I haven't used mine for that yet, but BE SURE to use protective eyewear! Some of the attachments can really fling out particles of debris at a high rate of speed.

And make sure no one is around while you're doing it, including pets.

Sue

No matter what area of the medium you're in(Hypertufa,straight concrete,etc),you goota love the Dremel and its attachments.Love me,love my Dremel!

I haven't used it for carving (yet :)) but I did use it to expose the aggregate on this plum leaf:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:69569}}

Chris I use a Dremel and have two with every attachment you can buy. Fine for the little stuff.
I actually use a Dremel router to make templates for concrete lettering.

But I find a heavy duty flex shaft chucked in my drill press (or a drill)much more useful for carving buffing and shaping.
This one (linked below) is top of the line and pricy but there are others for around $20. It chucks tools up to 1/4 inch so you can go nuts at Canadian tire finding grinding and brushing tools for a flex shaft like this. Much more power then a Dremel and if you use a drill press for power it's very quiet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flex shaft

I know the dremel wouldn't be feasible for anything more than tha littlest project - that leaf was little :) Unfortunately my drill is a wimpy rechargable. Definitely a sturdier flex tool would be handy! When I got the dremel I was looking at some larger rotary tools - the flexshaft bringing it down to handheld workability, but the dremel won. It does take some time before I can really convince myself I *need* a particular tool, once I manufacture enough reasons - lookout! :) Then it's time to haunt the pawnshops! sheesh, one would think I have to convince a mate or something - the toughest arguments are the ones I have with myself!

One thing is a for sure - there is no way I would make the effort to sand/grind/polish off the surface by hand - ain't power a grand thing?! :)

Chris-one of the good things about the Dremel is the speed.Up to what 30,000 rpm is more than drills.I use mine to trim off mold excess and give a clean edge to what I'm doing.If you're using a lot of admix,you're getting a harder piece.So,charge up those dilithium crystals and get more power!
Good morning and cheers

I would buy a Rotozip tool with the flex cable for high speed AND power. Canadian tire sells one that also works as an angle grinder. This is the perfect tool for someone who doesn't already have any tools.
It's a Dremel on Steroids.
It's the Mastercraft Maximum SpinSaw.

I tried using my Dremel + flex shaft, but it wasn't agressive enough. On my lantern I ended up using my drill with a couple of masonry bits and bought some cheap stone carving tools and rasps at an art store. The lantern I carved took some getting used to. Hard to figure out exactly the right moment and it always got too hard to make carving simple.

{{gwi:69570}}

Very nice Susan.
I wish you would explain the process somtime.

David I just about bought the Mastercraft Spinsaw, got beat out of an Ebay auction, and the one in a pawnshop was priced too high, so enter the Dremel, and really for most of what I have used it for, it's a better fit - of course first project where I need a bit more..... - perhaps I *need* both :)

Rick I am using an acrylic admix, as well as slag - I suppose both contribute to the hardness?

Susan that lamp is a beauty! How much was carving and how much was drilling? Like Warren - would love to know the process!

Hi! There was a bit of both in the lantern portion as well as on the lotus design. Used the drill to help take away material and then used rasps. The lantern part I cast using two plastic containers that came as a set of three, so I had to remove the material for the four holes. I roughed them out with the drill and then did fine tuning with rasps and files. With each of them I sort of designed some of it as I went along. Hadn't actually thought about a lotus design, but it started to look sort of like that instead of whatever I'd first thought of, so went that direction. Discovered that the holes needed to be beveled in order to give some shadows. One of these days I'll actually do a second project that would take advantage of the learning curve I keep going through, but so many grand ideas and so little time! Just figured out how to make a bronze sculpture out of some long 2' leaves I cast that year along with some copper pipe, so maybe this year I'll have time for some new stuff, too.