flexible shaft machines

L

Luke Smart

Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
141
I have been thinking of getting one and I was wondering if any of you have one, or have any thoughts of them. A friend of mine is looking to sell one of his and I'm looking for some more info. Thanks!

Luke
 
love it, you can do a lot of things. useing the 3/4" sanding drum you can sculpt handles, run carbide burrs for thumb notchs, flap wheels, buffing, etc.....
 
Yep, I use my Foredom just about every day. Enco has one under their label that is less $$ but never tried it.
 
They come in several hp. styles. More power is mostly better here. On a used one, the brushes may need replacement and occasionaly the shaft can use some grease.

I did use a couple daily for 5 years or so before upgrading/selling, they were still going strong. Going from 1/10 hp to 1/8 hp. 1/8hp. was ok if you let the speed do the work. Now have a 1/4 hp. from ENCO, on sale now about $110. and am pretty happy with it so far.

Probably the Foredom is the best brand. Prefer handpieces with a small geared chuck over the collets, but only because I used them a lot for drilling lots of sized bits. Now mostly use bits of two sizes so collets would be fine.

Flex shafts are light years ahead of hand held grinders because they don't make your hand hot or vibrate it and have much more power than the small hand grinders most people buy.
 
All this information is great. Thanks alot. I silver solder all of my guards and I was thinking a Foredom would be the cat's meow. Another question: I have a Rio Grande catalog and they have a huge selection of bits, but I don't exactly know which bits would be most practical. Do you fellas have any suggestions on some bits that a knifemaker would use the most? Thanks again for the help!!

Luke
 
when you buy a foredom it will have a starter kit of bits. i would start there and see what works for you. if you get the adjustable chuck hand piece it will take up to 1/8" bits.
 
The 1/4 machines are pricey and I donot like changing bits and discs. You can build a very good multi-tool by using routers and electric die grinders. Add a flexshaft from HF and a rheostat for vari-speed. I have 4 that I have put together and use them daily. I probably have about $125.00 in all 4. I donot like to change bits and discs when finishing out a knife.
KEN (WWJD)
 
I use the 3/4" drums with sanding sleeves and the cratex tips for ultra high polishing in very tight spots like around the guard and ricasso. The knife edge disks are very handy.
 
Good advice on this thread about starting with an assortment.

I also like the Cratex products and for cutters prefer the carbide with teeth on an angle or that wrap around vs straight teeth, they seem to grap less and cut smoother. Silicon carbide grinding wheels don't clog up like the AO type but don't last long, the fiber reinforced cutting disks are handy sometimes.
 
Ken,
What kind of flex shafts do you use? I've got a 1/4" shaft on order from HF, so I'll report on how it lasts.
Lynn

KEN writes
>The 1/4 machines are pricey and I donot like changing bits and >discs. You can build a very good multi-tool
<big snip>
 
I have a flexi-shaft purchased from H.F. that works great. I'm still playing around with bits. Jim H. (sorry can't spell it) in his damascus video says it's great for cleaning solder joints. What bit do you guys use? I haven't found one that cleans---more like grinds in more gouges to hand-sand out.

J.
www.mountainhollow.net
 
       J
If you make a cutting tool out of copper
  1/8" round copper wire and sharpen the end,
like a chisel maybe just a little less angle,
and put it in a file handle you can use it to
cut away solder with out marring the steel,
This works well, you can make any size or shape
to fit your needs, for a wider tool I use a
piece of 1/4" copper tubing and flatten the end then 
sharpen it.
I'll also use my air gun to blow away
some extra solder before it solidifies, being careful
not to blow it out of the joint.
Wear your safety glasses.
  you can get the copper wire from any electrician,
it's entrance grounding wire.
 
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