Wood Lathe Turning Tools

[RCman]

I could use some help picking out a good quality set of wood turning tools.
I'm using an older Rockwell 11" wood turning lathe and is seems to work pretty well.
I have a set of 4 old wood handle Buck Bros tools (older than me) that work well, but I need to expand upon my tooling options. I looked at the current offering from them and it seems like price point 6 for $30. Now I can't go out and drop $1400 on a set, but I'm not about to drop $30 on junk either.

I currently have a 1/2 in skew, a 1/2 in round nose, a 3/4 in spindle gouge, and a 3/8 in spindle gouge. Obviously lacking in a few areas.

I don't know who makes good stuff these days in the wood turning tool category. Anyone have some suggestions?

 

[Duker]

RCMan,

Here are a few spots to check out.

Glaser - http://www.glaserhitec.com/shop/
Doug Thompson - Good steel
Dave Schweitzer's tools at http://www.d-waytools.com/

There are a few other high quality tool makers out there but this will get you started.

I hit up a local show (SWAT) here in Texas when they have specials and I look for 1 off's on eBay and am building a set that way.

 

[beamrider]

Or, if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg, check out HF, or Penn State www.pennstateind.com I know you said quality, but what level of quality? P&N doesn't look too bad either, for the price, and I like that they are unhandled.

I'm no wizard on the lathe, by any means, and the wood lathe might be one of those devices that benefits from high end tooling. However, in the beginning, I did buy a nice Crown Pro-PM bowl gouge. The only real benefit that I see over my Woodcraft brand bowl gouge, is the Crown stays sharp longer. At 3x the price, however, it isn't worth it to me. I made a dedicated sharpening setup with a Wolverine jig and mandrel, and I can power-hone that gouge in about 15 seconds.

Or if sharpening isn't your thing, you could check out a carbide cutter tool. They're fairly expensive also, until you realize you can make your own for the cost of the cutter and a steel rod.

In no way am I disparaging any of the tools above, I've checked them all out (and drooled). I just know that at my skill level, knowing how to use the tool is more important than the tool itself.

 

[RCman]

Wow, those Glaser ones look awesome, but WAY out of my price range. That's in that $1400 for 8 category.

beamrider, I won't be doing the HF thing for sure. I'd like to spend no more than a couple of hundred or so. You do make a good point about knowing how to use vs the tool itself though.

I may take Duker's suggestion and try to piece together something with 1 offs.

I should also note that I'll be using these for furniture legs and not things like bowls or pens.

 

[beamrider]

For spindle work like that, a honkin big roughing gouge, a razor sharp 3/4" skew, and either a razor sharp 1/4" skew, or a 1/4 detail gouge is what I'd look for. Personally, I like gouges, for the simple fact that I'm still in the " scared shitless of the skew" category (and now that I can sharpen a skew well enough to shave with it, I'm making progress).

And speaking of D-Way, I've been drooling over a nice CBN wheel for at least a year...

 

[neophyte]

Turning tools made in England.

Henry Taylor.

http://www.henrytaylortools.co.uk/

Robert Sorby.

http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/woodturning.htm

Crown Tools.

http://www.crownhandtools.ltd.uk/

Ashley Iles.

http://www.ashleyiles.co.uk/turning_tools.html

Two Cherries / Kirschen / Hirsch, brands all of which are made by Wilh. Schmitt & Comp. GmbH & Co. KG in Remscheid, Germany.

http://www.kirschen.de/englisch/

Packard Woodworks isn't a manufacturer, they're a retailer that primarily services woodturners. They carry a number of high quality brand turning tools.

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/

 

[Farmerjonathan]

I teach woodturning at the high school I teach at. I love the Easy woodturning tools. They are carbide, no sharpening, last a looooooooong time. Here is their web address. http://www.easywoodtools.com/products/

I can't say enough good things about this set of tools and company. You will never regret purchasing the square and round carbide cutters.

 

[lilredex]

No need to drop a bundle on turning tools when they are so easy to make. Those you have already are a good start.

Old spring leaves and files can be made into decent tools. Do a Image search for "DIY wood lathe tools" and lots of ideas pop up. Metal turning inserts are easily made into turning tools, and can be found cheaply at garage sales etc.

Have a look here to see some of the profiles at the bottom....

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/latheduplicator.htm

Make one of these for duplicating spindles, etc.



http://www.stripersonline.com/t/448454/home-made-duplicator

 

[woody 73]

I use just about every lathe turning tool out there...

Some of them are cheap and others will set you back a ton of cold hard cash; with that being said try starting out with the Sorby line of tools, they are well made, using a good quality of steel they are not cheap, but then again they will not break the bank.

 

[woody 73]

I teach woodturning at the high school I teach at. I love the Easy woodturning tools. They are carbide, no sharpening, last a looooooooong time. Here is their web address. http://www.easywoodtools.com/products/

I can't say enough good things about this set of tools and company. You will never regret purchasing the square and round carbide cutters.

Damn thing sent me to the ER Lord are they sharp!

 

[DavidB]

I second Penn State Industries recommendation. I've got a good assortment of their tools and find they work well. You can get a nice setup from them pretty cheaply. Then, if you find a tool you use all the time, you can pick it up a nicer version of it if you feel the need. For the money, I don't think you'd be unhappy with their products. Looking at what you have now, I'd suggest picking up a wider skew and a bowl gouge. The wider skew has a larger "sweet spot". The skew is great once you learn to use it well. I like a 3/8" bowl gouge and use it the most. I rarely use spindle gouges.

 

[NY_treeguy]

Sorby and Hamlet are good brands. For a cheaper option that is still decent steel, Benjamin's Best from Penn State is a good value.

I'd say that at least 1/3 if not 1/2 of my turning tools I made myself. Scrapers, skews, hollowing tools, EasyWood style tools, even a detail gouge.

 

[RCman]

Thanks for all the help folks!

Looking at adding:
3/4'' Roughing Gouge
1/8'' x 3/4" Parting Tool
1'' Skew Chisel
3/8'' Bowl Gouge
3/4'' Square End Scraper

Sound good?
Sorby from Packard Woodworkers $270 or Benjamin's Best from Penn State is $86. Big difference. Worth it? Both claim M2 HSS.

 

[sasquatch12]

Different sizes of engine wrist pins are good steel to make turning tools out of.

 

[beamrider]

Honestly, I'd go with Penn State, for the simple fact: If you like the tool, then you can move up to a "better" one if necessary. If you don't like it, or it doesn't fit in well with the type of turning you're doing, then you haven't lost as much money.

 

[McFarmer]

When I taught wood working we had a set of the Hamlet heavy tools. They take out a lot of the vibration due to their mass.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Thanks for all the help folks!

Looking at adding:
3/4'' Roughing Gouge
1/8'' x 3/4" Parting Tool
1'' Skew Chisel
3/8'' Bowl Gouge
3/4'' Square End Scraper

Sound good?
Sorby from Packard Woodworkers $270 or Benjamin's Best from Penn State is $86. Big difference. Worth it? Both claim M2 HSS.

As an occasional wood turner I went with Sorby, I have sorby hand chisels that have held up real well, easy to sharpen. What I also like is the size of the tool & handles give it a commanding feel, very comfortable. I just turned some ipe which sucked but cut clean & I didn't have to resharpen. Prior to those I used the 79$ HF tools & I'll be honest they're not bad, I still have them. Like others have said there are a lot of good tools out there.

 

[MarlynOC]

Penn State Industries.
For info https://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/virtual-events-announcement/

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I have a 26020 General, before that a 12" Delta. If you buy chisels make sure you buy HSS steel, not carbon steel. A mistake in sharpening, very easy to do, will ruin your edge. I made some backing plates for lapidary polishing out of Baltic birch plywood. The many glue lines did a number on even HSS so I switched to the carbide Easy Turn.

Lee Valley has a good selection well recommended is their economy line https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/search#q=wood turning tools&sort=relevancy&numberOfResults=24

 

[akalian]

I wonder where this guy gets his tools.

.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I used the harbor freight before i got the sorby set and they work fine, can’t beat the price for hss, but the feel of the sorby, just feels good. See if some place stocks them local and pick them up, you’ll understand, even how the steel is finished, maybe it’s old school, i can’t wait to turn something so i can use them.

 

[Renegade1LI]

And they store nice

 

[RTM]

I was recommended to get the HF sets to learn, practice sharpening, etc, so as not to waste valuable steel on the Sorbys.

They work ok for starters, but as others said, the Sorbys feel better.

 

[rsanter]

First off.
Buy the HF set as it's good to have a variety of shapes and it's also good to have ones you can modify.

Second.
Build or buy yourself a set of 3-4 carbide tipped tools. Carbide only worked as a scraper but you don't have to do as much sharpening.

For the specific tools that you use the most. Get the shapes you need as high quality ones. What I do is use a couple old decent gouges and the carbide tools to get close to the shape I want.
Then I finish with the good tools so I get a nice surface without constantly running to the grinder.
Personally I think you need at least 5 gouges of different sizes and with a couple types of grinds on them