A couple months ago, Aaron Costic sent around a video (below) showing a bullet burr bit on a heavy duty die grinder, powering through a block of ice. It’s pretty impressive. So I bought a bullet burr and adapters for both the heavy duty and the regular Makita die grinder (GE0600.) I also had to buy a heavy duty Makita die grinder (the GD0800C). (A note regarding the model numbers of Makita die grinders: The zero after the “GE” or “GD” is often written as the letter “O.” The Makita website (www.makita.com) uses a zero.)

WARNING: Using this tool as shown in the video is not advised as it’s often difficult to fully control the tool when making such deep cuts. This is merely a demonstration of the power and cutting speed of this tool. Using this tool in the manner shown increases the risk of control loss and potential injury!

    Nothing was cheap; even the adapters were $50 (large) and $40 (small). The heavy duty die grinder was $290 and the bit itself was about $110. So your total for the heavy duty setup is about $450. I found out that the video pretty much tells the story, as long as you use the heavy duty grinder. On the smaller grinder (Makita GE0600), the bit would bog more often and it was more erratic. This is a heavy bit that moves fast because of its width so it will tear through ice. The 800 gives it the power that it needs and it's not the same bit on the 600.

    I haven't used it for very long and it takes a little getting used to, but I found out quickly that you have to be careful with this bit. If you try to plunge with it, the bit can get caught and damage your sculpture. After some practice, it was a lot easier to keep the bit cutting smoothly. It helped to take smaller bites and avoid plunges and I started to get used to the extra weight of the heavy grinder. I'd think that you'd want to carve with this set-up kind of in the strike zone, between your shoulders and your knees (or perhaps a bit higher) and don't try to carve with it far away from your body. I used it briefly above my shoulders earlier today and found that I had more trouble using it for smoothing because my carving position wasn't as stable.

    Because this bit cuts by taking many very small bites at high speed, it generates a lot of snow and/or slush. And that snow stays around, so you'll have to spend time removing extra snow and slush after the carving is done.

    The bullet burr is part of a group of bits (and a few angle grinder discs) that all derive their cutting power from many very small points on their surfaces. Some of the bits, especially a green one, remind me of a cactus. Another popular bit of this type is the super burr. It's smaller and has a different shape.

    This bit produces more snow than any other hand carving bit that I've ever seen. So I'd imagine that touching anything other than ice with it would go rather badly. If you catch a body part with it, I'd expect AT LEAST a serious abrasion and bruising. ** SEE THE COMMENTS BELOW!** I haven’t yet tested what happens if it touches fabric, but I would expect that it would grab it, pulling whatever is inside the fabric and the bit together. This is not a bit for beginners. I would rate it at at least an intermediate level bit. Somewhat fortunately, the high price of the set up means that only serious carvers will likely be interested. The bit and adapters are available from Aaron at www.elegantice.com or Icecrafters at www.icecrafters.com. Ice Crafters sells both Makita die grinders as well, although I’d only recommend the GD0800C for this particular bit.

Important note: There are two heavy duty grinders, so make sure you get the right one; the GD0810C is the WRONG one and it’s been discontinued anyway.

P.S. I hope to do more articles covering various bits in a section called “Bit by Bit.” Look for more entries in the near future.

The following comments were on the original blog entry. After some technical difficulties, the blog had to be reconstructed, and this was the only way to keep the original comments.

Bullet Tool does Bite!

I am not what level of Carver I would classify myself as most of the carving s I have done are demonstrations and usually for free. I own the Cone shaped bit similar to this one. I agree with you on all counts of your description in using this type of bit. I have been using one for approximatley 2 years. When I purchased mine from Ice Crafter they recommended the Makita GE0600. They said it did not operate correctly with a larger one. Having used one for some time I tend to agree that the more powerful grinder would work better and offer more control.

I have noticed that some of the tips have come off and stree the fact to wear safety glasses when using this tool.

I have had an accident with mine recently at a demo, I was shaving a peg with it and came a bit to high and it grabbed my glove at the first knucle. The result was what some would consider a bad abrasion on the surface. But it penetrated deep enough to hit the tendon. This was in April and I am still flexing my index finger in an attempt to regain full mobility of it. I was lucky, this day. I was able continue with my demo. This tool is great but do not take it for granted, it has the potential to do some very serious damage to the user. I'm talking loss of use and mobility to loss of extremity.

My incident should not give cause not to consider trying this tool as it is fantastic, just do not take it for granted or you could regret it.

P. Palazzo, CT.

Saturday, June 16, 2007 - 07:09 PM

Dawson

Thank you for your comments. I hope that you regain full use of your finger. You brought up an excellent point that I didn't consider properly. All of these sorts of bits have points APPLIED to the various shapes. If they're added, then that means that they can come off. And when they come off, they've got to go somewhere. Safety glasses could be crucial with these sorts of bits. And it sounds like you got quite a bit more than a serious abrasion. I hope that carvers remember your experience when they're carving with these bits. Perhaps some accidents can then be avoided. Thank you for sharing it and again, I hope that you heal up completely.

Sunday, June 17, 2007 - 08:36 AM