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Thread: Best Newbie wood lathe tools

  1. #1

    Best Newbie wood lathe tools

    I ahve recently started turning and understand the types of tools and what they do, need to know what brands are good value/recommended.

    Right now I have had good luck with Sorby, Wood River, and Easy Wood tools.

    Any help appreciated.

  2. #2
    The Sorby and Wood River are probably M2 HSS. The Easy Wood tools are scrapers. My gouges are exclusively Doug Thompson (Thompson Lathe Tools) and Dave Schweitzer (D-Way.) Other than some cheap M2 HSS scrapers and single use tools, I wouldn't consider any others for everyday use.

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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Keeton View Post
    The Sorby and Wood River are probably M2 HSS. The Easy Wood tools are scrapers. My gouges are exclusively Doug Thompson (Thompson Lathe Tools) and Dave Schweitzer (D-Way.) Other than some cheap M2 HSS scrapers and single use tools, I wouldn't consider any others for everyday use.
    Agree with John. Both are outstanding tool makers and prices are very competitive. Make your own handles and they will work extremely well.
    Member Illiana Woodturners

  4. #4
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    Chris,

    Much depends on your level of experience with turning and sharpening. If not experienced at sharpening, you can grind a way a lot of an expensive tool just learning so in that case cheap tools may be better starters. Remember that woodturners have been doing amazing work for centuries with tools we tool snobs wouldn't have in the shop today!

    I have a box with dozens of cheap "low quality" tools for loaners and give-a-ways and I can turn effectively with any of them once sharpened properly and have loads of fun. The biggest difference in tools to most turners is the steel - the better steels can stay sharper longer with the same use. However, as you go to more expensive tools the distinctions between some of the features can be narrow. If getting older or very cheap tools it really helps of course to be sure they are High Speed Steel - high carbon steel works fine but it is easy to damage the hardness while grinding. (Even some HSS tools are not properly hardened so it's important to test used tools. BTW, one of my favorite skew chisels is an old HSS Craftsman, as is my favorite parting tool!

    If new to woodturning, it is VERY easy to buy too many tools or the wrong tools at first. I strongly believe in getting the best quality possible but that is a waste if you buy huge bowl gouge$ then find you like turning small better!

    That said, I have and regularly use tools from a number of different manufacturers. Sorby, Crown, and others are good (I'll try to look at the other brands the next time I go to the shop). I haven't tried Wood River. When buying new tools, there are many with good reputations. I generally buy Doug Thompson's tools for bowl, spindle, skews, and scrapers because I like the 10V steel he uses.

    As for carbide, I bought the Easy Wood tools long ago but I don't have any in my shop now. The concept is nice, but as JK mentioned they are scrapers. What's worse, they are scrapers you can't easily sharpen and you can't raise a necessary burr. If you look at the edge if these cutters with a microscope you can see the problem. I found the surface from these and similar tools to be horrible compared to other tools, requiring a lot of coarse sanding which brings another set of problems. A caveat - my experience with EWTs is some years old - I haven't tried any of their recent tools.

    An exception are carbide tool from Mike Hunter. Mike uses extremely sharp cutters that can be used as scrapers or can be used in the bevel-rubbing mode for glass-like surfaces. On small work with good wood I can often start with 600 grit paper. It is difficult to recommend one model without knowing what you like to turn, but my favorites for both face and spindle work are the Hunter Hercules.

    JKJ

  5. #5
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    I agree with the others above, but I'll add that if you don't already have a sharpener, that is where I'd plink the next couple hundred bucks into. A grinder and jig. Wet or dry. That is an entirely new can of worms to ask other than what are the "best" tools.......

  6. #6
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    I'm with Kyle and recommend getting a grinder and sharpening jig early before buying a lot of high dollar tools and not being able to sharpen properly. I am personally suggesting to a new turner here that he buy a couple of Benjamin Best HSS tools from Penn State to learn how to sharpen and also get a better feel for what tools to buy. A 3/8" and 1/2" bowl gouge in HSS can easily later be converted to a short handle tool or a bottom feeder which get little use but still provide a good cut. I do like Thompson tools for quality purchase.

  7. #7
    Thanks for all the replies so far, food for thought!

    I did get a low speed grinder and am working through the nuances of sharpening lathe tools.

  8. #8
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    I believe Ashley Iles HSS tools are made out of 01 steel does anyone know how this compares in use with M2 steel

  9. #9
    I am not a metallurgist by any means, but I believe that O1 steel is carbon steel and not high speed steel. As I recall, adding molybdenum, tungsten and chromium steel creates alloys of high speed steel.

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  10. #10
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    Lots of great advice here by some very knowledgeable fellows. I have a mixture of Sorby, bowl gouge, Crown PM and some old Craftsmans.

    I have a Easy Wood Mid scraper and like it a lot. Its a 1/2 inch scraper but the shaft is very sturdy, 3/8x3/8 so there's not a lot of chatter when you go inside a bowl. Only drawback is the carbide tips are 15 bucks a pop. I can probably. Get them cheaper somewhere but haven't really looked.

    i got it with a bunch of other tools when I got my first lathe. I can't say I would have bought one but I really like it.

    As Tom mentioned above you need to learn to sharpen. The Woodriver line are nice mid price tools so your getting a good tool to practice sharpening on without a big investment. As you get better you can upgrade.

    Be aware it's very easy to get sucked in!
    Don

  11. #11
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    Lots of perspectives and many possible paths to success. (I mostly fall into the Thompson camp.) But...:

    It occurs to me all the answers are for someone setting up on their own. For a true beginner I think the absolute best advice would be to get exact copies of the 3 to 4 tools your instructor has you using most in class. A lot of the best results on a lathe are due to "touch" or "feel" and eliminating variables at first will speed up the learning process, I think. Oh, I do mean everything. Same sharpening jig, with the same settings, same gouge profiles, etc!

    Once you've got the basics, tools & skills, covered then you can start expanding your horizons from a solid base. (And order Thompson tools. )

  12. #12
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    Instructors

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bassett View Post
    For a true beginner I think the absolute best advice would be to get exact copies of the 3 to 4 tools your instructor has you using most in class.
    That's good advice (as long as the beginner has a instructor!) Even better, get the instructor to sharpen the tools the first time so you can start with something to go by, then review your sharpening and help with that, if willing. I've had people bring tools to my shop that were horribly sharpened, even though they were using the same Wolverine/Vari-grind jigs.

    I learned from books with no instructor, or I guess you could say Richard Raffan and Mike Darlow were my teachers. This required more introspection than taking classes, but eliminated the chance of starting out with a poor teacher!

    JKJ

  13. #13
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    Please accept my appologies I made a mistake Ashley Iles high speed steel tools are M2 steel
    regards Brian

  14. #14
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    Just a note about Easy Wood tools and other simple carbide scrapers.

    While it's true that you can't raise a burr on the carbide tips, they are easy to sharpen. Simply remove the tip and sharpen the flat side (only!) on a fine diamond stone. I use water on the stone. You won't get them to factory sharp but you can get them most of the way there. Again these are the tips with very simple geometry. Just a flat piece of carbide with a bevel.

    I have and use one Easy Wood tool - the Ci0 round nose scraper. I keep several tips ready to trade out and I use it mostly as a roughing tool. BTW they are not cheap.

    There are several vendors who sell replacement tips for much less than Easy. Captain Eddie Castelin is just one.

    Still all in all my go to tools are Sorby, Thompson and D-Way.
    RD

  15. #15
    I have both Thompson and D-Way tools and they're premium tools which hold a superior edge. That said...as you stated, you're a 'newbie', and therefore I'd recommend starting out with cheaper tools unless you're already proficient at sharpening. When I set-up my sharpening station, I decided to go with platform sharpening for several reasons. It didn't take long to realize how much steel I was grinding away getting the right angles and tip formation. Wasted steel that I decided was best 'wasted' on a cheap tool. When I was able to consistently put a razor edge on my cheap tools I went with the better tools for all future purchases. And because I didn't have an expensive tool in my hands to begin with, I didn't have any concerns over experimenting with different angles and grinds until I found a combination of both which felt good in my hands and produced consistently good finishes. Good luck with your decision...John

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