Foredom advice needed

[Steve B]

My daughter bought me a new Foredom 2276 for Christmas. I intended to use it on some metal work I do. But, I see all the great wood work it can do, and am interested in doing some wood sculpting to go along with the metal. I should add that I have years of metal experience, but not any woodworking. I believe almost all of what I would want to do would be freehand.

What's a good place to start? Any suggestions for Internet sites, beginner books, how-to/tutorials, or literature appreciated.

And how about tools? Should I just go and get one of those 150 piece Dremel assortments, a starter set of carbide burrs, or all of the above? Are the cheap assortments a good way to learn, or should I just buy some good Foredom sets and know they will last?

Help appreciated.

Steve

[bridgerfafc]

the kits aren't a bad thing generally- they'll give you an idea of the range of the machine and let you play around a bit. you pay a premium for the kit packaging and marketing, so the parts you do find useful you'll want to find better sources for.

know a dentist? they generally replace the bits at the first sign of wear, with plenty of cutting left in them if you're cutting into materials that can't scream. ask nice and your dentist will likely save you a handfull.

solid carbide burrs are the way to go for working wood and soft metals for the sizes and shapes you can get them in. if you're able to do basic machining you can make what arbors and such you'll need to mount slitting saws and roloc discs. craytex wheels and cones are great for deburring. the sparker wheel from better grade disposable lighters is a nice burr. mount a hardwood dowell and charge the end with abrasives. and don't forget that you can mount regular old drill bits.

have fun....

[Lloyd Skeoch]

Steve, you can get a lot of good starter information, and links to other woodcarving locations at