Shopsmith Forums

kd6vpe wrote:OK,
I'll jump in also I bought the set on this sale. They will need a sharpening but they are very good quality and for the price they can't be beat. Now if only they would put the speed reducer on sale and not on back order I would get one.

It was on sale a while ago and I ordered one (back in Nov or Dec) still not in yet....

518733
Bowl Turning Tool Kit
Price $139.33 Sale Price $89.33
Status: Item is available.

Markup I just looked on the web site they are still available I would call in the SS and ask about your order I just did this a few weeks ago I thought maybe my mind is going bad.



OOOPS! I just re-read your comment. You were talking about the speed reducer. Oh boy I'm loosing it today.

My $0.02. I bought the bowl turning set at a TA about 3 or 4 years ago. I have only used them on a couple of projects, but they are worlds better than the bowl turning tools I was using before, which were recycled files. The SS tools have a really nice heft to them. Their weight makes them feel really stable in use. The steel was easy to sharpen and seems to hold its edge well. I turned an apple wood bowl a few months back that had a depth of a bit over 4 inches and I had no problem extending the tools that far over the rest. As I said, they seem really robust. At the sale price, I would say you are getting a good deal on tools that you will almost certainly be happy with.

JPG40504 wrote:NO!............Some are high carbon steel. They do not hold an edge as well.

Red, where did you get your information?

What Red says here could be true (and absolutely used to be true), but my (never been sharpened or used) set of standard turning tools (SS # 505586), purchased in 1995, ARE (according to former TA instructor Rick Davis) carbon steel, while the same set that is offered now are HSS. I have got to wonder if all NEW SS turning tools are now HSS???

a1gutterman wrote:I have got to wonder if all NEW SS turning tools are now HSS???

I've wondered that too A1. The starter set says it's HSS, the others don't say so I assume they are carbon steel.

a1gutterman wrote:Red, where did you get your information?

What Red says here could be true (and absolutely used to be true), but my (never been sharpened or used) set of standard turning tools (SS # 505586), purchased in 1995, ARE (according to former TA instructor Rick Davis) carbon steel, while the same set that is offered now are HSS. I have got to wonder if all NEW SS turning tools are now HSS???

PERHAPS I included one word too many?:o BTW It is the presence of carbon that makes steel, steel.

JPG40504 wrote:PERHAPS I included one word too many?:o BTW It is the presence of carbon that makes steel, steel.

But that presence of carbon doesn't make it HSS.

beeg wrote:
But that presence of carbon doesn't make it HSS.

I did NOT mean to imply THAT!

HSS has other 'ingredients' and is an 'alloy' as are many other steel 'variations'.

Please do not overlook the fact that I was trying to acknowledge my GOOF:o when I included the word 'high' when referring to 'other' SS chisels as 'high' carbon steel. At that point I recalled that steel is iron which contains carbon.

It is the difference in percentage of carbon(and other 'metals') that define other steel variations.

Yes this IS an over-simplification.

When I bought a standard woodturning chisel set from Shopsmith in 2002, I found they are made from carbon steel, the way they made woodturning chisels for years and years.

A year later Shopsmith started purchasing there chisels from the Sorby company, and are made from high speed steel (HSS). I believe they now come from China, but are still manufactured with HSS.

It's hard to find a manufacturer who still makes woodturning tools from regular carbon steel, but they can be found. Woodturners for years and years and... used carbon steel tools and did just great with them. The only difference now is that the HSS holds an edge longer and they don't heat up as quickly when sharpening on a grinder. But you can turn anything with both carbon or HSS tools. I've even made specialty tools out of old screwdrivers because with the standard tools I couldn't do what I wanted.

I have friends who have turned for years and still use their carbon steel tools. If they work, why replace them until you need too. I still use mine. They are the spindle turning set that Shopsmith used to sell. Now they are all made of HSS.

Now most manufacturers have gone beyond regular HSS, by adding other ingedients to the steel and even freezen the metal (Kyro tools) to help them last longer between sharpenings. I guess as soon as carbon steel fell out of favor, the companies just can't stop trying to come up with newer and newer ways to make the tools.

Problem is, the more they change them, the more they cost us.

I have two sets now picked up an extra set at a yard sale very reasonably. I turn quite a number of bowls for sale at bazars and such. These chisels stay sharp and are hefty enough for my work.