good / best brands of tools to buy

[miles_hot]

I will be looking to buy some turning tools of my own soon - blow gouge, spindle. skew, roughing, parting etc.

I am aware of Sorbey as being a good brand however I'm sure there are others which maybe better.

Can you give me some pointers towards the good brands and any personal "best" brands. The initial aim is to have all from the same stable however if one brand is good for one tool and not so good for others then I will mix and match however I will keep the different sizes of gauge etc from the same firm to avoid any issues with different sizes / methods of measurement being used.

The "best" criteria is more about performance than money however sense does have to come into it at some point (for instance I will not be going out to kit out my hand tool cupboard only with Lee valley planes etc!)

Many thanks

Miles

 

[Bodrighy]

Hi,

Sorby, Ashley Isles, Crown, Henry Taylor, Hamlet, Record, Axminster. There are probably others such as some of the Aussie ones that I think Classic Handtools sell. Generally speaking make sure that they are HSS not carbon steel. Which are the best depends on personal preference. They all have different shaped handles (though you can buy without handles for a bit cheaper and make your own) and sometimes different shaped flutes on the gouges. Ask 10 turners and I'm sure you'll get 10 different answers.

Pete.

 

[John. B]

My turning tools are from, Ashley Isles, Hamlet, Sorby, and Crown.
However most of them are Henry Taylor tools. I think they make the best and largest Roughing gouge, also their 'Long and Strong' gouges with their U shaped flute.
So in order of preference mine would be Henry Taylor then Sorby a close second followed by ashley Isles, (Ashley are slightly dearer.)

John. B

 

[Jenx]

I've a mix of all the above Miles ... probably like most guys.

Always like the 'feel' of the Sorby tools to work with... although the lions share of what I have is Crown, but thats mainly due to what the local places have in stock here.

Use a Hamlet 1/4" Bowl gouge a lot, and I do like it... its perhaps smaller than what more skilled turners than I am would use in certain applications.. I just like it because I find its not quite as aggressive as say a 3/8" BG would be... that may however have more to do with the hands they're in, rather than anything particular to the tools themselves.
I have probably just got used to reaching for it in preference to some of the others I have.
I use it on spindle jobs too.. in preference to a detailing gouge, which I find the trickiest tool in the arsenal to get proper control over. ( again probably a 'lack of proper training' issue, rather than the tool itself. )

Now that I come to think of it ... could probably throw 90% of the equipment aside, because I seem to find the Hamlet bowl gouge (1/4"), a 1/2" Skew ( record ) and a 3/4" Round-nose sorby scraper seem to get a huge amount more use than anything else !
Those, plus the RS200KT Multi-tip tool, which I find also to be a teriffic impliment of wood-torturing.... its very very forgiving with each of the various tips that come with it.

As is said elsewhere... whatever you find 'works' for you, is the right stuff !
and its probably very easy to fall into the 'if only I had a x y z, I would be able to do a, b and c .. etc etc etc...' when a few tools already there, are probably completely up to the task.

Going with any of the makers Pete's listed, you'll not go far wrong, I wouldn't have thought 8)

Good luck in the 'quest' !

 

[Mark Hancock]

Hi,

There are probably others such as some of the Aussie ones that I think Classic Handtools sell.
Pete.

I believe these are made by Hamlet.

The main tool manufacturers are Hamlet, Henry Taylor, Sorby, Asley Isles and Crown. I think you will find others may be produced by one of these and badged up.

 

[cornucopia]

hello miles- if you want the rolls royce imo there's only one choice and thats thompson from the usa but import can be pricey- here in the u.k i prefer Ashley isles

 

[robo hippy]

A BIG second to the Doug Thompson tools from here in the USA. They are the powder metal tools, the same steel as the Glaser tools (don't know the specifics, but 10% vadmium, and cryogenic treated). Doug buys the steel and mills it himself, and only sells factory direct, so costs are cheaper than otherwise. They come only unhandled, so you have to make your own, which I have come to prefer. The edges do last longer than any other tools I own. The finish, fresh off the grinder edge does last a bit longer, and the roughing edge (as in 'I can still take off a lot more wood before taking it to the grinder again') lasts a LOT longer. I have all sorts of M2 and M4, and other gouges and scrapers and skews, and his are the ones I reach for first. His V shaped gouges aren't a deep V so they don't clog when you are really hogging off material, and his U bowl gouge is flatter. I love both of them, and the scrapers come square so you have to shape them your self, but again, the lasting edges are worth it. Plus he is a great guy to deal with.
robo hippy

 

[SVB]

Miles,

In my opinion you can't been Crown for good quality at a reasonable price. Others, AI, Sorby etc are all very nice but I don't really think justify the additional cost.

There is one exception to this however. This is where personal taste comes in. Gouges. I am not a fan of crown gouge flutes, particularly the bowl gouge I think is horrible. For me, there is only one choice, the Henry Taylor Superflute range. This allows a really nice shape to a long grind allowing a whole range of cuts. I have never managed to get much other than a traditional grind on crown bowl gouges that are now all ground pretty steep for the bottom of steep sided bowls only!

Also, if you have a word with the Crown chap at the shows he normally always does a deal if you buy more than one tool which is very rare recently with the others.

If you want to try some, drop me a PM - As I said, I have Crown, HT, Sorby gouges at least without looking and a selection of crown / sorby for most of the rest, you are welcome to pop over and make some shavings one evening if it helps before spending serious cash!

As for hollowing tools, well ...................... :roll:


Simon.

 

[beejay]

Just love my Thompsons!!!
regards, beejay

 

[Jeremys]

Crown ProPM bowl and AI spindle gouges, I use a 3/4 bowl gouge in place of a roughing gouge... I've got racks of others in the mistaken belief (more tools = better turner...it cant just be me?) but I keep coming back to the Crown gouges.

I picked up a Woodcut Pro-Forme hollowing tool at Ally Pally which I am really impressed with...it could be a new favourite :lol:

 

[PowerTool]

I have a selection of makes,but the majority are Crown - as previously said,good value tools.

Andrew

 

[miles_hot]

Miles,


If you want to try some, drop me a PM - As I said, I have Crown, HT, Sorby gouges at least without looking and a selection of crown / sorby for most of the rest, you are welcome to pop over and make some shavings one evening if it helps before spending serious cash!

As for hollowing tools, well ...................... :roll:


Simon.

I will take you up on that - once I have got some tuition on the use of the gouge as I don't really want to confuse "learner error" with "unsuitable tool"!

Thanks

Miles

 

[greggy]

miles, there is one make of tools thats the dogs danglies and not been mentioned....












the ones that you get free,
because once you sharpen them properly, they are as good as any. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Bodrighy]

I would also advise making sure that you can sharpen them, get someone to show you if you don't know ho. I was given a bunch of old carbon steel ones when I started fortunately. Bad sharpening shortens the life of the tools dramatically and physically.

Pete

 

[miles_hot]

I would also advise making sure that you can sharpen them, get someone to show you if you don't know ho. I was given a bunch of old carbon steel ones when I started fortunately. Bad sharpening shortens the life of the tools dramatically and physically.

Pete

Will not be a major issue - I will be getting either a wide wheel grinder and Tru Grind jig (got one for my father in law so will see how I get on with it soon) or a Tormek. Tried free hand - don't like it

Miles

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Miles,

I guess the main thing that determines the make of tool is where you go to get them. For example, when I needed a bowl gouge I looked in the Axminster book, they have Crown and Henry Taylor so I bought the HT Superflute, which is great!!

If you like shows, Ashley Iles are always there with a massive selection and good advice etc.

Thing is, when you find a maker you like (or a handle shape) you'll probably stick with them. As long as it's one of the main ones already mentioned you won't go far wrong

HTH

Richard

 

[Richard Findley]

Oh yeah, if it's any help my basic tool kit would be:

3/8" Bowl Gouge

1" Spindle Roughing Gouge
3/8" Spindle Gouge
3/4" Skew (Ashley Iles are nice!!)
Parting tool (I like 10mm Beading and Parting personally)

HTH

Richard