Shopsmith Forums

There is a special going on now:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/specials/7DU418.htm

I was looking at the them, since I have a few openings in my collection. I like the carbide cutters and have an Easy Wood Pen Chisel along with some other such tools.

When I looked at the description " With an overall tool length of 12-1/2"....) I realized that these are small tools. No wonder the price looked reasonable.

I took a sampling of my tools and shot a picture to give you a better perspective on their size.

The green tape arrow shows the length of the on special tools. The longer ones on the right are about 22" and are from the shopsmith bowl set. The smaller ones on the left are "micro" tools. If you count over 5 from the left you will find one of the standard tools from shopsmith.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with the special, just make sure you take notices of the size.

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Ed

The answer is make your own. Here are two of mine and both are 22" and very heavey duty. One is a round cutter and one is a square cutter. I am working on a diamond shaped. Works great and cost about $30 each to make.
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Yes, making them is yet another subject. The 4th one from the right is a "home built" and I have two others in process. If you have the materials on hand they can be done very cheaply.

wlhayesmfs wrote:The answer is make your own. Here are two of mine and both are 22" and very heavey duty. One is a round cutter and one is a square cutter. I am working on a diamond shaped. Works great and cost about $30 each to make.

I've been thinking of doing the same thing.....making my own. I've not done a lot of research on a source for the carbide cutters. Would you mind sharing your cutter source?

Is the main reason regular tools are long so you can sharpen them many times and still have some metal left over. If these new tools have replaceable cutters, I can see no need for there to be a long cutter to begin with. I have ordered a set of the special tools with the goal of reducing the amount of time I spend sharping my current standard tools while turning my bowls.

fredsheldon wrote:Is the main reason regular tools are long so you can sharpen them many times and still have some metal left over. If these new tools have replaceable cutters, I can see no need for there to be a long cutter to begin with. I have ordered a set of the special tools with the goal of reducing the amount of time I spend sharping my current standard tools while turning my bowls.

Regarding your thoughts about long shafts because of repeated sharpening; I don't take much off my HSS tools as I sharpen. Mainly I just hone and that doesn't seem to seem to remove very much material. I use the SS guide and I used to use the large sanding disc and sand paper at the top of the disc but have switched to a smaller disc and honing sheets at a SLOW speed at the bottom of that disc so the grind action is going away from the surface, but still parallel to it. Really looking forward to the PowerPro to get that speed even slower.

I have both short and long handle / shaft carbide bit tools as well as the Shopsmith regular and HSS pen turning tools. For me, there is a huge difference in control between long and short. Granted I have neurological damage to my fingers so I don't have a great sensation of touch so that could very well be part of it.


The carbide is a dream to use when taking off material and the finish is significantly better than I can get with a gouge, but for a smooth finish I pull out the skew.

I take a diamond file (.3 microns) to the carbide tips when they get dull and have gotten at least two and as many as four resharpenings out of them. Just remove the tip, lay it flat on file that has been sprayed with a lapping fluid and rub in a figure 8 for about 10 seconds then check my progress with a lighted magnifier. I usually quit after about 3 minutes. If you use a rougher file or sharpen more often it may go quicker.

Since I have a long way to go before even getting to be mediocre, take my words with a big grain of salt.

Ben

Long cutters for more metal.
This does 2 things longer life for the tool and better vibration dampening (reducing chatter)
Longer handles provide better control.

Also in the case of bowl gouges and other hollowing tools you need a longer cutter get down inside what you are hollowing and still maintain contact with a tool rest.

Last but not least the length of the handle in proportion to the length of the cutter is also a design issue in that it effects the appearance of the tool. Not an issue when making your own but a big issue for retail competition when the tools are hanging on the wall and often the only thing the buyer has for comparison is what the tool looks like.

There a many sources for cutters, I have had good luck on Ebay and I have also just gone to woodcraft and bought the one I want. Also Captain Eddie on line has good buys on them on this site and I have gotten seveal from him He also has youtubes on making some of the tools and can save you a bunch.
http://eddiecastelin.com/
He is good at what he does and is just a good old boy woodturner.

If ya believe the 'Easy' site, theirs are better since they are specifically designed for wood working(sharper).

Gotta consider the source(Lexington,Ky).

wlhayesmfs wrote:The answer is make your own. Here are two of mine and both are 22" and very heavey duty. One is a round cutter and one is a square cutter. I am working on a diamond shaped. Works great and cost about $30 each to make.

Can you go into more detail. I'd be interested I trying that. In particular how do you attached the carbid cutter to a regular HSS tool?