# easy wood tools.



## APBcustoms (Jan 8, 2015)

so im posting this thread because i use them. are they considered cheating? am i a real woodturner if i use them? my and my buddy where at a woodworking show and they had a hollowing jig; i told jim it felt like cheating and then he mentioned that i used easy wood tools. so is it cheating?


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## duncsuss (Jan 8, 2015)

I seldom use them, but I don't look down on those that do.

Same goes for hollowing rigs -- I've just about hit my depth limit at 4.5", I know that I want to go deeper but without some kind of extra support (whether it's a captive bar or one of the "articulated arm" types) I don't feel confident going there.


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## JR Custom Calls (Jan 8, 2015)

Logic isn't there. You could argue that we all cheat by using a powered lathe based on that statement.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## APBcustoms (Jan 8, 2015)

i guess what im trying to say is that would i not be considered a traditional woodworker


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## JR Custom Calls (Jan 8, 2015)

None of us here are. Traditional woodworking was done without power tools. Maybe @NeilYeag with his lathe, and a few guys here who do a lot of hand tool work.

But who cares? Handcrafted is handcrafted. Cheating is wrong... Nothing wrong with doing things more efficiently.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Schroedc (Jan 8, 2015)

The "Traditional Woodworkers" of days gone by generally used whatever tools and equipment were available and proven to work at the time and didn't hesitate to adopt new tecnology when it became available. People rave about Stickley, Greene and Greene, and others (And they produced some amazing stuff!) and the thing to remember is that once the initial design was done the pieces were designed to be able to be produced in quantity in shops or factories for sale to the public. I don't say it's cheating. It's using a tool that has been developed to make it easier and faster to turn your idea into reality. Now if you went to just programming it on a CNC and hitting the button then you're not crafting anymore in my opinion, you'd just be manufacturing.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Fsyxxx (Jan 8, 2015)

Ok, so someone has to be the bad guy. Yes it's cheating, but not because it really matters what tool you use. The problem with the easy wood tools is it doesn't give you skills that transfer to other tools. You'll never get as good a cut with those as you do with a sharp gouge or a good skew. Normally that translates into more sanding to get a really nice finish. I own some easy wood tools and I use them for a lot of things but I'll also pick up the skew or the gouge if that's the right tool for the cut I am trying to make. So my opinion, for what it's worth, is to use those them but devote some time to a good bowl gouge and yes, even the dreaded skew chisel.

Reactions: Like 3 | Thank You! 1


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## APBcustoms (Jan 8, 2015)

That's a great way to put it


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## ssgmeader (Jan 8, 2015)

Do you Deer hunt with a rifle??? Use a game call? carbon fiber tree stand? Mossy Oak Camo? If so then your cheating your not a traditional hunter Guns are easier than bows......A tool is just a tool. it's an advancement in technology and that's going to occur. If its safer and more efficient then that's what it is. The funny thing about time is that as it passes what is new becomes tradition. LAthe work dates as far back as 3rd century BC..and I'm sure each introduction of improvement or type of tool the people before thought it was cheating. At one point skews and or scrapers with HSS steel were the new kids on the block. and 40 years from now when the laser cutter 3000 is introduced people will say ohhhhh I remember the day when we used carbide cutters. Tools are like music your parents hate all the new stuff and the people that do it have no talent.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Great Post 1


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## DKMD (Jan 8, 2015)

I don't think they're cheating, but I also don't agree with the idea that they represent an advance in technology. It's just a scraper, and scrapers have been around as long as folks have been turning. I prefer gouges, skews, and traditional scrapers, but to be honest, I haven't used the Easy tools very much... I use what I'm comfortable using. There's nothing wrong with scraping just as there's nothing wrong with sanding... In my hands, I tend to do more of the latter when I do more of the former, but that's just my experience.


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## JR Custom Calls (Jan 8, 2015)

Perhaps it's because I mostly turn stabilized wood... but I frequently don't sand after turning. I keep my carbide sharp, and make light finishing cuts. I guess it's all about what you practice with and get good at. I tried using a cheap set of HF turning tools, and can't imagine going back to them. Perhaps if I had a grinder, jig, and good set of HSS tools, my opinion of them would be different. It's just my *opinion* that carbide is more efficient, easier to use, faster, and capable of leaving a better finish pass. 

One of these days, I may try 'traditional' tools again, and change my opinion. But for now, I'm sticking with what works well for me.


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## TMAC (Jan 8, 2015)

I use both. I don't get hung up on tradition. I get much more turning time using carbide because no sharpening time is required. Proper sharpening of HSS tools requires practice and proper equipment that you learn and buy over time. I just got a 10" wet sharpener and it does a great job if you buy the proper jigs to maintain a consistent angle. All tools have a purpose and a place. I use the tools that allow me to make what I want to make with the most enjoyment. After all this hobby is supposed to be fun.


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## APBcustoms (Jan 8, 2015)

TMAC said:


> I use both. I don't get hung up on tradition. I get much more turning time using carbide because no sharpening time is required. Proper sharpening of HSS tools requires practice and proper equipment that you learn and buy over time. I just got a 10" wet sharpener and it does a great job if you buy the proper jigs to maintain a consistent angle. All tools have a purpose and a place. I use the tools that allow me to make what I want to make with the most enjoyment. After all this hobby is supposed to be fun.



It's a job for me. My only job actually. It's what pays the bills but I want to be a woodworker not a machine operator or something like that


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## ripjack13 (Jan 8, 2015)

Well...lemme see if this helps ya....

Since woodworking/turning is your job, you owe it to yourself to make it as easy as possible while making the most amount of cash as you can in the least amount of time. If the carbide tools make it easier then use em. If in your free time you want to use the "traditional" tools, then do that....

No one is going to look down on you because of tools you use. And if they do, their opinion does not matter.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 5


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## APBcustoms (Jan 8, 2015)

ripjack13 said:


> Well...lemme see if this helps ya....
> 
> Since woodworking/turning is your job, you owe it to yourself to make it as easy as possible while making the most amount of cash as you can in the least amount of time. If the carbide tools make it easier then use em. If in your free time you want to use the "traditional" tools, then do that....
> 
> No one is going to look down on you because of tools you use. And if they do, their opinion does not matter.



I get a lot of crap actually especially from local turners


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## ripjack13 (Jan 8, 2015)

Those that matter don't mind, those that mind, don't matter....

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Fsyxxx (Jan 8, 2015)

APBcustoms said:


> It's a job for me. My only job actually. It's what pays the bills but I want to be a woodworker not a machine operator or something like that



I will say that if you get good with a skew and you can sharpen it quickly and well it's the most efficient tool in the box for most things. I took a class from Alan Lacer and it really opened up the options of that tool. I've never turned a call but it appears to be mostly between centers sort of thing, so a skew would rule it. The problem with them is when you fail with a skew it tends to be catastrophic. I think that's why a lot of folks get scared of them and don't take time to use them. When I startedturning it was pens with carbide tools. I thought that was the easiest best way to do them. For a long while I didn't turn any pens so I was using gouges and skew chisels. We had a thing for the woodturning club where we needed to make a crapload of pens for a charity. I volunteered since I had made a bunch before but I used a skew this time. I could turn two or three in the same time it took to do one with carbide. The really nice thing was starting sanding at 250 grit or finer. All the tools in the toolbox have a place when you have time to learn how to use them.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Fsyxxx (Jan 8, 2015)

APBcustoms said:


> I get a lot of crap actually especially from local turners



No reason to get grief, maybe a little ribbing but nothing nasty

Reactions: Like 1


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## DKMD (Jan 8, 2015)

JR Custom Calls said:


> Perhaps it's because I mostly turn stabilized wood...



I do think stabilized woods(and a few very hard natural wood varieties) often scrape better than they cut, but as you said, you use what works best in your hands... That's just smart!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## kris stratton (Jan 8, 2015)

do what works best for you and tell anyone who has a problem with the tools you decide to use and how you go about making a living to go kick rocks!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3


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## GeorgeS (Jan 10, 2015)

I agree with all of the above who have said it doesn't matter what your cutting tool is. If you have a cnc machine cutting out all of your material than that is a different story. Who the hell cares what tool you used to cut it?? If you are working on a pole lathe or using all hand tool to build a piece of furniture I think that's super cool but I don't have the patience for that. It doesn't mean the motorized lathe I use or the powered tools I use to make things is cheating. I use the best tools I have to efficiently create things. I think the guys who use all non powered tools are really unique. They in my opinion are a different type of craftsman. In my heart of hearts if a guy is giving you a hard time about what tools you are using to get the job done he's got issues of a different sort. Pardon my French I'm not as eloquent as some of the above folks but "F" him. Keep on doing what makes you happy and works well for you.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## bluedot (Jan 10, 2015)

Your work speaks volumes to the skill and pride put into those pieces . I would tell the critic to stick his opinion where the sun doesn't shine.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## elnino (Jan 12, 2015)

not cheating

yeah i def upped my turning when i started using tools different from just scrapers. one thing not mentioned with traditional turning tools is you can form the cutting edge for what ever you need it to do. so you have more shape options even for scrapping.

learn the skew but learn to sharpen it first. and learn it on 2x4s not ebony!!!!

I might sell my easy wood tools because i find the finish i can get with skews and shear scrapping are much better, read that as less sanding.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## rwilliek (Jan 12, 2015)

I use some Easy Wood Tools, as well as some from http://www.harrisonspecialties.com/ I like them for certain applications.


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