Old Craftsman HSS vs. New Chinese HSS

[Steve H Graham]

I am planning to get brave and try turning. That means I need gouges or chisels or whatever you choose to call them.

I was thinking of getting a Chinese HSS set, since people seem to like them for beginners, but I have noticed that old USA Craftsman HSS turning tools are even cheaper. Good idea?

[David Walser]

Are you sure the Craftsman set is HSS? The ones I've seen are high carbon steel, not HSS. If the tools are HSS, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. Why I recommend the set from Harbor Freight is because they cost so little money, a new turner should be more willing to grind them away while learning to sharpen. That would apply to the even less expensive Craftsman tools you're looking at.

[Tom Giacomo]

I agree with Dave the old Craftsman sets were tool steel not HSS. I started with a HF set. The only thing you don't get with the HF set is a bowl gouge.

[Richard Madden]

I have some old Craftsman turning tools and the ones with brown handles are marked HSS. Some others with red handles don't say HSS, so they're probably carbon steel.

[Thom Sturgill]

I recently read an article by Alan Lacer (posted here) that was linked to a thread about Sorby gouges: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e-They-All-HSS.

In the article they tested several brands including Craftsman and found that the Craftsman gouges were M50 HSS, which is generally used for bearings and has little wear resistance. Wear resistance is critical for turning tools since so much wood passes the blade every minute.

The problem with HSS is that the heat treatment is critical and you really can't take short-cuts, and hwile you might not always get what you pay for, you will not get "good" without paying for it.

Like many others, I started with the Harbor Freight set (the better set) but found that the spindle gouge was actually holding me back as it had not been properly hardened. After the first inch or so it could not be ground to a sharp edge even by my instructor at a course I took.

I really recommend buying individual tools from better manufacturers. Packard sells a good house line as does Craft Supply (Apprentice). Benjamins Best from PSI (not off eBay) could be a rank below those, some have reported issues with improper hardening there too.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I have some old Craftsman turning tools and the ones with brown handles are marked HSS. Some others with red handles don't say HSS, so they're probably carbon steel.

+ 1 here. The ones with black oxide on the steel and marked high speed steel on the handle are very good steel. They are short and not intended for bowl turning. The 1/4,1/2 and 1" spindle gouges are most desirable. There is also a skew and parting tool and scrapers. Some of the newer ones can be a little thinner in cross section. A great beginners project would be to knock the handles off and make your own. A set of six on a good day might be had for 30 to $40 around here. If bowls are desired , look at Benjemen's Best from PSI.

[Steve H Graham]

I noticed that some were marked HSS and some were not.

[John Grace]

As your beginning into wood turning I'd suggest you purchase one or two inexpensive tools specific for the kind of turning you wish to start with...a bowl gouge for bowls, a spindle gouge for spindles, etc. Otherwise you may end up spending money on eight tools of which you only ever use two. You may want to consider the Benjamin Best line to start with...inexpensive and they hold their edge relatively long. If you continue turning...you'll find you've spent a lot of money on tools you seldom use while yearning for others that you should have spent money on. Good luck...

[Dennis Ford]

The old Craftsman tools were designed for spindle work. IMO, spindle work is what a beginner should learn first. It tends to be more forgiving (safety wise) and the tool control skills you learn in spindle work also apply to bowls, platters etc.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

As mentioned by all, Some C-man tools are HSS and some not, just be careful. IF they are cheap, get them. I also reccomend the Harbor Freight sets. Either one. I have the cheapo set, and still have almost all of them in use.

As a beginner, I would reccommend getting a set, whether it be cheap or not so cheap. Don't get an expensive set. TRY different avenues. Start with spindles. If you just buy a bowl gouge, and try turning bowls from day 1, you'll probably get disappointed. You may enjoy spindles.

[Dale Gillaspy]

The other problem with a lot of those cheap sets are tool handle length. Even with strictly spindle tools, handle length is very important. Short handles are generally very difficult to control and get a smooth cut with.

[Steve H Graham]

I ended up picking up a bunch of HSS Craftsmans. They are NOS. Boxes look pretty old.

Maybe I should start out by seeing if I can make longer handles for them? Not sure how long a handle should be. The ones that came with them are 10" including ferrules.