Alaskan, recently plunged into the arena

[Elmer]

Hi there,

I have been lurking since last fall. in December i bought what i refer to as Cinderella's slipper. it was a engravers vise.

last friday i bought the setup for a classic graver with the foot pedal regulators and sharpening systems, and a CALIFORNIA AIR TOOLS 4610A air compressor.

the clock is ticking very slowly as i now wait till it all arrives.

i have also determined it is time for me to upgrade to the NKS presto high speed rotary tool. i have been using Dremel tools for 30 years and it is time.
so tomorrow i will find the best possible price i can and Jump on it.

only other thing i am thinking after that is a microscope, i actually like the Leica A-60 i have seen with the deep focus depth.

I have been doing various crafts for 30 years and have always wanted to go for the engraving. i was blessed with hard earned cash this summer and so determined to follow my heart.

carving with a dremel has really been a compromise of the quality i have always wanted to achieve, so i stepped up this week...

winter is coming, the leaves are turning colors and the birds are gathering for their flight south... soon the frigid cold will be here and i plan to spend some time in my warm house loading wood in the stove, carving and praying the price of silver comes down just a bit...

i appreciate all the great information everyone has contributed to here.

wishing you all the best

regards

[JamesE]

Hi Elmer! New guy here too, and about to take the plunge as well. I was looking at the Cal AirTools compressor as well, but possibly the 1610A. It is only 1HP and 1.6 gallon. I figured this would be enough for an air graver, just curious if you think it would be enough if I wanted to add more tools though, like you are doing. I have no former experience with air tools myself.

Cheers,

James

[Elmer]

well i figured the more capacity of the tank the less the motor will have to cycle.

the model i ordered is also 1 HP. looks like it is perfectly suited for our task. also for the rotary tool which i found a good price on the NSK presto hand piece:

http://www.avtecdental.com/cart.php?...t_detail&p=555

$379 and they will ship postal Priority mail.

another i found on e-bay started at $435 for just the handpiece and the distributor listed by Lindsay told me on the phone today $529 hand piece only. I also found a youtube tutorial on how to change the chuck for the bits when it gets loose, and also the turbine motor... they are considered consumables.

i asked a handpiece repair guy about another handpiece that looks similar and robust, but he told me the NSK is smaller lighter and the other was brand Nakamura, made that typical high pitch whining noise of the typical dental torture chamber. no need to look further, NSK for me.

the air compresser has a regulator and also my order from lindsay has a regulator and filter, so i figure i am using them both but not at the same time... should be perfect. today i found a nice carbon dioxide cylinder that can be used for more capacity if i need.

good luck man!

thanks for the reply by the way

[JamesE]

Hey Elmer, thanks for the info! I think maybe I'll bump it up to that same compressor model. It sounds like you'll be using it before I get my setup. Be sure and post an update as to how it goes! I'm starting with the manual gravers and vise, sharpeners etc. first and then buying the air tools second - just to get my feet wet and split up the cost of all these tools into 2 payments instead of one big one. This will also give me a month or so to see how the traditional tools work before I dive into modern convenience =]

[Elmer]

you betcha!

i was surprised i was able to get free shipping on the compressor it is 40 some pounds and Alaska is not normally accepted for free shipping and UPS at that that could easily cost me over a hundred bucks.. but hey these guys are located in San diego, so your not far off.... i spent some time in sonoma county...

as for the rotary tool... i figure no matter what i will use that baby a lot as i have relied on a dremel for decades and they vibrate so bad and get hot, it is truly miserable, so no matter what that tool will be of great use. i have carved antler, ivory, Horn and various woodsand i am looking forward to getting out of the "old Farm Truck" and Taking a ride in a new turbo charged Sports car.
Heck I realize i invest in quality tools i never regret it....

[JamesE]

Good deal on the shipping! I wouldn't have expected it to be free at that weight either. I definitely have the NSK tool on my list as well - just a bit further down the list