Engraver attachments: types of wood and metal cutters for drills

An engraver, also called a mini-drill, dremel, straight grinder or drill, is a multifunctional tool. With its help, not only engraving is applied, but also drilling, grinding and performing other operations for processing various materials, for example, wood, metal, glass, stone.

The device is widely used both in everyday life and in various industries, in jewelry, and in the creation of advertising and souvenir products. All the variety of functionality of the equipment is due to the fact that there are different attachments for the engraver.

Arsenal of wood carver tools

The main tool for cutting wood, as mentioned above, is a burr. The implementation of such a procedure, during which a layer of the processed material of various depths is removed, is ensured by the rotation of the cutter, as well as its translational movement along the required trajectory. Accordingly, equipment is also required with which the tool used will be driven into rotation. Such equipment, indispensable for an engraver and any woodcarver, is a drill, often called a Dremel.

Dremel produces electric engravers for household and professional grades

The word “Dremel” comes from the name of the German company Dremel, which produces a large range of electrical equipment, in which drills and specialized engravers occupy a significant place. Drill kits from Dremel and other manufacturers already include everything you need to install the tool and get started.

You can also cut wood using cutters using a conventional electric drill or screwdriver, if you equip them with a flexible shaft and a special attachment on it, into which a burr is installed. This simple device is also suitable for an engraver who works with products made of metal and other materials.

Flexible shaft for drill

The quality and attractiveness of the work performed when cutting wood directly depends on the characteristics of the equipment used. Even the experience and knowledge of the person performing such work cannot positively affect the characteristics of the finished product in the absence of appropriate equipment and wood burrs.

Rules for beginners

Engravers work not only on wood, but also on stone, leather, glass, metal, bone, and plastic. In order for the work to be of high quality, and for the carver to carry it out comfortably, you need to know how to work with an engraver and adhere to the rules. This is especially important for beginners.

It is advisable for beginning carvers to master the technique of carving with a hand engraver rather than an electric one.

To begin with, they “stuff” their hand. They learn to cut grooves, grooves, and simple shapes. Necessary tools for working as a hand wood engraver:

• gravers with thin steel rods (v-shaped, angular, flat);
• lamp with lens;
• punches (for dotted lines, dots);
• chisels;
• substrate for the workpiece.

It is advisable for a beginning carver to use a tutorial with ready-made drawings, ornaments and techniques, or take several lessons from professionals.

Note! When working as a wood engraver, the workpiece is placed on a small cushion so that the material does not slip. The pillow itself is fixed with double-sided tape.

Rules for wood carving with an engraver for beginning carvers:

• The desktop should be free, no unnecessary objects.
• A special lamp for soft illumination of the workplace.
• It is unacceptable to jerk the instrument in different directions, play around with it, or knock on the table.
• The engraver must not be left accessible to children.
• While the instrument is running, it is prohibited to remove or change the attachment.
• During operation, the device should be kept away from your face to avoid accidental injury.

All attachments, cutters, and tools necessary for work should be laid out on shelves and drawers so that they can be easily retrieved without being dragged anywhere.

Shelves with woodcarver's tools

Types of drills

The variety of devices offered on the market comes down to three main types:

• drills for technical purposes;
• micromotors, or engravers for wood carving;
• mini-drills, or compact drills with a flexible drive.

They differ in purpose, size, power, and performance.

The design of both a powerful woodcarving drill and a micromotor is based on two main components: a high-speed electric motor and a replaceable tool mounted in a chuck.

Drills for technical purposes

Devices of this type are equipped with a fairly powerful engine and allow you to solve a wide range of problems. Structurally, they are divided into two blocks:

• Actually a drill. An electric motor is housed in a cylindrical housing. A collet or quick-release chuck is attached to its shaft.
• A power supply unit that houses a mains voltage converter of a transformer or pulse type.
• Power pedal. Allows you to free your hands for more precise holding of the device.
• Connecting cables.

Wood drill for technical purposes

The advantage of such carving drills is the ability to perform various operations on wood:

• drilling;
• boring;
• grinding.

As a disadvantage, it should be noted that the speed is relatively low compared to a Dremel for wood carving.

The market offers models from both domestic and foreign manufacturers. Domestic ones are affordable, but they lack the ability to operate for a long time without overheating, especially under high loads. They are well suited for hobbies; for professional use with significant volumes of work, it is better to opt for imported equipment.

Micromotors

Wood carving drills or micromotors are particularly compact, low power and high speed (up to 30,000 rpm). The attachments are also fixed to the working shaft of the electric motor.

Micromotors

Limited power does not allow the devices to achieve high productivity, but the low weight and size do not tire the hand, and high speeds allow you to perform the most delicate and filigree carving details.

Mini drills or compact drills with flexible drive

This class of devices are the battleships of the world of drills. Structurally, they differ in that they allow the installation of an attachment with a flexible drive shaft in place of the cartridge. Thus, the heavy drive device with the motor remains lying on the table (or suspended), and in the hand of the master there remains only a collet (or quick-release) clamp with the tool installed in it.

Such systems have high power (up to 200 watts) and develop high speeds (up to 30 thousand rpm). They are equipped with a large number of different cutters and abrasive attachments and allow you to perform a wide range of operations.

Hammer mini drill

The kit may also include a telescopic rod for attaching the device in a place convenient for the master.

Precautions and workspace arrangement

Wood carving with an engraver is not only a fascinating activity, but also dangerous. Precautions must be taken.

• A work table with a flat surface should not wobble.
• The master's clothing is without long wide sleeves, an apron. Wear a hat or scarf on your head so that your hair does not hang from your forehead or shoulders.
• It is advisable to protect your eyes with glasses from chips and sawdust.
• The sharpness of the cutters is checked on the wood, not with your fingers. The sharper the sharpening tooth, the more the engraver vibrates, which means you need to reduce the speed.
• Check the integrity of electrical cords and make sure they are not twisted.

There should be a first aid kit in the workshop or nearby.

When working as a wood engraver, they experience positive emotions and joy from the beauty of stylish products created with their own hands.

Such masterpieces are created by wood craftsmen

You can learn decorative carving at any age. The main desire.

What are engraver attachments?

Working attachments or tools used to work with an engraver are presented in a wide variety on the modern market. Their design includes two main elements:

• a shank with which the tool is fixed in the chuck of the equipment used;
• the working part, which performs the main functions, interacting with the material being processed.

The working part of these nozzles is designed for processing metal surfaces

The choice of working attachments for an engraver is influenced by the following factors: characteristics of the material being processed and the list of technological tasks that need to be performed. Those home craftsmen and specialists who work with an engraving machine on a regular basis try to immediately purchase a set of attachments for the engraver, which includes tools of various sizes and purposes. Depending on the needs and financial capabilities of a particular engraving artist, this may be a more modest set, including several dozen necessary tools, or a professional set, which includes attachments for performing various works on metal, wood and other materials.

Final finishing of products

To finish the wood surface, felt and felt circles are used. They are fixed in a drill and lubricated with polishing paste, which makes it possible to achieve an almost mirror-like state of the wood surface. After completing all stages of mechanical processing, soft wood varieties are coated with transparent varnishes in one or several layers. This coating will protect the product from moisture and significantly increase its durability.

After the varnish has dried, the surface is polished again to achieve perfect smoothness and a mirror shine. Hard types of wood are not varnished, emphasizing the original texture of the material. Sometimes they are slightly tinted.

Classification of nozzles

There are a large number of varieties of equipment for working with a mini drill. The wide range on the market allows you to select attachments for wood and many other materials that engraving equipment can work with. Also, individual craftsmen make them themselves.

Structurally, the attachments (burs) consist of two parts;

• tail, clamped in the tool chuck (diameter from 0.8 to 8 mm);
• worker who processes materials.

Equipment is classified according to two main criteria:

• by the type of material from which they are made;
• by area of ​​use (purpose).

By type of material processed

Based on the material, engraver cutters are of the following types.

1. Made of hard alloys (carbide) with small and large working parts. There are different types of notches on them. Designed for initial or intermediate processing of workpieces of different hardness.

2. Diamond-coated steel, used for basic work operations with various materials.

3. Disc holders that can be equipped with felt, cutting, or rubber wheels, depending on the properties of the workpiece and the nature of the work performed.

4. Rubber with the addition of corundum, used in processing metal workpieces.
5. Abrasive, which are used to perform work on stone, metal, glass, and ceramics.

6. Felt, intended for polishing wooden surfaces.

There are also combination burs that have a steel shank and a carbide working part. Their area of ​​application corresponds to the material of the head.

Carbide equipment is of high quality, durable and is one of the most expensive consumables for Dremels . The shape of the tips determines the features of its application. With the help of such peak burs, it is good to process bone, plastic, and make tracing (indicate the contours of the picture). Diamond attachments are also of high quality, even if the kit they are included in is classified as cheap consumables.

On the market you can find a set of burrs, all the elements of which are marked with some color - it indicates the level of sharpening. Those marked black are the most productive burs, while the sharpness of green or blue ones is worse. The yellow-marked attachments are the best choice when finishing workpieces.

By purpose

You can use an engraver with attachments not only for engraving, but also for performing other work operations. The breakdown of consumables used in the operation of straight grinders is presented in the table below.

Consumables from each group can be used when processing various materials. At the same time, milling equipment is used mainly by professionals.

Dremels, which have a flexible shaft installed, are equipped with any types of consumables that fit the diameter of the tool chuck.

Types and purpose of cutters and attachments

Drill attachments come in the following types:

• Abrasive attachments: cutting discs, cones, reverse cones and other rotating bodies. Designed for grinding thread parts.
• Wire brushes for roughing material.
• Steel cutters of different shapes. To perform basic operations - cutting out contours and sampling the background.
• Serrated blades. For processing thin relief details.
• Drill. For drilling through or blind holes.
• Balls for polishing and grinding thread parts.
• Felt circles. Serve for final polishing.

The cutters are made of high-strength and wear-resistant tool steel. Abrasive attachments are made mainly based on corundum. Abrasive attachments coated with diamond chips are particularly wear-resistant and precise.

Wood carving cutters

The collet clamp allows you to accurately secure and center the replacement tool. However, with strong lateral loads, its tightening must be checked periodically. The quick-release clamp does not have this drawback, but only tool shanks specially designed for it are suitable for it.

Diamond burs for engraving

Diamond burs rightfully hold the title of the most popular attachments for engravers. They are included in the professional packages of these instruments. The tool is strong and durable if used correctly.

What products can be made

Carving has been practiced since ancient times, as evidenced by the found rock paintings, ornaments on dishes and other household items. People carved images on different materials: stone, glass, bone.

Wood carving with an engraver is a fascinating activity. With the invention of electrical assistants, decorative processing became simpler, and designs became more complex and elegant.

Wood carving has become popular not only in Russia, but in many countries around the world. For example, Canada, rich in forests, is famous for its architects.

They began to decorate with engraving:

• panels, paintings;
• carved balusters;
• icons, iconostasis;
• headboards of beds, furniture fronts;
• platbands for wooden log houses, baths;
• icon cases, frames.

Key rings, knife handles, corner decors - there’s just so much that wood craftsmen don’t decorate.

For reference! An engraver is a tool that replaced manual drawing on wood. In addition, the device can grind, polish small parts, and perform a long series of actions.

Artistic carving on the butt of a gun

Review of professional attachments for engravers

Professional tools constitute a separate (high-quality and expensive) category of equipment that can withstand significant operating loads without negative consequences. It is customary to equip such devices with appropriate consumables.

Professionals carefully process the smallest details of workpieces. That's why they need such a wide variety of consumables to get the job done.

Experts who professionally engrave various materials recommend purchasing sets of attachments from well-known brands, such as Dremel or Dexter. The significant cost of the products of these companies is fully justified by the fact that their products are reliable, high quality and durable. The use of burrs for wood, metal and other materials produced by these companies increases the accuracy of workpiece processing.

Often, specialists have several sets of equipment designed to process different materials and perform various operations. Also, the individual elements that make up them have their own design features. Typically these sets include:

• cutters for metal, wood and other materials, of various designs;
• drill;
• felt, diamond, and abrasive cutters;
• wire brushes for cleaning surfaces;
• engraving rods;
• cutting discs.

The kits also include a straight edge cutter.

Straight edge cutter Topfix

Replacement equipment of the Dremel and Dexter brands can be used not only by workshop specialists, but also by home craftsmen who want to improve in the art of engraving.

According to professionals, one such tool can last as long as 10 low-quality attachments from an unknown manufacturer.

Some engravers recommend products that are of lower quality than Dremel or Dexter, but cheaper. The set can include up to 180 units of consumables of popular varieties. But products from Zubr, in general, fall into the semi-professional and household categories.

Recommendations for choosing nozzles

Typically, a milling attachment for an engraver is included with the purchased tool. But with constant use, it wears out over time. Also, cutters may be needed for specific operations - then you need to buy new burs in order to continue working with the Dremel.

The ideal option is to purchase products recommended by the engraver manufacturer. In such cases, the warranty from the companies for the device in use is retained. But it happens that original consumables cannot be obtained for some reason, or they will be very expensive given the small volume of upcoming work operations. Then you will need to purchase analogues or even use homemade ones. In this case, the main rules of choice are as follows.

1. You should focus on the diameter of the shanks that is suitable for the Dremel chuck: most often it is 2.4 or 3.2 mm.
2. You need to purchase attachments for metal and other materials depending on the type of work you plan to perform.
3. To engrave, you can also use inexpensive kits, for example, made in China or Russia.
4. For constant, long-term work with a mini-drill (especially with hard materials), it is recommended to purchase high-quality, professional sets, and for occasional engraving, household ones are sufficient.

When learning various Dremel operations, inexpensive products are suitable. Over time, they should be abandoned in favor of better quality equipment.

Homemade attachments for engraving machines and drills

For simple engraving work in a home workshop, you can make a cutter, cutting disc, grinding and polishing wheels yourself. As a simple cutter to equip an engraver or drill, you can use a grooved wheel from a regular lighter or a dowel, on the head of which working teeth are cut. Making a working attachment for grinding or polishing is also quite simple: for this you can use a wooden drum with a shank, sandpaper glued to the side surface of it.

Many homemade attachments for an engraving machine (if they are used to perform not too complex work) perform well, and the cost of their production is minimal.

Caring for engraving equipment and tools

In order for the engraver to work longer and perform his tasks, he must take care of the tool.

Before turning it on, you need to inspect the drill to see if any dents, cracks, or chips have formed.

When operating the drill, a lot of dust and shavings come out, which clog the instrument. After each use, the engraver must be cleaned and any debris removed.

In the absence of forced ventilation, the engraver is turned off after 15-20 minutes. work to cool down.

Experienced carvers do not recommend working with dull cutters. It is necessary to change them or sharpen them on time.

Note! The difference in tooth sharpening between cutters affects the operation of the drill.