Dakota Turning Tool Review

[=Adam=]

Hi guys!

Last weekend I took advantage of the rutlands sale and ordered a 1 1/2" round nose scraper and also a 1/4" bowl gouge. I thought i would do a quick review on here to let you guys know what I think about the tools.

First of all lets look at the look of the tools, online the tools look nicely presented and the handles look quite meaty however in the flesh the tools look cheaply made as the handles are poorly finished and are really quite plain generic handles.

To go on further about the handles I would also say that they do not weigh as much as I would have expected, the wood is not very dense and as a result the tools feel very top heavy so I am not too sure on how easy/hard they will be to control on the tool rest.

The actual steel of the tools looks pretty good, I bought a similar looking bowl gouge from a show a few weeks ago and it seems to cut quite nicely once it is has been sharpened! I wouldn't be surprised if the tool that I bought from the show is made in the same factory as these as they are almost identical! Another point about the tool steel is that it has a pretty decent thickness to it especially on the scraper which suggests that it will be nice to work with as there should be less chatter!

Now the important part...... THE PRICE..... These tools were an absolute bargain!!! The tools were both reduced to start with, the bowl gouge was down to £6.95 and the scraper was £11.95 (or there about), they also had a further 10% off and free delivery!!! This meant that I paid a touch over £17 for the two!!! Now I know I have said that the handles are pretty poor quality but for the price that I paid I can afford to make some nice handles up to really do them justice! There are a few other tools that they have on offer at the moment, they did have a 1 1/2" roughing gouge down to about £20 a few weeks ago but this has gone back up, they also have a few skews that are on offer I believe, plus they have a 3/8 bowl gouge for £18.95 which is pretty good value.

I personally feel quite pleased with these tools and I think that they would be perfect for a beginner who is looking to get a decent selection of tools together!

I would like to add that I have no link to rutlands, I am just a satisfied customer! Plus..... I have not used these tools yet as I am waiting for my lathe to be delivered so I will be able to post a proper hands on review of these in a few days!

Happy Turning!

 

[speeder1987]

Thanks for the review Adam, they do indeed look pike a bargain and for that price I would happily re-handle them if the steel is good.

The real test will be in use, looking forward to hearing how they perform and how well they keep an edge

John

 

[bodge]

I bought the Dakota starter set a couple of months ago and would pretty much agree with Adam's comments above.
The handles are VERY light weight (though to be fair I found this very easy to get used to) and I don't think they will stand any degree of abuse. The ferrules especially look very lightweight and tacky, but have lasted two months so far without any sign of failure. The steel is quite good for the price, though it doesn't hold an edge quite as well as my Sorby chisels do, but I regularly touch up the edge with a handheld diamond hone and that keeps things in check.
At the end of the day I reckon it is the age old case of "you gets what you pays for" and when you consider that most are almost a third cheaper than the premium brands, and with the Rutlands offers can be as much as two thirds or more cheaper, then they represent fair value for money. Certainly hugely better than the offerings from Clarke and other "budget" brands.