Discussion - Tool you would not purchase again.

[Jason Clark2]

We had a pretty good discussion a week ago about your favorite tool recently purchased. Let's try the opposite.

My least favorite tool is a Crown (Non-PM, brown handle) 3/4" bowl gouge. It's too large to fit into my Varigrind jig and it's so nose heavy I have a hard time controlling it on the insides of bowls.

It also happens to be a tool that I didn't order. I ordered a 1/2" Crown Pro PM gouge from an online vendor and they were out of stock. Stupidly I agreed to accept the 3/4" as a substitute (thinking they meant the 3/4" Pro-PM, not the regular HSS - not that it would make a huge difference in my complaints above).

Which of your tools would you not purchase again?

Jason

[John Keeton]

In a multi-tool purchase of used tools, I ended up with three P&N bowl gouges - I think 6mm, 9mm and 12mm. While I like the gouges themselves, and the metal seems good, the sizes are just too small for me. I can do almost all detail gouge work with the 1/2" Thompson V, and if I am doing any bead work or other detailing, I use detail spindle gouges. So, while good tools, they just sit in my rack taking up space. I did make some nice handles for them, though, so they look good in the rack - and, that has to be worth something?!??!?

[Richard Jones]

My pick would be one of my reversible curved bowl rests. Way too flimsy out on the end, so I welded a gusset under it, a la Robust. Really irked me. It still irks me. I really like my straight rest by this same maker, but the curved one certainly didn't meet my expectations or my needs. Might as well have just given the money away. Did I say I was irked? :(

Rich

[Reed Gray]

Sorby Spindle Masters. Just too flimsy to be used as a serious turning tool. Should have been made with half round stock. I would not get the deep V gouge from Glaser. I have it and another one from Sweezey (now D way tools) that has the same deep V profile. I just never learned to use it properly, or it and I just clash.

robo hippy

[Jack Mincey]

My lathe, it has cost me a fortune to build a shop for it and get all the accessories one just can't live without.:) The vortex seems to have no bottom:) Just kidding, I wouldn't want to be without my lathe, the tool I have been most disappointed with is my Sorby 1" extra heavy bowl scrapper. It is so magnetic that I can't slide it across the rest without it feeling like it is sticking. Makes for a poor finial cut. Some day I will find someone that can demagnetize it. Until than I will use my regular 1" round nose scrapper.
Turn Safe,
Jack

[Karl Card]

I have three lathes, the very first one that sucked me in was an old harbor frieght 14x43. It is a bad lathe, you cant get it tuned up or should I say zero'd in. (the head and the tail). but it did get me going and got me to buy a rikon and a jet which I use both. All is not real bad though I am going to use the hf lathe as a buffing station. It does turn good spindles for the people that partake of alcoholic spirits..

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

My 7" bench grinder. Great grinder. It is a Baldor but 7" wheels are uncommon. I would buy a Jet 8" and probably will sooner or later.
faust

[Todd Bin]

It is so magnetic that I can't slide it across the rest without it feeling like it is sticking. Jack

Have you tried banging it on the tool rest or banging the edge (not the cutting edge of course) with a hammer. As you bang it more and more it should demagnatize it some.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Sorby spindle sizer. You know, insert parting tool in one side and cut till the other side falls thru. Totally inpractical. CBalipers work much better. Max

[Dennis Ford]

For me, it is a Pro PM spindle gouge (3/8"). I find it hard to sharpen and it doesn't hold an edge very well either. I know lots of people like the Pro PM tools, maybe I got a bad one or maybe it is just me. I have a D-way bowl gouge similiar to the one Robo Hippy dislikes; I love mine.

[Jim McFarland]

Sorby mini-tool set & midi-size spindle gouge. My turning is pretty much limited to pens and I thought smaller tool size to match the project size. Wrong....for me, anyway.

[Jason Silva]

My first of everything. First cordless drill, first bandsaw, first lathe, first set of lathe tools, first....tablesaw, clamps, jigsaw, chopsaw.

I have purchased the cheapest tools first...then realized that i should have just got the good ones in the first place.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Faust- I found Norton wheels for my 7" Baldor without much trouble, but it is a non-standard size. I just couldn't pass up the deal when I bought it "lightly" used.

[David E Keller]

For me, it's the skewchigouge. I can't remember the maker(Taylor?), but it's at least decent steel... I reground mine into a point tool. I can't remember if it was on sale or if I just had a brain fart, but I can't figure out why I ever bought it.

[Scott Hackler]

My first set of turning tools, a Sorby starter set. Overpriced and filled with 50% of tools I dont and never really have used. Also contained a "3/8 bowl gouge" which was actually a small spindle gouge, but being a newbie I didn't know that and treated it like a bowl gouge. I had the whole thing extended over the rest and snapped it off the handle. The free blade flew around and gouged out my hand!

[Greg Just]

Oval skew - worthless. I do love my 1 1/4 flat skew with a radial grind

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Another vote for the near useless Spindlemaster...... I keep trying to justify it's purchase. I've tried finials, beads, coves, pine, maple. The guy in the video makes it look good though. Sold me.

Jason wanna trade for your useless 3/4" gouge? At least my Tormek can sharpen it.:)

[Reed Gray]

I did spend part of a day with Allen Batty, and learned how to use a skewchigouge. Under his instruction, it is an excellent tool for beads, coves, and end grain cuts. I can get some good cuts with the Spindle masters, but there just isn't enough mass to them. I plan on converting one of Doug Thompson's fluteless gouges, if I can get him to make a 1/2 inch one, into a skewchigouge. As is, it is nice for cutting coves and going across end grain like the top of a box.

I did have a Raffen spear point scraper. Turned that into a negative rake scraper.

robo hippy

[Bob Bergstrom]

Oval skew. Bought one 15 years ago and may have used it 10 times. Too much vibration and not rigid enough.

[Bob Rotche]

I would have to say my Sorby swan neck hollowmaster. It is usable, just a bit challenging and not enjoyable. I am currently debating between a better handheld system soon or a Monster system not so soon.

[John Keeton]

Bob, hang on to that Sorby and when you get the Monster, you can use it like David D. did with his mini Sorby (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167082-The-Sorby-Hollow-Monster&daysprune=30).

[Scott Lux]

Roto-tiller. The only thing worse than a tiller that won't start, is one that will. As for turning tools, the $20 harbor freight set of tools. Not HSS, crappy steel, not good.

[Michael Ginsberg]

Hands down... My Craftsman "PROFESSIONAL" lathe. Cheap and built that way. The parts that still worked, I gave away as spares to others who will need them!!

[Bill Bulloch]

A while back I bought the Grizzly Mini Hollowing Tools Set (about $25.00) haven't found a use for them yet.

[Roger Chandler]

I will have to go with my "Crapsman Professional" lathe as well.........model 351..217170 when I got it new, I thought I had made a very good decision and gotten a lathe that was good at a reasonable price............turned out the spindle was gear driven and not belt........my gear shaft broke, and of course, Sears no longer carried the lathe and the manufacturer was no longer making any parts...........

Put out information on a couple of forums to try and get a used part, and also talked with 3 different machine shops about making one.............2 did not have the hobbing equipment necessary, and the other wanted $900 or more to make me a couple. The lathe was only $600 new..........ended up at the junk yard for scrap metal.

Had to get a whole new lathe..........still burns my cookies!

[Michael James]

Another vote for the near useless Spindlemaster...... I keep trying to justify it's purchase. I've tried finials, beads, coves, pine, maple. The guy in the video makes it look good though. Sold me.

Jason wanna trade for your useless 3/4" gouge? At least my Tormek can sharpen it.:)

I have the mini sorby hollowing set, and a 3/4" spindlemaster. When I got so frustrated with trying to massage an edge with a stone, I just took them to the grinder and now they cut. I went and bought a smaller spindle master, and once sharpened get good cuts, mostly used for nice clean shear cuts, or instead of the skew.
I'm probably doing it all wrong but it works for me and they're great on pens as well as all other forms. Also choice of burr - no burr.
I do wish I would have gotten a 1750rpm grinder, instead of 3450 but I use the on/off switch to get some slower speeds.

[Michael Mills]

I needed a larger angle grinder (7”) for occasional use and bought one rated in watts. I could stop the disc on a piece of thin angle iron. I knew better to start with. Needless to say I gave up after the first use and bought a DeWalt.


Bill B. said "A while back I bought the Grizzly Mini Hollowing Tools Set (about $25.00) haven't found a use for them yet."
Is that the set that comes with cheap vice-grips and a set of bent allen wrenches? :D:D:D I got one of those sets!

[Jack Mincey]

I'm surprised by the number of Creekers that don't think the oval skew is of much use. I use mine for digging Ginseng and it works great. As far as used on the lathe I would agree.:)
Turn Safe,
Jack

[Jon Prouty]

Versa-Cal caliper thing from CSUSA... Don't know if I'll ever use it.

JP

[Hayes Rutherford]

I bought a used Glaser screw chuck but much prefer to to put a woodworm screw in a chuck. Oh well, at least I can claim to own a Glaser tool.