Cheap turning tools at Yandles

[graduate_owner]

Hi all,
I just noticed that Yandles are selling a set of 8 turning tools for £16.99, reduced from £24. I thought Yandles was a reputable firm, so seeing this rubbish on their website surprises me.
I have bought from Rutlands occasionally, and from Axminster very often, but not from Yandles yet. I must say they have gone down a notch in my estimation now so perhaps I will avoid them.
What do others think of Yandles in general?
And what do you think about a reputable firm selling this cheap stuff?

K

 

[sunnybob]

Youve decided on ONE advertised price? :shock:
Do you know the make of these "cheap shoddy goods"?. or is one price alone enough to turn you away?
I have been to yandles several times. They have a very large stock level of machines, tools and accessories, and their exotic wood stocks are HUGE.
Now, on a different aspect, I have had worse service from yandles staff than any other shop anywhere , and on more than one occasion :roll: :roll:

But I'm not silly enough to cut my nose off to spite my face. I still visit, I still buy if I want something, I just dont ask for help or try to order anything.

 

[Dave Brookes]

Have just looked on their website, the tools appear to be from Silverline. I would agree with K though, even in the photo, the tool on the right is not in line with the handle! It doesn’t even detail what the tools are made of, and that should make one suspicious.

Dave

 

[sunnybob]

Silverline is the extreme bottom end of the tool quality range. Theres no way in the world I would ever buy another silverline product, but that wouldnt stop me going to a shop that sold good stuff as well as bad.
Being an ex shop owner, I know that the shop that ONLY sells top dollar stuff is missing out on a lot of turnover and profit.

 

[selectortone]

A 'starter' set, obviously and most people appreciate that you get what you pay for. Having said that, there are two reviews, both positive.

On the subjuct of Yandles in general, I visit once or twice a year and always find it useful. Lots of interesting stuff to look at. Their prices are competitive. Never had a problem with service either in person or online, but then I'm from Dorset so I know the locals can be somewhat taciturn.

 

[sunnybob]

Before coming ex-pat, I lived for 30 years in Somerset only 20 miles from yandles. Taciturn wasnt the problem, Sheer bloody rudeness and complete incompetence were what I had issues with.

 

[selectortone]

It's because they've all got scrumpy hangovers :mrgreen:

 

[Simon_M]

I wouldn’t invest in an essential tool from Silverline, as their tools are often are only 2/3 of what you need but usually less than half price however “buy cheap, pay twice” and “you get what you pay for”.

There are however some “extras” they have that are cheap and effective e.g. I have used a Silverline Diamond Wheel Dresser Head to clean an Aluminium Oxide wheel on a RP Bench Grinder and it is totally effective and the wheel is perfectly balanced - see For Sale forum.

Yandles often have limited stock and they can be reluctant to order in new stock or a special order so don’t compare to Axminster. Yandles often have good prices on tools and will give impartial advice (like you don’t need this etc.) and they can sharpen tools e.g. Robert Sorby for free. So they muddle thru’ and are worth a visit. Their show is well received (by me).

 

[graduate_owner]

Thanks guys, that is what I was looking for - an impartial view of the store. Like I said,I haven't shopped there. What I have read gives me more confidence.
K

 

[Duncan A]

According to Silverline they are carbon steel - not the more usual high speed steel:
https://www.silverlinetools.com/en-GB/P ... ame=303159

Duncan

 

[graduate_owner]

Hi all,
I have a few minutes to send a more detailed reply now.
As I said, I have never been to Yandles, so as far as I know it is just a website selling tools. When I saw those chisels I thought - rubbish !!! Which is what I would expect for that price. They look identical to sets I have seen advertised ( and actually handled) which have had very bad reviews, as in snapping, and not holding an edge. You can sometimes tell just by handling something that it is rubbish. Anyway I would class these as not fit for purpose, so my suspicions regarding Yandles were raised , as in " why would a reputable store sell this sort of stuff?"

Anyway I see from the replies that they are indeed a worthwhile company to buy from so I can add them to my list of stores when searching and comparing kit. I still think that to stock such kit brings down their reputation though. And I have to agree with comments regarding Silverline tools being low quality. I try to avoid cheap tools now, having learnt the expensive way. I have several hand and power tools in a junk pile and the accumulated cost is well over £150. Avoiding cheap tools is easy to say, I know, and not everyone can afford or justify the expense of quality kit, but I think we all know that decent tools are an investment which will often last a lifetime.
Essay over.

K

 

[woodbloke66]

I've always found Yandles to be pretty good, especially at their shows (2 or now just 1?) The range of tools and equipment on offer is great as is their stocks of timber in the shed. If you go looking for timber, it's a good idea to take a pocket flashlight as it's pretty dim in there and I've been caught out buying elm more than once when I didn't spot the worm holes #-o - Rob

 

[Simon_M]

Here’s a link covering the different types of steel(I’m not a fan of the music). Link doesn’t always work, search Craft supplies woodturning tool steel YouTube.

They don’t cover ordinary carbon steel. Although it’s assumed that HSS is the way to go, I did go to a demo where the woodturner had one “special” carbon steel tool. The reason being that they can get a very good edge that’s sometimes useful. Of course if it needs constant sharpening then it’s use has to be very reasoned.

Some production turners will not pay for some of the expensive tools because they won’t get their money back on them. Since they can practically sharpen tools with their eyes shut what they do isn’t so relevant to the home user.

It might be said that many Chinese imports use HSS as a branding exercise and their tools also are worth avoiding. At least one of the well known Sheffield woodturning manufacturers uses French steel because it’s quite specialist stuff. At least if you visit Yandles they can advise what are the cheaper available options are whereas buying on the internet you don’t receive such advice.

 

[Trevanion]

When you go to car shows you’ll see your Ssangyong cars exhibiting alongside your BMWS. It’s exactly the same with tool shops, you have your Silverline tools alongside your Robert Sorby tools. Its junk but it still sells at the end of the day.

If I recall from last Yandles show I went to the Silverline stand was actually next to Robert Sorby :lol:

 

[Mark Hancock]

If any student brings any turning tool resembling those in the set in question here I usually recommend that they bin them. A fellow turning tutor demonstrated how bad these tools are by breaking the tool in front of his student with his hands. Imagine what would happen with a catch on a lathe. I don't allow their use in my workshop for this reason.
Regarding Yandles stocking them I have mixed feeling. Yandles generally stock good quality tools etc but these are not fit for purpose IMHO and shouldn't be stocked. MachineMart ditched them about 3 years ago.

 

[Simon_M]

last Yandles show I went to the Silverline stand was actually next to Robert Sorby

This year Crown was behind Robert Sorby (that was next to Mark Sanger). I was in the shop and couldn’t fond the RS tool I wanted, no better at RS stand, so I ended up at Crown stand. I now have one “extra” Crown Cryo tool - very impressed and not (show prices) expensive. The chap selling it also makes it back in Sheffield too.

The other problem with really cheap tools, is that you are “boxed in” by what they cost when looking at how to sharpen them - at this price point your not going to get them sharp for a tenner? So it’s a double disappointment all round.

It would be much better to either start with fewer (but decent) tools or look at S/H e.g. at a club there is always stuff for sale.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

With the possible exception of bowl and roughing gouges the only benefit of HSS is that it doesn't need sharpening as often - for a beginner there is nothing wrong good quality older carbon steel tools. The operative words being "good quality" - Silverline etc. do not come into this category. I have an old Addis skew chisel that is dangerously sharp - I use it only once in a blue moon for something critical.

 

[graduate_owner]

Ah, someone agrees with me about these being not fit for purpose. Thank you Mark. Excellent for beginners though - should put them off turning for life even if they don't get injured using them.
When I started turning many years ago I don't think HSS was available for wood turning tools, or at least it wasn't common. I bought Marples carbon steel tools and still use some of them, although my bowl gouges are HSS. Different era then - no scroll chucks etc. The Myford 3 in 1 chuck was a new invention, and pretty expensive too.

K

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I have come across similar tools in the past too, brought by students, sometimes broken. I also recommended they got rid of them and bought some quality tools. From what I could see they were low quality metal, almost certainly badly heat treated and in my view, dangerous to use.

 

[Abw]

As a newbie to turning I’ve had to buy all of my tools from scratch. I was fortunate to have been bought a set of Robert Sorbie chisels, one of which snapped but Yandles swapped it without an issue, the same went for my bench drill. So so far so good. In relation to silverline I’ve had some good bits from them but they are a budget brand. Yandles do have the other end of the scale with very expensive tools too, so what you describe is them appealing to both ends of the spectrum