Handed flexshafts?

Someone mentionded learning to use the left hand to hold the
handpeice so that most of the waste is directed away from the
face.

Does any manufacturer offer one that rotates in the opposite
direction?

Do you folks think it would be a good thing to have? View of the
point of contact between the tool might be a little impaired.
There must be people using the left hand now. Does that cause
any problems?

I suppose the motor would have a slightly different design, but
not too weird. The spring in the flex shaft might need to be
wound in the opposite direction and any rotating threaded parts
of the handpiece would probably need the opposite thread.

Of course burrs are ground wrong and the screws on mandrels are
backwards, but it wouldn’t be that hard for someone to design
the reverse, would it?

Chunk

Foredom makes a model that has a reversing switch. Many
micro-motor handpieces also run in both directions. The only
problem would be findings burs cut for clock-wise rotation.

Rick Hamilton

Hi Chunk, Just pick up the hand-piece in your left hand and
start to use it. You don’t need anything special. I’m left-handed
and have been using a flexshaft for a long time. Have fun. Tom Arnold

I’m left-handed and use the flex with that hand. All the dust
and garbage spews up over my bench away from my face. Burrs work
ok. I just have to remember to work from the far side of the
piece towards me.

Cheers
Virginia

The motor is the only easy part, existing motors are series
wound and can made to run easily switch reversible. The rest is
no problem mecanicly to redesign if necesary but the small market
would make the prices very high for lefthand stuff. Jesse

    Does any manufacturer offer one that rotates in the
opposite direction?  

Chunk, There are handpieces that have a reverse switch so that
the direction of rotation can be changed. Foredom and other
manufacturers make them and they are available at must supply
houses. If I read you right, that is essentially what you
want,so it doesn’t need all that design modification you
suggest.

JZ Dule
PS I did mean flexshafts not handpieces

Aloha All, Though this may be true, as far as burrs are
concerned, in milling you would call this climb cutting (as in
finish cut, read burnishing). So, cut in the direction of the
cutter and reverse to burnish. Used to work in Dental Lab (Crown
and Bridge). By the way the other strange dental tool sounds
like a vacu-former (they sell it in the Rio catalog, but was a
dental lab tool, not the one from Mattel, LOL!!) Good tools come
from all sources, if it does what you need, use it, if it hasn’t
been made, make it.

Best Regards,

Christian Grunewald
Precision Modelmaking
Hawaii

Tom–I agree. I am totally ambidextrous and often shift the
handpiece from one hand to the other while working on a piece.
I haven’t had any problems. Sandra

I thought that was the natural way to use it, left handed. The
only time in the history of civilization when lefties get a
break! Maybe right handers could use a full sized face shield?

I certainly appreciate your point of view, but also find it too
easy. Just because you are so lucky as to be left-handed does
not automatically mean that everybody could stop inhaling the
odd stuff from the flex shaft machine that easy. In my humble
opinion, one should take great care for ones health (you’ve only
got one life) and having said that zthe producers of flex shaft
tools and flex shaft machines (I just bought a used one
yesterday) might be urged to think in other directions, so to
speak. Could we hear a comment from them here?

Kind regards
Niels L=F8vschal, Jyllinge, Denmark
@L_F8vschal
phone (+45) 46 78 89 94