Dura-GRIT Carbide Burrs

If you use tungsten carbide saw blades or router bits you know their benefits. Carbide is hard, durable, heat resistant and long lasting. Carvers and modelers have known about the benefits of carbide abrasive burrs (a.k.a. burs or cutters) for quite some time. If you use any type of rotary tool, such as a Dremel or Foredom, then you'll want to know about the Dura-GRIT line of carbide burrs.

You can use carbide burrs for a variety of grinding, shaping, cutting and drilling tasks on virtually any material, including: hardwood, softwood, mild steel, copper, aluminum, fibreglass, laminates, plastics, carbon fibre, Kevlar, leather, rubber, and Styrofoam.

Dura-GRIT burrs come in a wide variety of shapes, and if you've never used burrs before, the choices can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, Dura-GRIT has several general purpose sets that contain the most commonly used burrs. Plus they're offered at a discounted price.

I tried the 'yellow' set (SR-YEL-004), which consisted of four 60 grit burrs: 1-1/4" Carbide Cutting Wheel (CW4-060), 1-1/4" Mushroom Shaping Wheel (MSW-060), 1/2" Hollow Tip Drum/Hole Saw (HT2-080), and 1/8" Pointed Detail Burr (PB8-080). These are shapes that woodworkers and DIYers will likely find the most useful. These burrs have steel cores with a carbide coating, and are mounted on 1/8" heavy duty mandrels.

Cutting Wheel (CW4-060)

Hollow Tip Drum/Hole Saw (HT2-080)

I found that they worked better than high speed steel (HSS) burrs, and cut exceptionally fast, leaving a reasonably smooth surface. The carbide grit doesn't seem to tear loose, even under aggressive grinding, so they should last a long time. One of the great features of these burrs is that they're indifferent to grain orientation in wood; you can fearlessly grind away in any direction. I find the Cutting Wheel (CW4-060) particularly useful; it's great for quickly cutting a 1/16" wide groove up to 1/2" deep. I did notice some slight burning while using this burr, likely because of the narrow kerf it makes. Same with the 1/8" Pointed Detail Burr (PB8-080). No burning with either the Mushroom Shaping Wheel (MSW-060) and Hollow Tip Drum/Hole Saw (HT2-080). The burrs don't load up very much, but when they do I use a brass bristled brush to clean them. Works pretty well.

Excellent cutters at reasonable prices.