Wood Lathe Turning Tools - Are The Different Steels Necessary?

While there are a myriad of wood turning tools for the myriad of lathes now available, the quandary of which tools to purchase can be broken down by knowing a few simple rules. For the beginning wood turner this can be invaluable so as not to break the bank buying tools that will never be used or used so seldom as to be not worth the purchase price.

First it should be noted that all turning tools follow the same pattern regardless of their being a gouge, chisel, skew, parting tool or what have you. They all have a handle for control, a shaft to hold the cutting tip and the cutting tip itself. The shaft and cutting tip may be one piece or the tip may be inserted into the shaft as in the case of an Oland tool, or screwed on to it such as is the manner of many scrapers.

The differences in the cutting tips are generally obvious. Bowl gouges, for instance, will have a deeper flute in the shaft than will spindle gouges. This results in a deeper cutting tip with heavier wings than the shallow gouges used for spindles.

Not so obvious is the type of steel used to make the tool. For all intents and purposes there are three types of steel used for wood turning tools; high carbon, high speed and specialty. Until fairly recently, most woodturning tools were made from high carbon steel but now the vast majority use high speed steel.

High carbon steels take a sharper edge than do high speed steels but it does not last long under the stress of turning that modern wood lathes give. While many woodturners use it for tools just for the last finishing cuts, high carbon steel tools are not recommended for the beginner. They are tricky to sharpen without losing the temper and the edge does not last.

High speed steels, on the other hand, can handle a lot of abuse at the grinding wheel and it is believed that they can not lose their temper under the conditions of a general home woodworking shop. While they will not become as sharp as will high carbon steels they will hold a sufficiently sharp edge for a lot longer. This is the recommended steel for most turners, whether beginner or experienced.

The specialty steels tend to hold an edge for a long time. Whether they can be sharpened to a finer edge than high speed steels is open for debate but they can certainly be sharpened to a sufficient sharpness for wood turning. They are more expensive than high speed steel and purchasing them may be more a question of cash flow than of actual need.

Regardless of the steel used, a sufficient array of tools to make the necessary cuts at the wood lathe need to be purchased. In most cases, high speed steel tools are a good buy and will make for an enjoyable time at the wood lathe.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.