# Lathe tools



## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Many on this forum have pointed out that the cost of turning is rarely confined to the price of a lathe - in fact that is the smaller part of the whole outlay.

I have been looking at lathe tools which, in my neck of the woods, run in the region of $40-$50 per tool. EBay, however, has sets of about 8 tools going for close to $15-$20 per set.

Is this a case of "you get what you pay for" or is a cheap set OK for occasional use? What do you look for in a lathe tool?


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## Timeman (Oct 3, 2008)

Hi..

I think you will find after turning for over 10 years that you can not use low cost tools.. Now in saying that tools are not cheap as our modern day industries need to compete.

Its all in the steel and what has been done to it that makes a good wood turning tool
carbon steel chisels are ok but low budget one's will be of there depth with hard woods..

solid HSS

Good lathe tools are M2 High Speed Steel and tempered to Rockwell hardness 62/64 for razor-sharp cutting and demanding turning conditions.

Henry Taylor

Robert Sorby

Crown Turning Tools

You cal all so get some high grade HSS and shape your own as we do.. find older brands as well like marples and others.

All so at the end of the day you could use anything with in reason of course, But there is room for understanding the sharping and technical side to a good working lathe tool.

I hope this helps Being from Australia I get lots of hard woods so most of my work is done with good tools that are of good steel HSS.

cheers from Noel


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Noel has given you some excellent advise and he is dead on the money. I would only add that if you are brand new to turning, a cheap set to start off might be wise so you will not waste good steel while learning to sharpen. Once the learning curve is accomplished, then I would invest in one of the better sets as Noel advises.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI crquack

It's been a long time for me to buy any lathe tools but the lathe tools off eBay are what they call 8 piece tent stakes 

You can find some great lathe tools on the NET and you don't need to pay 40 to 50 dollars each..

Here's just one of many you may want to check out
http://www.pennstateind.com/

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crquack said:


> Many on this forum have pointed out that the cost of turning is rarely confined to the price of a lathe - in fact that is the smaller part of the whole outlay.
> 
> I have been looking at lathe tools which, in my neck of the woods, run in the region of $40-$50 per tool. EBay, however, has sets of about 8 tools going for close to $15-$20 per set.
> 
> Is this a case of "you get what you pay for" or is a cheap set OK for occasional use? What do you look for in a lathe tool?


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Here is the first set I bought. What is funny is I have bought over the years much more expensive tools and still find myself reaching for one of these. I have had these now for 3 yrs still use most all of them and I don't think there is much better for the money. Most of those on ebay as was said are not much more than tent stakes or junk IMHO. 

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCHSS8.html

Here is another place to look. You will notice he is a one man shop and sells out of a lot of stuff but just keep checking back. I don't think for the money his tools can be beat. I have 2 of his V-shape bowl gouges, 2 of the U-shape bowl gouges, 2 of his spindle gouges, and 2 of his detail spindle gouges. They are run thru a 13 step process which includes powder metal and cryogenics treated which means that I can turn 2 to 4 bowls without going to the grinder. They stay sharp longer than any tool I have and are reasonable. I wish I would have known about him before I bought a lot of my other tools.

http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/default.asp


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Here is a set you might want to check out. They are on sale right now.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/LathePromo06/chisel_5pcset.htm


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Thank you all. Lathe is here in a contemplative stage only and I like to collect a lot of information before I decide on anything.

All of your comments make perfect sense.


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

Turning tools are as important as the lathe itself, what is the point of spending lots of $ on a lathe and not so many $ on chisels. As Noel has posted, there is a lot of difference in what you pay for.
Cheers
Pete


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