Anyone use carbide chisels for turning?

[DaddyG]

Am looking to possibly get a set of carbide chisels for pen carving until I can afford a decent set of hss chisels and sharpening system.

Looking for input from those that use carbide chisels in there pen making.

Thanks in advance.

 

[marcros]

I use them sometimes. other times, I use standard a standard hss skew or bedan.

You don't need a set of carbides, a single tool will do. You can even make it yourself and buy the cutter. They are quite simple to do, plenty of tutorials online, for example http://kurthertzog.com/articles/carbide ... detool.htm I made mine short and stout, I think it is only about 6" long overall because I don't like the handle getting in the way.

you will need a piece of mild steel bar, the cutter (about £7 from memory from az carbide) a screw and a tap. I think that my preference is the r2 cutter. https://azcarbide.com/product/2-radius- ... sert-11mm/ I have recently changed it for the r4, but am not so keen on that one.

You could buy a cheap secondhand scraper from ebay- carbon steel is fine, and add the cutter to that. saves you making a handle. just choose as thick a section as you can.

 

[Robbo3]

Wot! Marcros said ↑↑↑.
You might be better asking in the Woodturning & Lathes section.

 

[DaddyG]

If administration think the thread would be better in woodturning and lathes could they move it?

 

[CHJ]

Try searching the forum for carbide cutters.

There are dozens of threads on the subject

variations on the wording should throw up others.

 

[hawkeyefxr]

When i turn acrylic i use carbide tipped tools, i got mine from here http://www.ukwoodcraftandcarbidechisels.co.uk/ and his ebay site with the cutter i use https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Woodturning- ... 2740220371

These are cutters with what in engineering terms is a top rake, not sure what people in wood turning call it. That is a positive rake. For me they are to aggressive i prefer zero rake, that is flat on the top. I think they are great for acrylic as they do not need as much sharpening to keep an edge. I rarely use them on wood though i have a square carbide tip with zero rake that is really good for roughing wood to a round section, i then go on with normal wood turning tools.
You can buy handles for around £6.00

 

[stewart]

I tried carbide with pens but kept coming back to a roughing gouge for wood and a skew for acrylic used in scraper mode. I find even the flat carbide tips can be a bit aggressive.

 

[Dalboy]

I tried carbide with pens but kept coming back to a roughing gouge for wood and a skew for acrylic used in scraper mode. I find even the flat carbide tips can be a bit aggressive.

Like you I use normal turning tools not just for pens but all other forms of turning much better control and better finish after all carbide tools are only another form of scraper. I am not anti scraper but they have there uses like most tools