Robert Sorby Turnmaster

[lalkie01]

I am considering purchasing the Robert Sorby Turn Master from Amazon for $140.00 but am concerned with the interchangeable carbide inserts. Does anyone have these chisels? Does the head flex or seem to come loose when doing roughing cuts? Are the inserts a standard size or do you have to purchase from Robert Sorby? Does it seem to be a quality tool? Segmented bowl turning would be their main use. Would the Turn master do well as a bowl gouge? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Larry

[reible]

I have that tool. It is well made and the shaft is very heavy duty. I have never noticed any flex but keep in mind you don't want to get near the point that point with lathe tools. If you are getting tool flex it is likely you are doing something wrong.

The shaft is about 3/4" in diameter with a flat on the bottom. You can reference that against other tools if you wish but it is not so much the tool as it is the user.

The head took a little getting use to in that you have to have more space between the cutter and the tool rest then I'm use to for some cuts. Not a problem but it just feels funny to me. I'd say the cutter to the flat on the shaft means about 2-3/8" away minimum.

So far as I know you have to get the cutters from them. They have a selection of different materials for the cutters as well as the three shapes.

The nice part about the tool is you have one handle and then head is that allows different shape cutters, storage is just the one handle and not three. It is also the change over issue since you need to either get additional heads and swap them or change out the cutters. I have not gone the additional heads way yet........ This does slow you down on projects where cutter/head changes are happening often.

The only issue I have found is that the last time I used the tool on some wet wood I did not get it clean and dried properly and now have corrosion on the head. A lot of my tools are stainless steel and so this is not a problem.

IMG_4005sc.jpg (162.54 KiB) Viewed 23746 times

Now I have to see how well it cleans up.

Over all this is not the go to tool I hoped it would be for me. Yes it does what it says it will do but I find I pull out other tools more then this one. Again some people love them, some hate them, and then there is me, it just OK but if I had to do it over it would be unlikely I get it again.

Ed

[wa2crk]

I too have that system and I agree with everything Reible has said. If you get the system with the reducing colletts you can use it with unhandled conventional lathe tools. There is even a flat colllet for chisels with a "tang" instead of a round shank.
The cutter holder can also be tilted about 30 degrees for a shear/scrape cut while keeping the tools flat on the tool rest. I find that helps to keep the cutter under control and not rotating while cutting and this seems to avoid catches. I will give the system 5 stars. I also like the weight and overall feel of the handle. I believe that Eddie Castelin has the cutters but I don't know if he is still around.
Bill V

[mbcabinetmaker]

Yep what Ed and Bill said. Great quality tool but I'm not sure how it would work for a bowl gouge.

[ChrisNeilan]

I too have that system and I agree with everything Reible has said. If you get the system with the reducing colletts you can use it with unhandled conventional lathe tools. There is even a flat colllet for chisels with a "tang" instead of a round shank.
The cutter holder can also be tilted about 30 degrees for a shear/scrape cut while keeping the tools flat on the tool rest. I find that helps to keep the cutter under control and not rotating while cutting and this seems to avoid catches. I will give the system 5 stars. I also like the weight and overall feel of the handle. I believe that Eddie Castelin has the cutters but I don't know if he is still around.
Bill V

The captain is still very much around, just not making a lot of videos. Still succesfully recovering from his brain tumor and stroke. I just ordered from him a couple of months ago. Give him a call!

[swampgator]

I agree with Chris. Now, do I post a link or is that kosher? I will post for now and if it is unethical, I'll remove it quickly.

http://eddiecastelin.com/

Steve, the old Florida gator

I love it when she says I can go make sawdust.

[lalkie01]

I have done some research and have decided not to purchase the Turn Master. I did not like the idea of having to move the tool rest away from the bowl and am still concerned with the tool be strictly a scraper. I am in the process of building a carbide lathe chisel to see if I like the way a carbide tip cuts. I have a number of triangle carbide inserts and will work with that to see if i like them. There are other carbide insert lathe tools that would keep the tool rest closer to the work. I appreciate the comments and the help. Thanks Larry

[benush26]

I have done some research and have decided not to purchase the Turn Master. I did not like the idea of having to move the tool rest away from the bowl and am still concerned with the tool be strictly a scraper. I am in the process of building a carbide lathe chisel to see if I like the way a carbide tip cuts. I have a number of triangle carbide inserts and will work with that to see if i like them. There are other carbide insert lathe tools that would keep the tool rest closer to the work. I appreciate the comments and the help. Thanks Larry

I too really like my Sorbey Soverign system with the hollow metal handle and have removed the wooden handle from a couple of my conventional lathe chisels (I have WAY too many of them) so I can use them in the Sorbey at a regular lathe approach.

I've not tried to buy and carbide bits for Capn Eddie, but have found a decent priced source called Arizona Carbide. I did a wee bit of drill out on one of my Sorbey bit holders to make the screw easier to use. There used to be a posting on the AC site about what needs to be done to the bit holder. I am guessing the same method can be made to work with most carbide bit holders.

Frankly, the distance of the of the tool rest away from the work piece when using the Sorbey bit system can be a bit disconcerting , but the heft of the system is nice and comforting. I have a favorite 1-1/2" oval beveled skew which I took out of its handle and use it with one of the colllets. I use it the same as when it had a conventional handle, but the foam on the Sorby handle and the ability to add the lengthener adds to my comfort zone.

No matter which you choose, you will probably become just as addicted as the rest of us!

Be well,
Ben

[reible]

....
The only issue I have found is that the last time I used the tool on some wet wood I did not get it clean and dried properly and now have corrosion on the head. A lot of my tools are stainless steel and so this is not a problem.

IMG_4005sc.jpg

Now I have to see how well it cleans up.

Ed

It cleaned up nicely!

IMG_4071sc.jpg (294.35 KiB) Viewed 23532 times

Enough said.

Ed