Thread: A carver by any other name...

Carbrasive discs used to be made at Sawtell NSW, previously available through Arbortech (some time ago) but have now moved to India and I believe are available through www.kutzalldirect.com at a reasonable price including freight.....Kerry

Frank we have the Saburr discs in stock

Thanks Jim. I have seen those, and because you still carry KA products I assume you have sound commercial reasons for not importing this specific KA product any more. We have seen it work and it comes highly recommended. As there were talks of organising a bulk buy to share the postage, I thought it was only fair to give you the right of first refusal.

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

Frank we have the Saburr discs in stock

Yes, I bought some of the Saburr Tooth wheels from Jim (and then some more) and they are brilliant. I don't count myself as a proficient carver by any means, but my FIL is - having spent the last 45 years as a professional woodcarver and rocking horse maker.

He is a true and wondous hand-carver, and has gradually converted to about 50/50 hand carving to power carving as he gets older. He has tried the Arbortech, Lancelot and Kutzall products - as well as various abrasive wheels, but once he used the 100mm Saburr Tooth wheels he threw "the other ####' away.

They are a beautifully balanced, full carbide cutter available in different grades & profiles and they remove the timber with amazing speed & accuracy. We also purchased a few of their 50mm wheels from Jim and we use these in the Proxxon Long Neck Grinder for more detailed work.

Only trouble for Jim is - they seem to last forever. Bill uses his virtually every day and they seem to be still cutting well after 12 months+ use. Give them a try, Frank.

Wayne

Thanks Jim, I have been using the small discs for some now and often asked where to get them from, great to know that you carry them.....Kerry

Originally Posted by Hardenfast

...
Give them a try, Frank.

Wayne

Well, not as good as actually seeing it work, but you do make a compelling case. Thanks Wayne, I'll give them a go. It would be nice to have them both for comparison. I will be using them as replacement for the Arbortech mini-grinder.

Would you have any suggestion for a chipping (as compared to rasping) alternative to the 100mm Arbortech? (Terry used the same #### expression about it...)

Originally Posted by kcam

Carbrasive discs used to be made at Sawtell NSW, previously available through Arbortech (some time ago) but have now moved to India and I believe are available through www.kutzalldirect.com at a reasonable price including freight.....Kerry

Bugga! . I bought some from the factory door there some years ago and even got a tour of the plant - at that time they were one of only a handful of manufacturers on the planet so it seemed pretty special.
Won't be long and the only thing this country will be producing is holes in the ground

I am confused now. They all look pretty much the same, are you saying that the brand changes but they are all made in the same place? It would not surprise me a bit...

As regards

"Won't be long and the only thing this country will be producing is holes in the ground"

look at the 1870 Yearbook: Exports: coal. Imports: convicts. What's new?

Hi

We can get all the Saburr Tooth Products here in the Uk if you would like to email me I would be only to pleased to see if some thing could be worked out to enable anyone to get these products if it was cost effective

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Well, not as good as actually seeing it work, but you do make a compelling case. Thanks Wayne, I'll give them a go. It would be nice to have them both for comparison. I will be using them as replacement for the Arbortech mini-grinder.

Would you have any suggestion for a chipping (as compared to rasping) alternative to the 100mm Arbortech? (Terry used the same #### expression about it...)

Frank you do not use these as a replacement for your arbortech cutters.

You use the arbortech to take away the bulk material then use the Saburrr discs to refine and blend the shape.

In Terrys case he may have used the discs for doing some of his decorative work so the arbortech is not needed.

For those doing larger sculptural peices or burl bowls the TCT arbortech is great for the bulk removal then using the Saburrs for the rest.
For those that went to the Melbourne wood show they would have seen Shane Wolf using both of these to do the work he does on his burl bowls.

Thanks Jim, that's why I was asking whether there are disks 50mm for the mini grinder and 100mm for the full size grinder that do the same job as the Arbortech wheels but work for longer. I have only started using them and can't really tell, but TS was scathing about their quality, saying that they get blunt as soon as you touch the wood. Just checking!

So he is using the 50mm KA coarse as a replacement for the mini grinder Arbortech wheel but you are right, he can do so because he uses it only for light work. Which one is the Saburr equivalent that can be trusted to do the same type of work as the KA in question? In the photo the profiles appear flatter than the KA and Kutzall disks, is that so and does it change much the way they work?

Originally Posted by woodspinner

Hi

We can get all the Saburr Tooth Products here in the Uk if you would like to email me I would be only to pleased to see if some thing could be worked out to enable anyone to get these products if it was cost effective

Thanks for the offer Woodspinner. The idea is to support our local importers and Jim has those, the question was about KA products he no longer imports.

Frank it all depends on how much you want to remove or how good a job you do with the arbortech that dictates which wheel you should use.

Also the finish you are after and how much sanding you still need to do.

Some need all three wheels some get away with the medium wheel.

Well, I'll suck and see. I have ordered the coarsest wheel and will work my way down if necessary. Thanks.