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Thread: Leaning toward Hurricane wood turning tools but skeptical

  1. #1

    Leaning toward Hurricane wood turning tools but skeptical

    In another thread I asked for suggestions on a starter wood turning set. A few responded recommending the 8 piece set by Hurricane Turning Tools, which apparently is a proprietary brand from The Woodturning Store. This set seems like a good fit for me but I'm skeptical about a few things. After doing a little more research online there seems to be no shortage of starter sets using high speed steel but prices range from about $80 to a little over $200. The sets I'm referring to including the Hurricane set do not give a specification on the HSS and are most likely made in China. Is it fair to say that these will vary in quality and if so what assurance is there that one is better than another other than anecdotal evidence?

  2. #2
    I did not buy the set from Hurricane, but individually I did purchase one of their bowl gouges, two skews and a scraper. All in all they have held up well and I have no regret with my purchases. They are HSS and seem to hold a pretty decent edge-- maybe not as good as my Sorby tools, but close enough I don't really notice much of a difference. On top of their tools, I also purchased a HTC125 chuck-- it's a nice hunk of metal, solid, and hasn't let me down yet. If I need to in the future, I wouldn't have any qualms buying from them again.

    If they fit your needs and price point, I don't think you'll have any issues with the Hurricane stuff.
    Licensed Professional Engineer,
    Unlicensed Semi Professional Tinkerer

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    362
    Steve I have two of their scrapers, one skew and an HTC125 chuck. All have been good tools and held up well. Hard to beat for the money. My first complete set was a Benjamin`s Best that I still use, just added to it.
    I may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    274
    First of all, I don't own any of the Hurricane Turning tools. I do have 2 of Steve's chucks (Hurricane). I purchased a set of 8 of the dark red handle Harbor Freight tools when I started over 10 years ago. I still use a few of them like the skew. One had never been used and a couple of years ago I decided to make a scraper out of it. It was dead soft and I left a deposit on a CBN Wheel that took a lot of work to get cleaned off. I then checked the hardness of the rest of the HF tools and found that the heat treating only is in the first 1.5 to 2" of the tool. As long as check and are aware of this you can work accordingly. They are serviceable. My point is that the end user will have to perform the QC function to know what you are getting with the lower priced tools. If you receive a bad one from Steve, I'm sure he would replace it. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't check them before shipment.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    Steve, I originally bought a set of three thick Hurricane round nose scrapers. Amazon, three or four days, free shipping. I really liked them so a bought a set of three bowl gouges. I really liked them, so I bought an additional 5/8 inch bowl gouge that I turned into a bottom feeder (80 degrees). The catalog sheet from Amazon says that they are made of High Speed steel M2. I don't own any high-end tools so perhaps I don't know what I'm missing. But I'm satisfied with the Hurricane tools.

    I did a file test on one of the tools and noticed that at least the first three inches (by the end) are hardened. The base is not. But my thoughts are two fold: (1) Maybe it is safer to have the softer/more ductile steel at the base and (2) when I wear down the tool by 3 inches or more, I will have got my money's worth out of them. At that point I can either toss it or re-harden the remaining stub (if I can figure out some purpose for such a stubby tool).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Great Northwest
    Posts
    474
    Buying a relatively inexpensive set is a good way to go when you first start, IMHO -- I still have several of the Benjamin's Best tools I bought when first "tooling up." As far as Hurricane goes, I may be the only person who's received a dud -- a 1" skew that was just awful. I would suggest that you buy them from Amazon if possible, because they make returns extremely easy. That way, if anything isn't right, you don't have to argue with a customer rep -- just print off the return label and drop 'em off at the UPS store.

    Once you've turned a bunch of stuff, and are finding yourself needing another bowl or spindle gouge for different specific purposes, you might want to drop some money on better tools -- better steel, and hardened all the way up the shaft. D-Way Tools by Dave Schweitzer are my favorite bowl and spindle gouges, and his narrow parting tool is supposed to be the cat's meow. Not to mention his beading tools. They all come hand-sharpened by Dave, ready to go. But there are several very good and well-made brands out there!

  7. #7
    I have three of there scrapers that are heavy duty and they are just fine.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Erie, PA
    Posts
    564
    Buy quality to begin with and you will save yourself a lot of pain. Buy a 1/2" Thompson or D-Way bowl gouge, a Thompson or D-Way parting tool and perhaps a 3/4" Thompson or D-Way scraper. These three at least from Thompson will fit one of his 1/2" nose handles, not sure about D-Way and handles. These two companies use very good steel, Thompson uses A-11 and D-Way uses M-42 which are made here in the US. Just one thing, no tool is any good unless you have a way to sharpen it. I have mainly Thompson tools but have just bought a couple of Dave's beading tools. Buy either of these two companies tools and you won't be looking to try anyone else s.

  9. #9
    FYI, I am a fan of both D-Way and Thompson. It does't impact performance, but a 1/2 D-Way gouge is slightly bigger (will not fit in Thompson 1/2 handle). Dave Thompson starts with the same larger diameter stock as the D-Way tools, but turns them down to excactly 1/2 inch .

    1/2 D-Way gouge is .515 in diameter
    1/2 Thompson gouge is turned down to .5 inches in diameter where it goes in the handle.

    Just something to be aware of when making/buying handles.

    Take care,
    Mike

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    303
    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Kaufman View Post
    ...found that the heat treating only is in the first 1.5 to 2" of the tool...
    Well, you just saved me a bunch of trouble. I had been thinking about re-purposing some of my HF tools like this, but based on that, I'll just leave them as is! How do you check hardness on a tool?

  11. #11
    I posted a similar comment in another related thread but thought it appropriate to give some closure to this one, at least with respect to my original question. I just ordered a small assortment of tools from Thompson Tools as recommended by Mr. Thompson. The Hurricane or equivalent set also made sense but earlier today I was also given a small number of old lathe turning tools by a neighbor. They're not the quality of a Thompson or even the Hurricane but should at least be useful in finding out the differences in tool quality. I can't wait to get started. Thanks again for all of the excellent comments and suggestions. I think this is one of those rare situations where I followed everyone's advice.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    274
    I have never noticed a problem with 3/8, 1/2 & 5/8 D-Way Gouges in Thompson Handles. Measured the D-Way Gouges and they are; .392, .516 & .632. The age of the Thompson Handles vary from 2 years to 5 years. Maybe Doug made a change prior to my oldest ones.

  13. #13
    thought I'd respond to this thread even though the last comment was over a year ago. It's still a relevant topic. I started turning about 4 years ago and realized that all the experienced turners I know have 15-20 tools, yet when asked they all have their favorite 4-6 that are used 99% of the time. So I decided early on I would focus on learning with inexpensive tools and when I figure out what type of tool I prefer to use, then I'd spend the extra money. After all the primary difference is the type of steel which simply determines how often you sharpen it.

    That said, I have found the Hurricane tools to be a huge bargain. I have two of their 5/8 bowl gouges, three of their scrapers (3/4", 1", and 1,1/2", parting tool, and side scraper and a straight scraper. The 5/8 bowl gouge ($35 on Amazon) has been my primary tool for 2 years now. My first lasted 1 1/2 years before there wasn't much left to sharpen, so I bought another one. Recently I had a chance to get a Crown PM David Ellsworth 5/8" gouge for $75 from a friend who bought it new but hadn't used it. (It's about $135 new) Although the shape a little more of a V, than a U, I like a lot better than the Hurricane, as far as holding it's edge, I can't see any difference between it and the $35 Hurricane. Both have to be sharpened about as often. I also have a Doug Thompson 3/8" bowl gouge and it's the same story. The hurricane's hold up just as well.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Posts
    236
    I have three of the Hurricane scrapers and like them a lot, they seem to hold their edge nice enough. When I bought my first tool set it was marked Savanah HSS. I think starting off with an inexpensive set allows a new turner to find out which tools he uses a lot and which he doesn't. I also found inexpensive tools a good way to practice different grinds on until I found one that I like. I would have hated to waste metal on expensive tools to do this. What I learned is that out of the set of maybe six or seven tools there are two that I use regularly, the bowl gouge and skew. When these are ready for replacement I'll get better quality tools. I don't use the spindle gouges too often so what I have will work for now. Anyway, don't worry to much about which starter set to get, get one to see which tools you favor and don't be afraid to regrind until you find a profile you like.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Smyrna Mills, Maine
    Posts
    95
    I purchased the set of three bowl gouges when I started and a Hurricane 100 chuck. I have since acquired a Thompson bowl gouge and a Crown PM bowl gouge, I still use the Hurricane tools as much as the others. I also have a nova chuck but prefer the hurricane and just got the 125 last week. Based on my experience they are great tools.

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