Harry Mangalam wrote in message
news:6xhkd.97218$kz3.9419@fed1read02...
I do a lot of freehand carving of wooden spoons and bowls, roughing
with a
bandsaw and then chainsaw disk, then successively finer kutzall
disks all,
on motorized angle grinders. This works quite well, but the disks
are a
bit large for doing the inside of spoons and the whine of the angle
grinders is a pain. I wear ear protection, but I think the neighbors
may be
starting to tire of it.

I saw an ad for the Proxxon mini grinder at King Arthur Tools
(renamed the
Merlin):
http://www.kingarthurstools.com/merlin.htm
It's packaged with pretty much the blades I'd like for ~$200.
However, it
looks a bit weak for the kind of work I do and I'd like feedback by
anyone
who has ever used it. Quality of construction, sound, ease of use,
vibration, etc.

Alternatively, some friends have suggested switching to air tools,
using
something like mini die grinders on a big compressed air rig. This
seems
attractive for the relative cheapness of the handpieces and
decreased sound
(motor only runs after pressure has decreased past the cut-in
point). I saw
that Sam Maloof runs this sort of setup in his shop to good effect
but
the additional cost of the compressor and large tank are significant
(~$1000). Feedback on this is also welcome and appreciated.

please cc me as my connection to the news server seems to be spotty.

Thanks!
Harry

Harry

I just purchased the Proxxon carver a couple of weeks ago. It's light,
minimal vibration and seems to be built solid. I have used it only
once to get the feel of it and was somewhat dissapointed. I have found
the unit to be a bit on the weakside when carving wood. The chain
cutter/carver is not cutting into hardwood as I expected, maybe
carving basswood will be better but haven't tried it. I was planning
on using this unit mainly for roughing out but was dissapointed with
oak and butternut. I amInterested on other feedback from those who are
using it.