Best woodturning tools?

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sigge

sigge

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Malta, Europe
Hi everyone
I am planning to buy 2-3 really good woodturning tools for my pen turning adventures :) Which 2 or 3 tools do I need most? Skew, gouge spindlemaster etc?

I want to get good quality stuff. Any specific brands, type of metal etc?

Can anyone help?

Thanks!!!
 
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WOW! talk about opening a can of worms. pretty much every turner in the world is going to have a different answer to that question. I really wish it was about hand tools like wrenches etc. because I could give you a really good answer.
As far as turning tools. I own both Harbor Freight tools and a few High end ones. The high end ones are better but I am not necessarily sure they are 10 times better. Higher priced tools have a different type of steel. I am not sure I have them straight in my head at the moment but you do not want High Speed Steel (HSS). Carbon Steel is better since it is harder to remove the temper from them when sharpening.
Otherwise I use a 3/4 inch Skew. 1/2 inch spindle gouge and my Skooger more than any other tools. A narrow parting tool is useful for pens. My Skew is an oval that cost about $70 My Skooger cost about $100 and is used for all roughing work and works really good for getting a nice straight finish cut as well. The 1/2 inch spindle gouge is a HF tool and I use it for most of my shaping if the skew looks like it might catch or I happen to be getting better results from it. I don't think you need to buy all $100 tools because I beleive high quality tools are available at lower prices. You jsut have to know what you are looking at. Hopefully other can give you more of a name brand direction to look. for now all I can say is look for carbon steel and I might even have that backwards.
 
sigge said:
<snip> I want to get good quality stuff. Any specific brands, type of metal etc?

Can anyone help?

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

If I could start over, tools for turning pens: 3/4" Sorby or Crown roughing gouge to round blanks, then finish with 3/4" Crown PM or Thompson (if shipping to Europe available) skew (with a curved grind). I sharpen skews about 3 times more often than the roughing gouge so I would buy as many as I could afford in this 3:1 ratio to minimize turning breaks to sharpen tools!

Crown PM roughing gouge:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s...__Crown_Roughing_Gouge___crown_roughing?Args=

Crown PM skew:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s..._Crown___Crown_Skew_Chisel___crown_skew?Args=

Thompson skew:
http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/tooltype.asp?TYPE=SK
 
I've had no issues with my HF tool set. I also have a couple of Benjamin's Best from PSI, and they're fine as well.

If you're looking for better than that, but still want value, I hear the Pinnacle chisels from Woodcraft are very nice. And of course, the Crown and Sorby brands are nice as well.

But personally, I'd say save the money on the super high end chisels, and invest in sharpening, wood (not necessarily blanks, mind you), and pen kits.
 
For my money, I prefer to invest in a few high quality tools rather than buying more less expensive, "cheaper" tools. For the most part, the higher quality tools seem to last longer, perform better and are just more enjoyable to use. About six months ago I purchased the Crown Roughing Gouge that JimMc7 recommend to you. It was my first non HSS tool and I find that really out performs my previous gouge. It uses a powdered metallurgy process to form the steel and it really seems to hold a better edge for a longer period of time. I really like this roughing gouge. I can use it to take almost any blank (either wood or acrylic) almost down to where I start sanding. For Truestone blanks I use a carbide tipped tool.

If I were to do it all over again, I would buy four high quality tools, a gouge, a skew, a parting tool and carbide tipped tool like the Scogger. Just one man's opinion.

Jim Smith
 
Just a bit more semi related info for you. My daughter and son both just started turning int he last few weeks (Pendants). of all the tools they had to tinker with they have both settled on likeing my Oval Skew, the expensive one used like a scraper. and the Skooger the best. they are about the only two tools they use to make them. I am not sure either of them could tell you just what it is that is better about either tool but they managed to settle on the two most expensive turning tools I own out of the 20 or so they had to choose from. I even pulled out the 1" HF skew I have thinking it would give them a little better control as they reach out for the center of the pendant. they both tried it for a couple of pendants and went right back to the 3/4" Oval.
 
In Europe I'd look for Henry Taylor, Crown or the like. You can also have Doug Thompson ship you some of his tools. Look for PM which stands for Powdered Metal, I believe both Taylor and Crown make a line of these tools. Their grain structure makes them superior to plain HSS any day of the week.
 
For pen turning, I have evolved to the point where I use either my 1/2" or 5/8" Thompson spindle gouges for roughing, and either my 1/2" or 3/4" oval skew for the rest.

Which one I use kind of depends on the material and how I feel that day.

FYI - started out using my 1" Benjamin's Best roughing gouge and a 1/2" PSI oval skew.
 
For beginners - and heck for most people I would focus on High Speed steel. The carbon steel is good / cheap but it too easy to over heat when sharpening and lose it's temper. Unless you know how to sharpen your tools, I would not get anything better or worse than HSS.

For pen turning you don't need the 100 dollar tools. Don't get me wrong - as you go you might go that route, but you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on the hardware right now. Do I have 100 dollar tools, nope - but a few of them do come close.

For "normal" turning tools you will have to sharpen it. Most, 90% of the tools out there are not that sharp when you buy them. I like the a dual wheel bench grinder with a jig to keep the tools sharp. You can hand sharpen your tools at first, but after a bit of spending more time sharping the tools than lathe time you will yearn for something better.

1. Skew
2. roughing gouge
3. scraper
4. parting tool


HF or Penn state you can get a inexpensive HSS setup - learn to use those tools, learn to sharpen. I would not get the "micro" size tools - bought some, they have there uses but I only resort to them when I need to sneak in close to the drive head for detail work.

If money is no object, toss out all of my recommendations - except for the bench grinder, and get two of those along with the necessary jigs to help you keep the tools sharp.
 
Go for the Crown Pro PM, bought one last year and have never looked back, and way better than the 2060 metals as far as I am concerned.

Lin.
 
Wow! That was a lot of replies... and fast!!! Great to read about everyones different thoughts... So is PM better than Carbide? Only one person above mentioned Carbide from what I could see. In my ignorance I thought Carbide was the thing to buy... :)
 
Carbide will stay sharp longer because it is harder. so hard in fact that you need a diamond to sharpen it again, and it will dull eventually. Also because of the nature of carbide it will not take as sharp of an edge as HSS so you start with a duller tool but it stays that way longer. The HSS tool will start out sharper but become dull much quicker and be duller than the carbide. and forget changing the shape of a carbide tool. I have a small set of carbide tipped tools and do not consider them worth it.
a razor type edge on your tools is what you are really looking for and it does make a difference.
 
If you are new to turning and sharpening, there is real value in grinding away cheap tools as you learn what you like --- and the Harbor Freight or similar High Speed Steel is a good practice fodder for learning to grind and learning which grinds work for your style.

A whole set costs about the cost of one good high grade HSS tool. I still use some of the Harbor Freight tools that I have tuned up to my style.

Practice a bit and see what you like to use, then buy better quality to match the style. I would rather turn more and sharpen less.

I am a honer and use a good diamond hone on the tools I do finish cuts with (detail gouge and skew mostly) as I find I sand less and like the tool finish better with very well sharpened tools for finish cuts. Rough stuff - what ever works, but the more difficult the wood the better to have the better edge. Got my hone from Alan Lacer as a good balance of grit size and shape for turning tools.

Replacable insert carbide tools are also a style thing - Hunter, Ci3, Skogger, etc -- I suggest you get with a turning club and try different ones before you throw money on the counter -- (Unless you really want to buy them all and decide what one you like best.)
 
Skogger/Ci1 Rougher

I can now do a pen with only this tool. I LOVE me some carbide tips. After shaping the blank, I can go straight to 200 grit. It took me a long time to learn how to use it, but it is now the only tool I use for pens (unless I have to make coves). It also works MUCH better on antler than traditional tools.

My $0.02,
Kyle
 
I use a hunter #4 and a 1 1/4" sorby skew
I like the hunter to rough because I dont like sharpening
I also only hone the skew. Before every use on a diamond stone.

I over herd that the hunter tool may be discontinued soon. As of right now I buy a replacement cutter anytime I get a coupon for the local wood turning place and dont have something else in mind. I have made over 100 pens with the cutter I have on right now. It is time to replace it. (hit the bushings once or twice)
 
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