Shopsmith Forums

I have a new Mark 7 that I am getting to know. I am excited to begin turning a few things, but have limited experience. I want to purchase some lathe chisels. Shopsmith is currently having a sale on a set of carbide chisels made by Easy Wood Tools. They are not typical looking chisels, but claim to be easier to use and you never sharpen them.

Question: Should I consider these or stick with the "regular" type lathe chisels for my first set?
Thanks

Ditto what beeg said. Having a coach while you are learning is priceless. I have some Easy Wood tools. I like them. They are easier to learn. However, I get more tearout than with standard tools. I also find them sometimes catchy if i have a muscle tremor.

I use the Easy Wood Tools and they are exactly that, easy. However, they do in fact leave a rougher finish than the conventional lathe tools. They give the novice turner a good sense of accomplishment due to their shorter learning curve.
Can you tell us where you are located? Do what Beeg suggested and see if you can link up with a mentor.
Turning is a woodworking activity that has a smaller following than most other woodworking activities but that following tends to be rather fanatical.
Therefore, I am a fanatic.
I like my EWT tools but I still try to master the conventional ones.
Bill V

Thanks for the replies. I tried finding a local turning group on the suggested website, but no luck. I am in the Southern Ohio area.
The sale on the chisels ends in a couple of days, so maybe I should take a little more time to evaluate....
The regular chisels are definitely less expensive but I was intrigued by the EWT pitch and offer...

JTD7366 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I tried finding a local turning group on the suggested website, but no luck. I am in the Southern Ohio area.
The sale on the chisels ends in a couple of days, so maybe I should take a little more time to evaluate....
The regular chisels are definitely less expensive but I was intrigued by the EWT pitch and offer...

Do support your neighboring state to the south's producers.

Since they are 'scrapers', using them is easier for a novice.

I mainly turn. I have a few carbide tools and think that they're great, but not the end all. Use them to get close to the shape you want and finish off with traditional SHARP tools. The difference is tremendous, but only comes with practice. Find a club if you can. I wish that there was one near me (closest is about 60 miles away), but alas I had to settle for Youtube as my club! Make sure that you have a face shield and that you use it!

Thanks Chris. Think I'll start with the regular set of chisels and go from there. ...yes, youtube is great....
Thanks for the reminder on the eye protection...

Like others have said, YouTube IS the answer.

Check out this channel, Eddie is recovering from
some brain surgery, and WILL return, but his stuff
has taught me TONS. Mainly, "ride the bevel."

https://www.youtube.com/user/capneddie

Go back to the "less than 100 posts" area, and start
watching. As Eddie would say, "All you gotta do is
WATCH!"

steve

Are you near Cincinnati? http://www.woodturner.org/members/?id=23094121