Pocket-sized power carvers
Kutzall Carving Burrs
PRICE: $73.99, woodcraft.com, #184363 (1⁄8”), #184360 (1⁄4”)
Kutzall has built their business around applying abrasive tungsten-carbide coatings to a variety of wood-shaping tools including these wonderful little carving burrs. Available with 1/8 or 1/4” diameter shanks, they come in a variety of sizes and shapes and in three color-coded grits. Designed to work in flex shafts and other rotary tools, they excel at carving, shaping, and applying texture to wood as well as fiberglass, rubber, foam, resin, and even soft stone. The coatings are quite durable and don’t tend to load up with swarf, however if they do you can easily clean them with a gas torch without harming the grit or its bond. Personally, I like them for applying texture to turnings and for shaping wooden pulls. The black “very coarse” grit removes material fast, while the silver “coarse” and gold “fine” leave a more refined surface. All are easy to control. The 1/8” shank burrs are great for detail work when mounted in my handheld rotary tool, while the larger shanked versions do well in a drill press.
Ken Burton
A less aggressive carving disc
Arbortech Turbo Scraper
PRICE: $159.00, arbortechtools.com
Carbide-tipped power carving discs are great tools for shaping and sculpting wood, capable of removing a lot of material in a hurry. But achieving a really smooth, true surface with these aggressive cutters takes some practice and finesse. Recently, however, Arbortech added a higher level of precision to their disc lineup with their new Turbo Scraper. I’ve found that when making bowls such as those I did for our June/July 2023 issue, switching over to the turbo scraper for the last bit of shaping makes a big difference in the amount of clean up and sanding I have to do to finish each piece. Equipped with replaceable carbide tips ground to a negative rake, it takes a much smaller bite and leaves a smooth surface with minimal tearout. Its gentler action makes it a good choice when accuracy and fine detail are in order. It’s designed to work with Arbortech’s Power Carving Unit, or any regular 4 or 4-1/2” angle grinder.
Ken Burton
