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Power Carving Sharp Cutters
There are so many cutters made today that it is hard to know which ones to use. We have "whittled" down from a selection of thousands to the cutters we stock (just one of our many suppliers has over 1,200 different cutters to choose from!) All of the cutters we sell represent excellent value and long life if used properly. All cutters are first grade, true running, and have proven useful for bird and fish carvers. They fall into two broad categories: Abrasive cutters and Sharp cutters. For bird and fish carving, abrasive cutters are more commonly used than sharp cutters.
Sharp Cutters generally give a faster cut with a smoother finish than abrasives. However, there are trade-offs. Sharp cutters generally don't cut in reverse, making them awkward when it's necessary to carve against the grain. Sharp cutters are often harder to control and may have a tendency to grab into, and run along the work being carved.
Larger sharp cutters, like the solid carbide burs can be more dangerous when not used carefully as they will cut skin and bone more readily than the abrasives. Always wear a leather glove on your holding hand when using larger sharp cutters. Like many abrasives, sharp cutters are available in finer and coarser types, with the coarser ones cutting faster but having more tendency to dig and run.
Finer sharp cutters work well for hard woods, most metals and soapstone while coarser ones work best on softer woods and aluminum. Sharp cutters are made from several different materials from steel to solid carbide. Steel is the least expensive but the quickest to dull. Carbide is more expensive to buy but lasts many times longer than steel. Carbide can also be used to cut many metals.
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Tri-Cutters
While they may look mean, these solid-carbide cutters are very smooth to use and easy to control. Also called "rotary chisels", they cut very fast and extremely clean in most materials including wood, soft stone, bone, and antler. The heads are made from solid carbide, so they should last nearly forever. They can be sharpened with a diamond sharpening wheel. Each size head is available in 4 profiles. Available in 1/8" and 1/4" shanks. Use Between 15,000 and 35,000 RPM. These are very aggressive cutters! Hand and eye protection is essential. Leather gloves and safety glasses recommended.
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1/8" Shank, Solid Carbide Cutters
These aggressive solid carbide cutters, leave a smooth finish. They are great for most metals including brass. Will fit in all small rotary tools (micromotor, Dremel, etc). These exceptionally long life burs will last most carvers a lifetime when used for carving wood or soft metals.
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3/32" Shank Cutters
Available in solid carbide, high speed steel cutters and stump burs. "Goldies" which are a very fast cutting titannium nitride coated high speed steel and vanadium steel engraving burs.
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Carving and Eye Drills
Steel Carving Drills High temper steel carving drills are designed for internal carving of plastic and wood, as well as general drilling in soft materials. 3/32" shank Eye Drills are useful burs that allow you to precisely locate and drill eye holes from 3mm to 8mm.
Dura-GRIT Abrasive CuttersTough tungsten-carbide cutters for tough jobs. Very aggressive yet leave quite a smooth finish. We rate them between a Ruby Carver and a Typhoon bur. They're very controllable and they last and last. Grit will not tear loose and the edges stay sharp. All have 1/8" shanks.
Hawk Portrait, 2 DVD set with over 105 minutes of instruction by Sue Walters, including 20 minutes of tips and techniques. Includes 16 page booklet, 2 patterns. Complete a hawk in 10 lessons from one of the world's best woodburning artists.
Carving Supplies CatalogueDownload our latest Carving Supplies Catalogue #19.
