Which shape for what?

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McBryde

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
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686
Location
Humnoke, Arkansas
I am looking into possibly getting a carbide tipped tool. The questions I have are what shape tools are used for what? I would like to mainly do pens, but would like to do bowls and vases as well, what would be my best shaped tool?

E
 
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Three main options -- Hunter style cup carbide cutters -

Eliminator - cup style cutter on a mondo heavy steel shaft that handles vibration

square/round fine edge scrapers such as are sold by Craig Jackson, Ken Ferrell and others.

They all work, some better than others in different situations. Find a turning club and try out the different kinds and decide what works for you.
 
I use a variant of type 3. A square / round standard metalworking cutter that has a high front relief (30 degree) and a chip breaker on a heavy shaft. I generally only use it for roughing, on super hard materials or for forming odd profiles that I can't figure out how to achieve with a standard bevel rubbing cut with a bowl gouge.

For all finish work on bowls I use a bowl gouge as the clean cuts I get with a sharp bevel riding cut are superior to what I get with the carbide tool.

Once I got more comfortable with the bowl gouge I began to do all my bowl turning with it just to make sure I had good muscle memory on using it.

The key thing is you want whatever tool you are going to use become so second nature that you focus on the form you are trying to achieve rather than how to use the tool. The guys who make the carbide tools can get great results from them on bowls but they are production turners cranking out hundreds of bowls a year.
 
I really want one to be able to turn resin pen blanks alot easier. The tools that I have now are just not good enough for it I don't think, it just takes forever to turn one down.

E
 
For pens I mainly use a tool with a round carbide insert which is about 5/8" in diameter. Made it myself. There are a couple of articles on the internet about making your own tools using carbide inserts. Here is one link. http://31av.sl.pt

Or if you just want to buy one check out this thread from a member here who sells them. http://31aw.sl.pt

I never have tried to sharpen the insert, just rotate it about 90 degrees if it ever dulls. Then put on another carbide insert after maybe 500-1000 pens :biggrin: wear it out. Works great on acrylics and resins, wood too for that matter.

McBryde said:
I really want one to be able to turn resin pen blanks alot easier. The tools that I have now are just not good enough for it I don't think, it just takes forever to turn one down.

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Emerson; I have and use a carbide tool on the hard acrylics and find it does well. It doesn't work as well on wood. Several people here on IAP sell carbide tipped tools and they work well. Search in the classified's for carbide.

Tips: If the top of the carbide bit is flat, it can be sharpened with a credit card sized diamond hone.
A round bit or radiused bit will have less tendency to dig in on the corners.

Joebill1 on Ebay makes a nice tool:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbide-Woodtur...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e1085ef7
 
I just received my WoodChuck Pen Pro and I love it. I had trouble turning some trustone and this fixed all the problems. They are great to talk to and will help you out with a lot of questions.
 
McBryde said:
I really want one to be able to turn resin pen blanks alot easier. The tools that I have now are just not good enough for it I don't think, it just takes forever to turn one down.

E
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As a seller of carbide insert tool(s) the one that I endorse and prefer to use is the "ROUND" carbide insert. The ones that I sell are 18mm round and do not require sharpening. Given that the inserts are rotatable a full 360 degrees, the full edge is used before replacement with another. Not the least priced tools, but they will outlast HSS by a factor of 10X.
 
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McBryde said:
OK, so I am leaning towards the round one, another ? though, What size round carbide disk do I need?

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As I mentioned, my 'round' measures 18mm (3/4"), but you can also contact bitshird (Ken) and order one of his Woodchuck with 'round' cutter which is slightly smaller.
 
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