Dremel/foredom/intricate carving tool

[The Smoking Yeti]

Hey, so I'm looking into doing some more intricate carving/engraving work on my pipes, and I'm trying to find a better system than my cheapass dremel tool. I was wondering if you guys know of any systems which'll cut briar more fluidly without jerking around in the grain. I looked up profitablehobbies.com and they seem to have kits that'll do the trick- for 1200$+... has anyone seen anything more affordable? Perhaps a certain foredom setup? I'm really not wanting to make a purchase only to have it suck ass, so I'm wondering if ya'll have had any experiences you'd like to share.

[Sasquatch]

IMHO dremel type work always looks like dremel type work. Rotary cutters cut.... rotary. It's what they do.

I'd invest in a set of Japanese or Swiss carving tools if this was a direction I wanted to go.

[KurtHuhn]

About 8 years ago I purchased a We-Cheer dremel-ish tool with flex shaft and tiny handpiece and a crapload of accessories. Total cost was about $130 if I recall correctly. It's still going strong, and I use it almost daily.

Getting caught in the grain is usually a function of the cutting bit or technique, not the power tool itself. That said, I'm a little surprised that you're having that problem. It's not something that I've actually experienced.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Well Kurt I've only had issues on a minor scale, nothing noticeable if I'm rough shaping, I'm talking when I practice engraving lettering etc. in scrap briar. It may also be a product of shitty ergonomics

[Gershom]

It may also be a product of shitty ergonomics

That's 90% of my pipe making! (I don't know what the other 10% is...)