# Which set of chisels



## fredito (Jul 12, 2014)

I am sure that this a complete newbie question and I apologize for that, but I know you guys know a thing or two about wood turning. The chisels that came with my lathe are not the greatest (not HSS) and dull very quickly. I find myself getting frustrated with what seems like constantly sharping. I have only turned pens, but hope to turn duck calls as well as bowls. I have a 10” midi…hopefully that will help with your guys responses. ..I have it narrowed down to what I am hoping are 2 options for chisels, but don’t know which one to do. Cost is a factor since I don’t sell the stuff I turn and I would like to be able to buy some fun wood to turn. Here are the options…I didn’t know if it was okay to name companies so I wont.

Option A: 2 carbide cutters and 2 bars, square and radius square for about $65. I could get a round cutter and bar for about another $45. They don’t have handles, just the bars so I would have to turn those, which I would have to buy the wood for, but shouldn’t be expensive I would think

Option B: 8 M2 chisels for about $70, includes 3/16 parting tool, 5/8 spear scraper, 1” and 5/8 skew chisel, 5/8 round nose scraper, ½ bowl, ¾ spindle, 7/8 rough gouge. If I did this, I would probably get a set of diamond files with a cone diamond file which would add another $45 or so.

I thought about maybe seeing if anything was around that was gently used and would be a good deal, but I think its quite apparent that I have no clue. I hope this question is okay to ask as I really don’t know what to do and I don’t really know anyone else who turns. I want to make the best decision based on what I am doing and what I hope to do and don’t want to end up buying wrong. I truly appreciate this board and the questions that its members have helped me with!


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## JR Custom Calls (Jul 12, 2014)

Just my opinion... I can't imagine going back to regular tools. I have the square and round carbide cutters from @woodtickgreg and absolutely love them. I kid you not, I turned a crosscut duck call out of hedge the other day.... I literally turned it, buffed with steel wool, and put a finish on it. Not normal, I usually sand with 320, then 400... But it kind of made me happy inside.

I sharpen them once a week on a diamond stone. I bought them at the end of February, and only replaced the inserts about 2 weeks ago because I had chipped them up from accidentally hitting my mandrel.

Seems the more experienced turners prefer the normal tools. For some things, they probably work better. IMO you can't beat carbide for call making. I'd say pens are in the same boat.

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jul 12, 2014)

Jonathan thanks for the shout out on my tools. Fred take a look in the classifieds and you can see some pics of my tools and how they are made. I even turn the shanks round for the user to be able to just drill a hole in a handle and epoxy them in a wood handle. The 3/8" mid size tools would be the best for what you are doing and the size of your lathe.


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## David Hill (Jul 13, 2014)

Fred--I started turning with just carbide tools--bought mine off ebay, one tool at a time. Now there are LOTS of carbide tools available. From what I can see, Greg's tools are very good (I don't have any though) but going from what I've seen on the forum. Since a lot of the woods I use tend to have a lot of tearout and I DON'T like sanding as much, I've learnt to use the "regular" chisels too so now I'm a _hybrid_ turner. I have some Shopsmith chisels--they're not bad, but I want longer handles so I'm giving Woodcraft's brand a try. Admire you for wanting to use files for HS chisels--I used a belt sander from HF- the 1 inch one- don't knock it, it worked but there's a learning curve. Now I've got a slow speed grinder & like that.
Hope I've not confused the picture, just wanted to let you know that there's experience out here.


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## NYWoodturner (Jul 13, 2014)

Fred - I learned on traditional tools and have also adopted Carbides. I love my carbides and wouldn't trade them for the world. Greg's are as good as any you will find by the way. I mean that sincerely. However I would never go to exclusive carbide use. First I think as a new turner you should learn the disciplines and options that traditional tools offer. Sometimes carbides are just not the best choice for a particular cut. Traditional gouges can after save you sanding when carbides might cause more. The opposite holds true as well. If I only could have one of the two options, I would choose traditional gouges. I use M2 gouges all the time. They take and hold and edge well. You don't have to go to the high end steels to get good results. Hope this helps

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Sawdustfactory (Jul 13, 2014)

Fred, I'm going to take the opposite side here. I only use traditional tools, no carbides. It's imperative however that you have a grinder to sharpen (or your choice of power sharpening set up) as you will be sharpening often, just not as often, even with high quality tools. The Oneway Wolverine system with the Vari-grind jig is what a majority of turners use. The 2 biggest advantages to a system like this are speed and repeatability. I also would advise you to not buy a set. There are tools in sets that you likely will hardly ever use. I would start with 1 or 2 spindle gouges, a bowl gouge (or 2), a SPINDLE roughing gouge, maybe a round nose scraper and a parting tool. Skews are useful tools but there is a bigger learning curve with them. There are many different manufacturers and levels of quality, so shop around a bit. Doug Thompson makes some of, if not the best tools you can get. Robert Sorby, Henry Taylor are great tools as well. Craft Supplies USA also sells their own Artisan tools which are made by Henry Taylor and are nice tools. Good luck to you and remember to be safe and have fun.

Reactions: Like 2


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## DKMD (Jul 13, 2014)

As you can see, there's no one answer to the question. I can assure you that whatever you buy this time won't be the last of it.

To a degree, I think the ability to sharpen well is more important than what is being sharpened. That's a big perk with the flat carbide cutters since you can train a monkey to sharpen those things.

I learned on traditional tools, and they continue to be my favorites. It's hard to beat the Thompson stuff, but there are a number of quality tools on the market... Everybody has a favorite(or three).

I'm also not a big proponent of buying sets because they tend to include tools that are little used, and often the steel is short and fairly low quality. I'm sure there are exceptions to that idea, but I haven't seen a

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Mike Mills (Jul 14, 2014)

I have a square carbide tool I made and do use it. Most of the time I use traditional tools.
IMHO I would not go out and buy a "set" of tools. Keep using the inexpensive tools you have and sharpen. Yep, takes more time but also gives you practice sharpening before you hit the expensive steels. You will know what tools to buy when you work them down to a nub. If you have 3-4 that are still good (almost new) then you may want to only buy better quality tools for the ones you do did wear out. I still have some tools from a set in the 80's, others in the set are long gone.
Hope that makes sense...didn't sound just right re-reading it.


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## Dennis Ford (Jul 14, 2014)

I vote for option "not on list";
* 3/8" or 1/2" bowl gouge
* 3/8" spindle gouge
* 3/16" diamond parting tool
* 3/4" (or bigger) spindle roughing gouge
all of the best steel you can find/afford.

Buy additional tools only as you need/want them. Most likely it will be more "want" than "need" as the tools listed above will handle just about everything except hollow forms.


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## DavidDobbs (Jul 14, 2014)

It's a Chevy or a Ford type thing. Of the 35 or 40 turning tools above my lathes. I only have 2 carbides one was given to me One was given to my son.
I have used them but......... Just don't mess with my scrapers.



Dave


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## fredito (Jul 15, 2014)

Thank you everyone for your responses. I found what everyone said to be very helpful. Haven't made a final decision yet on what to do, but it appears I have more to think about!
Thanks for your time responding!

Reactions: Like 2


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## ChrisN (Jul 15, 2014)

I have both traditional and carbide tools, and I make use of both types. I have the 8-piece set of Benjamin's Best tools from PSI, plus I got the set of two bars and 12(?) carbide cutters from Cap'n Eddie. Each type has their uses. I use the skew the most for wood, but carbide is very nice for turning plastics, other exotic materials, and hard wood such as Ironwood.


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## Tim Carter (Jul 16, 2014)

Diamond hones are good but I think you'd be better off with a slow speed grinder with a good sharpening jig like the wolverine set up. I have both and use the grinder 10 times more than the diamond hones. Another other thing that's important is your shop set up. I have my lathe about 4' from the wall and the grinder set up at the right side of the lathe and my tools are mounted on the wall behind me. This works very well for me, keeping my movement to a minimum and the time spent turning maximized.


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## BrentWin (Jul 16, 2014)

All I use is a set of Harbor Freight's Worst chisels for my call making. They aren't the best steel, but I keep finding things that I would rather spend money on rather than chisels. I can free hand sharpen the whole set on the bench grinder in less than 5 minutes, so it's not that big of a deal.

I am kind of different (a fact that my family has know for years) in that I use virtually every tool that I have for making a call. I use a roughing gouge for rounding off the blank. A parting tool for the band cut and for roughing in the lip rest. I use a beveled scraper for the landyard groove and a round nose scraper for shaping the neck of the call. I then use a 1" skew for rounding the belly of the call and finally a 1/2" skew for the final shaping of the lip rest.

My advice, which is worth every penny that you paid for it, is to use what you have for awhile, learn to sharpen them and then try some carbides down the road if you want.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## MikeMD (Jul 16, 2014)

Bottom line is that "sets" are both good and bad. They are good because you get a little bit of everything and you get a chance to figure out what tools you like most and which ones you use most. They are bad because you are spending extra money on tools you will likely never use. Also, most "sets" are put together with spindle turning in mind. If that is going to be your focus, you're getting a little better head start than if you are planning on bowl turning. Most bowl turning uses tools not in a lot of sets.

If you are planning on doing mostly bowl turning, instead of getting a set of ok tools, I'd get one good Thompson's bowl gouges. You can do almost all you need to with one bowl gouge. That said, my real advice is to find out from guys you know (on the net or in person) what their go-to/must have tools are, and start there. For me, for bowl turning (99% of what I do), I use a 5/8" bowl gouge, an inside scraper (with a negative rake), a skew, and a parting tool. Yes, I have three 5/8" bowl gouges, and two 1/2" bowl gouges, and some smaller ones, too. And yes, I have a lot of other tools. But the bottom line is that I don't "need" them all. They are...convenient.

Also, when asking a bowl turner what his/her go to tools are, ask them what they turn. If you ask a guy who only turns 20"+ bowls, his necessary tools might differ from that of a bowl turner that turns 10" and under bowls. Then you need to compare those lists with what you are turning now, and where you want to be in the near future...near future being the key. Eventually, you'll have just as many tools as the rest of us. But, for now, you need to get what you need for what you will be turning now. If you've got a 10-12" lathe, a 5/8" bowl gouge is probably overkill. 1/2" would do you just fine. But when you start doing 16" bowls (and yes, you will...what? Your lathe can only handle 12"? Yeah...THIS lathe can only handle 12"...you WILL get bigger badder lathe...at some point. For many of us, it is sooner rather than later. The opposite for others.), that 1/2" bowl gouge makes for a daunting task.

OH, and then there are hollowing tools, and coring tools, and texturing tools, and new and improved and and and...

One thing I HIGHLY recommend is getting good sharpening equipment. That includes two things: some sort of jig (the Wolverine jig with Varigrind by Oneway is great); and a CBN wheel for your grinder. The combination of these two make for easily repeatable razor sharp tools...the only way to get good cuts.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Schroedc (Jul 16, 2014)

Also, if you are eventually planning on a bigger lathe, find someone near you and try out some larger tools ( a local turning group can help you find a mentor), I tend to buy the biggest ones I can that will still do the job. You can turn small stuff with bigger tools for the most part but if you buy a pen turner set and decide to do larger items down the road you will find they are too small for larger items. On the other hand, if you want a smoking deal on a set of Sorby pen turning tools to get you going, send me a message and I can hook you up (they came with a bunch of stuff I bought with a lathe and I've never used them)


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## elnino (Jul 20, 2014)

I bought the carbides and now they just hang there on the wall. great for starting off. 

I now use thompson tools. spindle work i can do anything with just a 1/2 inch detail gouge. bowls i use a huge 3/4 inch bowl gouge and a few others. learn to sharpen free hand. everyday before you turn just keep the grinder off and practice the motions. within a few days you will be a master. saves so much time.

detail gouge and huge bowl gouge and help from some smaller bowl gouges with different grinds.


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