I purchased this to shape raw wood into bowls and trays. I have been happy with the results, the cut is fast and reasonably smooth. Use a light touch, as this removes a lot of material in a hurry. (As always, with noisy power tools, eye and ear protection is a must.) The teeth are easy to sharpen with ordinary chainsaw sharpening tools. For a finer finish, I am going to next try one of the sanding wheels.  You'll want to figure out a system to fasten the wood being carved to a fixed point. You want two hands on the tool for control and safety, and unless you are carving a tree trunk, the wood can get tossed around. I like to use my Black and Decker workmate, which I can take outside and let the chips fall where they may. It's hard to devise a good chip collection system for this tool as you are moving around quite a bit and the chips shoot out in all directions.