Bang for the buck tooling?

[Luke Pighetti]

First of all, what do we call these things? They aren't 'lathe chisels.' I've seen the term 'lathe knives' a couple times. 'Lathe tooling' generally refers to metal lathes. So what are these things called?

Second of all, I'm doing intricate turning, I suppose similar to pen turning. Is there a good bang for the buck set out there? I have no problems sharpening tools, so I don't need uber-awesome-sharpen-once-a-millenium-$300 whatchamacallits. Knives? Sheesh this is bothering me.

I have a old set of craftsman things here that I use, but I'll be moving out of this shop soon and the tooling stays!

Stay well!
Luke

[Scott Hackler]

For the best "bang for the buck" lathe tools (gouges, skews, scrapers), Thompson Tools are hard to beat. Great steel and great prices, but they are sold without handles. Doug (Thompson) offers aluminum handles for them, but you can always turn your own. For the delicate finial type stuff I turn, I like a short, light weight wooden handle and honestly most of the time I am holding the steel....not the handle.

You can buy a set from Bengamin Best (lower end), or Sorby (middle to high end) to Thompson or Glasier HiTech (high end). The sets usually have tools you generally WON'T use and it's generally better to just buy the tools you WILL use. The range of prices will range from $20 to $150+. And yes there is a difference between the grades.

Your old Craftsman set aren't HSS (high speed steel) and you'll instantly notice a difference in edge retaining in any of the HSS steels.

[Jim Burr]

There is the option of a mini set...I have Taylors for pens and hardly use them. I do pens with a Thompson 3/8" U bowl gouge and the Taylor 1/2" skew. Monster makes great handles, but handles are a really personal choice. See if you can check out a club in your area and try out a few different styles and types.

[Reed Gray]

Doug Thompson and D Way tools. Probably the best steel you can buy for edge holding ability, and you buy direct from the guys who make the tools, so no middle man to pay. Both great people to deal with.

robo hippy