Collection: Carving Burs

These burs are the mainstays of most gourd carvers.  They are inexpensive and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  This type of bur cuts with sharpened cutting flutes or "teeth".   They will cut aggressively and are perfect for most people that want to do general gourd carving, and their price makes them the best choice for beginners.  

For most carvers, three basic shapes are adequate (although you may want to add a variety of sizes within those shapes.)  I recommend a wheel, a ball, and a either a cylinder or an inverted cone.  You can use other shapes as well, but if you are starting from scratch this is a good place to start.  These burs will dull after years of use or if misused, but usually a thorough cleaning will extend their life. 

Carbide burs are more expensive than steel burs, but with ordinary care they will outlast a steel bur and should rarely need to be replaced.  

Some carbide burs look exactly like steel burs, but will stay sharper much longer. Personally, I don't buy this type as they are much more expensive and the high speed steel cutters last quite a long time when they are kept clean and used only on gourds.

Some burs have bits of tungsten carbide grit fused onto a steel based cutting surface. This type of bur comes in various shapes and cutting grits, but is less aggressive and smoother cutting than a structured tooth bur.

Structured tooth carbide burs have sharp hair-like projections protruding from all sides of the bur.  They are great for left handed carvers as they are not directional and are not used with a mandrel.  They come in a variety of shapes and grits and are the most aggressive burs for fast carving.

Diamond burs are not intended for carving through the gourd skin.  They are better suited for detail carving or sanding operations.  These burs are the least aggressive of all but are perfect for sanding or texturizing after the rough carving is finished.  Inexpensive kits with several burs will give you plenty of shapes to choose from.

There are different reasons why burs leave burn marks or don't cut well.  If you know your bur is relatively new and not likely to be dull, then the cause is often a dirty or clogged bur.

The easiest way to clean all types of burs is to get a small jar (baby food size is fine) and fill it with enough acetone to cover the bur cutting heads.  Let the burs soak for a while, the acetone won't hurt them. This will loosen the resins that are clogging the cutting surfaces.  After the burs are removed from the acetone, simply scrub them off with a toothbrush shaped brass brush. (I have one for sale here!) This should eliminate the majority of the debris.  You can resubmerge and repeat if necessary.

Carbide burs are much tougher and in a pinch they can even be flamed with a small propane torch to burn off the residue.  Use caution when using this method; flame the bur while it is chucked into your tool, don't attempt to hold it with pliers (or your fingers!!!).  Do NOT try this on steel burs.  They will lose their temper and will not hold a sharp edge.  If you are cleaning a mandrel mounted carbide bur, you must remove the small fiber washer before using the torch cleaning method.