Pneumatic dental drill recommendations

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Edwardshandmadeknives

Well-Known Member
I’m thinking about getting one of those pneumatic dental drills. Been looking, and there seems to be quite a bit of variety to them. Right now I have a Dremel with a flex shaft, but I would like higher RPMs, and just an overall upgrade. I do like the torque of the Dremel. Do the dental drills have pretty good torque? I also like being able to buy random Dremel bits when I need them, without having to order them online. Will they take Dremel bits? Is one of them “the way to go”, or should I look at something like a Foredom? Lots of questions. :) I’d like to get some input before I spend the money. Thanks in advance.
 
Dental drills run at about 100K RPM and have little torque compared to a Dremel. You "peck", not "hog". The ones I have seen (and have) are all 1/16" bits.

You might check out what's called a "micromotor" machine such as those sold by wood carving supply houses. They typically use collets and some do 1/16, 3/32, 1/8" shank burs. Foredom does micromotors nowadays, too.

Edited to add: I should have mentioned I have the GRS high speed handpiece run with a footpedal for control off my old GRS Gravermax. I also have an NSK Emax micromotor, a couple Dremels, and a 1/3 HP Foredom for hogging. Turns out, they actually all have their niche.
 
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fitzo said:
Dental drills run at about 100K RPM and have little torque compared to a Dremel. You "peck", not "hog". The ones I have seen (and have) are all 1/16" bits.

You might check out what's called a "micromotor" machine such as those sold by wood carving supply houses. They typically use collets and some do 1/16, 3/32, 1/8" shank burs. Foredom does micromotors nowadays, too.

Edited to add: I should have mentioned I have the GRS high speed handpiece run with a footpedal for control off my old GRS Gravermax. I also have an NSK Emax micromotor, a couple Dremels, and a 1/3 HP Foredom for hogging. Turns out, they actually all have their niche.
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Thanks for that info, Fitzo. I kind of suspected they were low torque/high RPMs. I think maybe a Foredom might be better. I’m grinding and carving bronze. The Dremel works, but I went through three of them last year.
 
Edwardshandmadeknives said:
Thanks for that info, Fitzo. I kind of suspected they were low torque/high RPMs. I think maybe a Foredom might be better. I’m grinding and carving bronze. The Dremel works, but I went through three of them last year.
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Yeah, what Josh said - big Foredom with one or two handpieces of choice. Mine is 1/6HP SR motor with reverse, but even it has huge power compared to a Dremel. I got mine with dial control and a hanger and prefer it over a benchmount. Foot control might be interesting. It’s nice with the high speed air pen.
”Good choosin’”!!
 
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