What Power Carver

[johnny.t.]

I want to do some power carving on some turned items but don't know whats best to purchase. I was wondering whether just an arbortech blade for my grinder would be good or whether one of these proxxon long necked grinders would give more control/access.
Any experiences or advice appreciated.

cheers JT

 

[jpt]

I havent ried the Proxon but I got the Arbortech one for Christmas and have been trying it out this week and it is very good. Nick Arnul uses the Proxon and if I remember correctlly is very happy with it.

If you are thinking of buying an Arbortech wheel for a 4" grinder to do this dont. I have had one for a couple of years and they are good but too big and heavy for anything delicate on turnings.

An alternative is to buy the Arbortech attachment to fit a 4" grinder HERE I did concider this before going for the full system. The problem with fitting it to a standard grinder is the size of the body, you will probably spend a lot of time holding the grinder with one hand and manipulating the work with the other. I found that trying to do this with a standard grinder is not easy as I can not get a good one handed grip on it.

If you fancy a trip to Peterborough you are welcome to come and try it yourself.

john

 

[cambournepete]

I bought the long-necked Proxxon at DM-Tools sow last year as it was on offer.
I've only played with it so far, but it is very light and easy to control, so I reckon ideal for what you want.

 

[johnny.t.]

Thanks chaps, I reckon the Proxxon with the mini arbortech blades is the way to go for me.With the long straight neck I reckon it looks more handleable for my needs than the complete arbortech or attachments for a standard grinder.

JT

 

[duncanh]

I have the standard Arbortech and have recently been finding it very useful for balancing up blanks once mounted on the lathe.
I've also used it for some of those Terry Scott winged shapes.
One problem I had was that the guard had a tendency to rotate slightly once fitted. Fixed this by padding the gap between it and the grinder with sandpaper.

Can't comment on the Proxxon

 

[cambournepete]

I have the standard Arbortech and have recently been finding it very useful for balancing up blanks once mounted on the lathe.

I'm curious as to why you would need to do this - can't you just turn the imbalance out?

 

[duncanh]

I have the standard Arbortech and have recently been finding it very useful for balancing up blanks once mounted on the lathe.

I'm curious as to why you would need to do this - can't you just turn the imbalance out?

It depends how much out of balance it is and what I'm turning. My lathe (DVR on metal legs) isn't bolted down and sometimes I can only turn the speed up to 300rpm before it starts to shake. Turning down to 250 stops it and I could turn at that speed to remove the uneven weight.
However, if the item is a log with quite an uneven cross section I find that the interrupted cut is very stressful on my body. The Arbortech is faster at removing the waste than the lathe would be.

The logs I'm talking about are too big to fit on my bandsaw and may not always have the necessary flat edges to cut from safely. I could use the chainsaw, but my the time I've put on all the safety gear and worked out the best cut I could have finished with the Arbortech.

The other advantage of the Arbortech over the chainsaw or band saw is that I can mount the wood on the lathe on the centres that I want and get the wood close to balanced.

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Johnny,
I bought a Lancelot chain saw for a 4.5 inch angle grinder which is like having a multi tooth arbortech. I have used it a couple of times but to get the best dexterity you really need to only hold it with one hand. But the weight and the giro effect makes it almost impossible to control safely with out using both hands.
A chainsaw revolving at 6000 rpm is not to be treated lightly so when i had the chance of a Proxon long neck angle grinder with an arbotech wheel S/H at a sale at the club i jumped at it.
This is far less aggressive and small enough to single hand hold but never the less very effective.
Best regards,
Ian