Interesting gouge system

[duncanh]

Whilst browsing for a new gouge I came across the Supertip 2000

A bit pricey to start with but it comes with 2 heads and the heads seem reasonably priced. I found this review but wondered if anyone here had used the system

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Duncan
Looks a nice sturdy set but they put a lot of faith in a screwthread not to move/loosen while you are turning :?: not quite sure how that would stand up to a bit of tough timber??.
Cheers
Steve

 

[jpt]

HI

Never tried those ones but the reviews of them have been good.

A similar system is sold by PHIL IRONS I have used one briefly and it seemed very good others have given them good reviews as well.

john

 

[CHJ]

Looks like it uses the taper as well as the thread to secure, seems a bit pointless to me, for any flow of work I would have thought you would need more than one handle, and at that price point I think I would rather have several conventional tooled handles ready to pick up than have to faff about changing tips.

 

[Bob Chapman]

I haven't tried them, but can't help thinking I agree with you, Chas.

Bob

 

[TEP]

If your speciality is deep bowl/hollowing work so you need to be reaching well over the rest I imagine these tipped tools would be great, as all you need to do is replace the tip once worn out. Because with a conventional bowl gouge you do eventually lose a lot of the blade length, but if you had to buy more than a couple of handles it would be far too expensive for a turner who does various types of work.

I'll stick with my 'real' tools I think. :wink:

 

[Jenx]

Is it just me and the way I'm looking at the pics, or does anyone else think there's a distinct absence of anything resembling 'spanner-flats' on the tips ?

Perhaps the 'taper' negates a requirement for anything much more than finger-tight. :?


I guess anyone bringing innovation and alternative methods to something should be applauded, - but even as the greenhorn that I am, I do agree with the convenience of just being able to grab a complete tool from the rack seems a lot less of a 'scutter' of changing tool heads.

Interesting to see though 8) :lol:

 

[Russell]

They are good tools but I would get really frustrated screwing and unscrewing the tool tip all the time. I currently have 8 different bowl gouges with different grinds much easier and possible cheaper as well.

 

[CHJ]

..... there's a distinct absence of anything resembling 'spanner-flats' on the tips ?
......

You noticed that minor missing convenience as well Jenx, I guess they would not have gone down well with the sleek designer image.

Better to let the user find out if his pliers can mark HSS no doubt. :roll:

Can't help feeling there is something wrong with an unlocked threaded attachment, even ignoring the possibility of using them on reverse turning I think there are enough instances when they could unscrew.

 

[steve.b]

it sure looks very smart, but Im with Russel on this one and have several 3/8bowl gouges with different grinds, [mostly crown ones as they are cheap and of a reasonable quality] and a half inch crown one which I use with a steady handle , for most of my hollowing,

but the supertip does look nice quality.

steve

 

[Paul.J]

Certainly looks a good tool,but i think it would be to much messing about changing it over.
Paul.J.

 

[duncanh]

All the downsides mentioned had already occurred to me but it's reassuring to have my doubts shared.
The reason I would consider it is that yesterday I needed a reasonably long, thick gouge to turn the wall/floor intersection area on a deep bowl with an overhanging rim. My half inch gouges has swept back wings so re-grinding them to a steep standard grind would have meant grinding off at least 1 cm of tool and then grinding back to my preferred profile when I'd finished the project. I only really need 1 extra gouge at the moment which would set me back around £30 - obviously much cheaper then this system. Indeed, 2 new gouges would still be cheaper.

There's been a similar system in the Craft Supplies catalogue for years and, like the Woodcut one sold by Phil Irons, the tips are held on by glue. I guess if any of these systems were much good and cost effective then they would get much more coverage.

 

[Mark Hancock]

The reason I would consider it is that yesterday I needed a reasonably long, thick gouge to turn the wall/floor intersection area on a deep bowl with an overhanging rim. My half inch gouges has swept back wings so re-grinding them to a steep standard grind would have meant grinding off at least 1 cm of tool and then grinding back to my preferred profile when I'd finished the project. I only really need 1 extra gouge at the moment which would set me back around £30 - obviously much cheaper then this system. quote]

In this situation ie getting to the floor area of a deep bowl I sometimes use a shielded ring hollowing tool such as the Hamlet or Munro. These are designed to cut on the side of the grain and with a cross grain bowl that's exactly what you have in the floor area. The advantage of these tools is that they can cope with large overhangs on the tool rest. You can then put a shear cutter on the end to finish the process.

Regarding the changeable tip tools I heard mention that sometimes the tip doesn't line up with the shaft so consequently you get a step. This can be a problem when trying to make a flowing cut and the step catches on the tool rest interrupting that flow.

 

[duncanh]

I do have the Munro tool, but for some unknown reason I forgot that it could be used here. I think that's probably because I have it in my mind as a hollowing tool for vessels only, but I guess that this was in fact a vessel.

I have a long length of 3/4 inch steel that I can fasten various tips to so in the end I resorted to cleaning up with a shear scraper fasten end to that.

 

[Taffy Turner]

My own view of these replaceable tip systems is that they are a bit of a marketing ploy. It is very difficult for the tool manufacturers to keep coming up with new tools all the time to get us to part with our hard earned cash, so they are just tweaking existing ideas.

I think all the posts listing the drawbacks of such a system are perfectly valid, and I suspect, so do the manufacturers, but it was worth a punt as someone is bound to buy it, and as long as they make back their developments costs (fairly low I would have though, as it isn't exactly innovative), then they are happy.

An example of this type of thinking was, IMHO, Sorby's Spindle Master. I bought one of these early in my career as a turner, as it was marketed as the answer to a learners prayers, as it was supposed to be much easier to use than a skew. Here I am several years later, I can now use the skew with a reasonable degree of confidence, but the Spindle Master still causes a huge catch every time I try to use the damn thing! Biggest waste of money in my toolkit.

Regards

Gary