 2013 Report Posted March 1, 2013 Mike, thanks for the tip, King Arther is a great out fit with very high quality tools and tooling. I have been wanting one of the flex shaft kits for the reason you and I are talking here. It's great to know that it works on the chairs, and the inflatable sander is a must, for softness. Thanks for the tip Mike, I really appreciate the feedback.mike fancher said:john- i made one of the rockers last winter and i bought the inflatable drum sander called the Guinevere from king arthur tools (www.katools.com). What i bought was the flex shaft sanding kit (199) and the dust extractor kit (49) along with various grits of sandpaper. I skipped the motor and just attach it to my tabletop drill to turn the shaft while having the drill plugged into my festool dust extractor- when i turn on the drill the dust extractor starts and i would say it collects 95 percent of the dust.It worked fast to get the shape i wanted. They had video on their web site last time i looked, John Morris said:John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project
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