carbide tips turning gouges thinking of buying 1

[minimad]

Hi everyone
ive been turning for about 6 months and loving it lol !
I been looking on ebay and have seen some carbide tipped gouges / chisels a set of 3
they look good and seem a good price ! as a new turner would I benefit from buying them !
as im still learning (you never stop learning ) would I be trying to run before I can walk
any comments would be welcome
ps
I like turning from the raw wood not blanks if that makes any difference ! :shock: posting.php?mode=post&f=6#

 

[marcros]

carbide tools are easy enough to make- even I have made 1. Use a mild steel bar, drill and tap it and make a wooden handle. I got my carbide tips from AZ carbide on ebay I think.

I would recommend learning to use traditional tools properly before moving onto carbide , so that you learn the skills and tool presentation. That said, I have about the same experience as you (6 months or so) and I do find a carbide tool quite handy for some tasks.

 

[RogerP]

Do you find you can get as good a finish "straight from the chisel" with carbide as with HSS?

 

[marcros]

personally, no. However I am not really experienced enough to isolate that to the tool- I have seen youtube videos of a good finish coming off the tool. I normally use mine for removing the bulk of material, and switch to a different tool for finishing- a skew on pens and spindle items (and I havent done much at all with bowls yet).

 

[chipmunk]

To answer the OPs question, I'd say no. Save your money.

It's tempting to think that Tungsten Carbide Tipped (TCT) tools will prevent you from needing to sharpen but cheap TCT tools are not as sharp as well sharpened conventional HSS and so the finish from the tool can never be as good IMHO. And when they need sharpening you need either a diamond wheel, or a green wheel that can chip them or chuck them away.

TCT replaceable tip tools do have a place - for very hard materials and glues for example. I know Chas uses TCT scrapers on his segmented boxes with hard glue lines and Simon Hope's TCT insert cutting tools are excellent for hollowing but for general woodturning I'd say learn to sharpen HSS and stick to conventional tools.

If you look through the reputable makers of tools - Ashley Isles, Robert Sorby, Henry Taylor, Crown, Hamlet etc, none of them make TCT tools. I don't think it's a coincidence.

HTH
Jon

 

[RogerP]

Thanks for the answers, that ties in with my experience using a metal lathe, where possible HSS almost always give the better finish.

 

[woodpig]

I've made a couple of carbide tipped tools and they work well. The hollowing tool in particular works better on end grain than any other tool I've used so far. Turning boxes is still new to me so I'll have to see if that remains the case. The other tool I made is a bowl type gouge and the immediate impression is that I think it's unlikely you'd get a dig in with it so could be good for beginners. Having said all that the cost of these tools commercially is somewhat excessive IMO and the cost of the tips is currently at least twice the cost of what you should be paying. Of course the other advantage for new turners is no need to sharpen conventional tools.
Carbide inserts can be bought here:

http://www.shop-apt.co.uk/carbide-tips-hobby-use.html

For 90% of my metal turning I use HSS in a home made Tangential tool holder but there's no doubt the newer polished carbide inserts can give a very nice finish on materials like Aluminium Alloy.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Woodpig,
I think this may be the set that the OP is referring to...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PSI-Woodw...-Chisel-Set-/161795861866?hash=item25abc8ed6a
+[Axminster used to sell them much cheaper than this but have stopped stocking them.]

Very different from your indexable tipped tools where the tips are rotatable and eventually disposable and replaceable.

I'm not sure whether you resharpen your inserts but I made a little fixture last night to allow touching up of the tips with a diamond hone. Just run it slowly in the headstock in a Jacobs chuck holding a hone at the right angle with a bit of tongue-oil. I have one for my Sorby 18mm round HSS tips but this is a whole order of magnitude smaller as it's for the 6mm TCT inserts with an M2.5 screw and based upon a 1/4" rod.

HTH
Jon

 

[woodpig]

Thanks for the link Jon, never seen anything like those before!

I bought one of those four sided diamond knife sharpening blocks from Lidl or Aldi a few years back and have used that to sharpen carbide before, works well.

I made a tool for some carbide inserts well over ten years ago but it didn't work, the (round) inserts just weren't sharp enough to cut wood so the tool was left unused until I recently had the idea of trying to sharpen them on my diamond block. The tool now works like any other similar type scraper but stays sharper longer.

Carbide won't replace HSS but they do have their uses.

One of the last tools I made was this one. It only uses O1 tool steel for the blades as it's easy to shape and harden and is very cheap to buy in 18" strips. Not tried it yet though, fingers crossed as I can make any size/shape insert I need!

 

[lurker]

If you do buy, there is a very good turner lives in Coalville who makes and sells these

Google George Watkins wood turner

 

[chipmunk]

This is just another tip but if you keep the cutting edge nearly in line with the handle and shaft there'll be much less turning moment in use.
Your tool looks as if you might be tempted to have the cutting edge well to the side which might take some hanging onto.

Here are my small hollowers...

This thread might be of interest...
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/making-hollowing-tools-t81753.html

HTH
Jon

 

[woodpig]

Thanks for the advice Jon. Those look nice. I really made mine for undercutting the inside of boxes just under the lip but if it's not up to the job I'll put a double bend in it. At the moment I'm not intending to do any dramatic hollow forms. I saw a large hollow form at Axminster tools many years ago and although it was a very impressive piece of turning the lack of substance (wood!) made it a waste of time for me.It was so thin I think it would have broken if it was dropped on a hard floor. Each to their own I suppose.

 

[Robbo3]

That Ebay set is extortionate! Glenn Teagle's carbide tools are cheaper.

I have the 15mm round & 15mm square which I use for roughing out natural edge bowls thus preserving the sharpness of my HSS tools.

- www.ukwoodcraftandcarbidechisels.co.uk

 

[KimG]

I've been getting mine from ebay (this guy) They are very easy to sharpen if you have a fine flat diamond stone, just put the upper face against the stone and abrade it down to a new edge, which is formed by the meeting of the flat top and the bevel, you don't need to touch the bevel, it takes just a few seconds to touch a tip up. Like others, I use these mainly for hollowing on a home made tool, but they are handy for squaring up box lid fittings and a variety of other jobs. I rarely use them for anything else, I find conventional tools easier to use.

 

[IHc1vtr+]

That Ebay set is extortionate! Glenn Teagle's carbide tools are cheaper.

I have the 15mm round & 15mm square which I use for roughing out natural edge bowls thus preserving the sharpness of my HSS tools.

- http://www.ukwoodcraftandcarbidechisels.co.uk

I have purchased from the seller mentioned, First class service. I have more than one of his chisels and personally have not been near a traditional chisel since. The square carbide chisel gives excellent finish " straight off the lathe".