Carbide Turning Tools

[Joe Scarfo]

I recently picked up a 3520B and thoroughly enjoy it... The turning techniques are significantly different turning bowls on this big monster than when I make pens on my lil delta midi lathe eh....

Hence my subject.... while hanging out a woodcraft last week I had a chance to try some of their carbide turning tools from EWT (Easy Wood Tools). I was impressed... there isn't a lot of turning technique to pick up... not like using fingernail grind sorby's of which I have a ton...

I bought a 5 gallon bucket of various sorby's not long ago and knew someday I would need to learn to use them when I finally got a 3520....

My question is... anyone here have any experiences with the EWT tools? Or perhaps another manufacturer of carbide tipped tools?

What do you think?

Thanks
Joe

[David DeCristoforo]

They are "good" tools and, as you mention, the learning curve is not too high with them. They are definitely easier than "conventional" tools to control. But they will not replace conventional tools. A good gouge will cut faster and leave a much superior surface. You still need a skew for fine detailing. The Easy Finisher will not allow you to cut tighter than the diameter of the cutting tip. You can't roll it like you can a gouge or a skew. If you only use the EWT's, you will miss a lot.

[David E Keller]

I've got a knock off EWT, but I rarely use it. It comes in handy for roughing out really unbalanced pieces, but I prefer traditional tools for almost everything. I don't think the carbide tools are bad, but I think properly used traditional tools are more versatile. YMMV

[Joe Scarfo]

Thanks guys....

I'm a methodical kind of thinker and have been pondering this for a while...

I had thought that the minimum diameter I could lay a groove would the diameter of the cutter... thanks for the input on that...

I also realized the finish might not be as nice and maybe would need to sand a little more.....

I've got a lot invested in my traditional turning tools with the sharpening system and the tools themselves... I doubt i could sell any of it... and I would be keeping the traditional tools to fill in the gaps..

Isn't it funny how some of us think of our tools like our kids.... once they're under our roof, they're there for the long haul.... LOL

Thanks again and I'm looking for others thoughts too.

Joe

[neil mackay]

I've got a knock off EWT, but I rarely use it. It comes in handy for roughing out really unbalanced pieces, but I prefer traditional tools for almost everything. I don't think the carbide tools are bad, but I think properly used traditional tools are more versatile.

I tend to agree with David, I have made a few and they have their place. The traditional tools have a wider usage and therefore usefulness and will often produce a better finish.

[Curt Fuller]

I've just started experimenting with carbide tools, mine are home made. I don't think they were designed to replace gouges or skews. But the advantage I'm seeing so far is in scraping. When hollowing, especially with a captured set up, all the wood removal is being done by scraping. The huge advantage to a carbide tip is that you can work start to finish, probably through several pieces and never have to sharpen. On a conventional HSS cutter the burr wears off pretty fast and you realize that you're not removing much wood. But the only reason I've had to stop using a carbide cutter is to remove the shavings and measure. I've turned some pretty dirty, rocky, gritty wood and I'm still using the same cutter.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I never like a scraper I basically have to throw out when dull or chipped :(

[William Hutchinson]

I'm just starting out, got a lathe mid-July, and like the EWTs. I have the rougher and finisher which do a wonderful job at their designed purpose but have limitation as do gouges, skews and scrapers. The finishing tool will leave a very fine surface that requires little sanding. The goal of any lathe tool is to remove wood in a particular manner. These tools are very good and I'm happy they are apart of my growing tool arsenal.

[Jack Mincey]

I made a C1 tool using the square carbide tool made by easy rougher. It is handy when roughing out a very out of round blank. This being said, That is the only time I ever touch it. I feel that I work faster and can do a better job with a bowl gouge shaping and getting a finial cut. I never have understood why everyone, even some of my friends are looking for a tool that doesn't have to be sharpened. Sharpening is one of the basic essentials that all turner should practice and become component at. It just takes seconds to touch up any lathe tool on a grinder.
Jack

[Tim Rinehart]

I started out only modestly impressed with carbide tools. I have made my own rougher using a 12mmx12mm carbide insert on the end of a long piece of 1/2 square cold-roll steel stock and a homemade handle. It is indispensable for roughing larger stock or really out of round items. I like the leverage afforded and ability to just plunge it in and get to the meat of a blank at times.
I've also used this same tool as a way of flat scraping the bottom of a tall vessel. I can run a scrape with it from the center, over to the side corner and feather it up quite nicely, and that's overhung on my rest by about 8-10" or so.

I've made a hunter variant, that uses a 8mm round cutter on end of a piece of 1/2" cold-roll steel, tapered at the tip...and it is primarily used for final bottom and side cuts on hollow forms. I have a similar, but 10mm tool with a swan neck that is a Hunter tool, which is great for final cuts on inside shoulders of hollow forms and down about as far as it will go. There is a learning curve with these to both ride the bevel when doing a pull cut starting at the bottom of a vessel and working up the side, to transition that to a light scrape as you get towards the top of a vessel. I've done this enough times that I no longer use sandpaper for any part of the inside of a hollow form, and I get a nice smooth finish.
Are they foolproof...heck no. I still occasionally get a little catch but they haven't been enough to ruin the piece...just enough to get me paying more attention to technique.

Good luck. They're not for everyone, and they do need a different approach, but the payoffs are there if you work with them and realize where their strengths are. For me...the Hunter type tools shine in hollow-form work, and the EWT mainly for the roughing. I haven't tried a CI0 tool yet...but would like to see what others think of it and where it excels. That's the round flat cutter by EWT.