Appreciate how you are encouraging folks to not get discouraged at the beginning and just get turning. It is such a wonderful craft and hobby! It can be overwhelming sometimes when you are first starting out, but everyone starts at the same place - skills increase with shavings and good mentoring. Glad to hear your positive experience with D-Way Tools, always happy to help if you have any questions.
Thanks for the encouraging comment! I have been a happy customer and am pleased to support businesses like D-way Tools that provide good quality and good customer service. I have been sending business your way through this channel lol. If you ever want me to review tools don’t hesitate to contact me. Woodworkingmcdanielstyle@gmail.com
I just wanted to say thanks for the video. I am new to turning and prefer to buy decent tools to start. I was looking at other brands but this video made me take a look at D-Way Tools for the first time, and as you said I found their website quite helpful. They did not seem to be as expensive as some of the other higher end brands in my area, so I took the plunge and purchased 2 handles and 5 tools last week. They are beautifully machined and I am looking forward to trying out soon! In addition to the ease of sharpening that you mention, I also like the ease of storage of quickly taking the tool our of the handle. I will not be turning all the time, and have a relatively small shop, so to be able to disassemble and place them in a small drawer with custom tool holders is also a bonus.
The original owner of D-Way is Dave Schweitzer who contributed the D to the name. He sold to Jimmie Allen some years ago. Dave is a contemporary of both Ellsworth and Raffan. I agree that M42 and A11 steels make the best and most durable tools; science confirms that by researching the metals and not just the tools. A consideration your valuable video omits is customer service and the responsiveness of the owner. Jimmie often answers the phone when I call and when I leave a msg or send an email I hear back right away. In one of our conversations Jimmie told me I couldn’t go wrong buying from Doug Thompson which I found refreshing. I recently visited a retailer of C&S tools and the employee there, unprompted, bad-mouthed C&S staff which turned me off from both the retailer and C&S.
Thanks for the feedback. You are correct on the service at D-way. I love my Doug Thompson tools but I simply buy from d-way because of the better website.
I have one m42 tool, a Henry Taylor 5/8 gouge. It is definitely a long lasting edge. But as you said, any tool will cut, depends just how long. I have a square end scraper that's a vintage buck bros, and I think it's just carbon steel. I use it only to make mortises and I pull burr once to do the mortise and then another time to clean it up
Lately the price of M2 and M42 isn’t much different from my shopping experience so I end up buying the M42 tools. My parting tool and roughing gouge are M2 and for those uses it’s fine. But those tools are not asked to cut end grain…
Love your presentations on this channel. Got a lot of good and helpful advice from the one on cbn wheels and such. I’m new to turning and researching pretty much everything so appreciate your wisdom. In researching tools, techniques etc, was impressed with some of Stuart Betty’s presentations and was curious about the 40/40 grind and if you’ve been using that and also which intermediate priced tools (decent but not necessarily top tier) you’d recommend? Some things I’ve watched suggest starting w the cheapest but I feel that this is questionable advice. I’d rather learn with tools that will be highe enough quality instead of having to relearn things learned on inferior tools! Thx again for the great channel. I was looking at the Hurricane ones as well as a decent starter tool.
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement! I definitely use the 40/40 grind and mention it in many videos. You can make any V shaped bowl gouge into a 40/40 and I have a sharpening video on how to do that. I wouldn’t start with the cheapest of cheap tools like sets you get at harbor freight or maybe even on Amazon. But you also do not need the highest quality either. That’s kind of what this video was trying to explain. Most name brand companies have great tools in my opinion. I have no complaints with Sorby, Henry Taylor, hurricane, Oneway, Thompson, d-way, crown etc. HSS - high speed steel or M2 steel is cheaper but still good. M4 steel is HSS with some vanadium added to increase edge retention. But I personally cannot see a giant noticeable difference. So my opinion is to shop the major brands based on price and get the best value. I am a big proponent of quick change handles because they make sharpening easier. Handle less tools are normally cheaper also. If you are making bowls, then I would get a good V shaped 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch bowl gouge. I have a cheap shopsmith skew that works fine and a giant d-way skew. You definitely don’t need the giant expensive skew. A cheap parting tool should suffice as well. If you are doing a lot of spindle work then I would recommend getting a roughing gouge. I have a hurricane but see what’s out there for better prices. I do have a d-way detail spindle gouge and I use that tool so much that it is becoming short. So I would get a detail spindle gouge also. The d-way version is 1/2” shank so built as heavy duty as the bowl gouges. Hope that helps and doesn’t offer more confusion.
@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle thanks so much Chris (m name also). I will research further with your advice in mind. Really appreciate the way you take time to respond to people and thoughtfully too! Not everyone does this and it makes a difference,especially on a growing channel. It also shows you’re a decent guy who cares. The advice here is invaluable to me! By the way I really think you have a natural way about you that makes the videos more watchable and informative than maybe some others so I’m sure your channel will grow. Keep it p and don’t let any detractors be a discouragement 😊👍. (I’m glad you mentioned the swappable handles and was thinking of asking you, but you covered it and here as well. I was thinking the same thing, get a few handles and then buy the (less expensive) tools- I mean decent ones, but w/out handles. Love this idea). The sharpening point seems like a huge reason as well.
You are so welcome. I created this channel because I remember the struggle trying to learn on my own. I do try to answer questions as promptly as possible. So please ask away if questions come up while watching a video. Sometimes a time stamp in the video can assist me with a better reply :)
@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle hey was just leaving through the Highland WW catalogue and saw the “Bodger” brand. Pretty affordable and claims to be pretty high quality, albeit I think simple hss. Might be an option to start with though I actually would like to start w a handle that’s removable as discussed. I’m gonna look at the ones you have as well.
I’ve never heard of them but looks like a cheap china steel alternative. I would say for spindle work, the skew and parting tool should be fine and the roughing gouge may be also. Might be worth a shot. I was researching cost of other brands and I think if you went higher quality, I would go with D-way tools or Doug Thompson. I prefer D-Way’s website and his handles but both are great tools. I would probably get a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch bowl gouge from them, to go with the cheaper Bodger spindle tools. If you do try the Bodger, let me know your thoughts
I have had good results from the higher end hurricane/crown tools. I think they are the same thing anyways - I suspect hurricane rebrands the crown. The top of the line hurricane is an M42 cryo, and the top of the line crown is a PM-PRO - powdered metal. I found one reference to M42 being powdered, but not certain on that. Both seem to really hold an edge well. I haven’t tried the Thompson or D-Way but have heard good things and might try those out next time I need a tool. I don’t like to switch handles though - I prefer to have a dedicated handle for each tool. I usually use a Veritas Mk 3 (which I bought for general woodworking) to flatten chisel backs, and I recently tried that to flatten/polish the tops of scrapers. M2 seems to really wreck the aluminum oxide. It must be too hard. Interestingly, the PM and M42 seem to be easier to sharpen - making me wonder if they’re basically like the Veritas PM-V11 alloy which they say is faster to sharpen than A2 but also holds an edge longer - it’s also powdered metal.
I got my hurricane tools before they became popular. They are just the HSS models but I have no complaints for the price. Based on your personal experience your crown and hurricane are probably just as good as d-way, carter, Thompson. D-way says their steel is proprietary from Boeing and it’s the special heat treating that makes them better. Thompson has tiny carbides that are supposed to stay sharper longer. I can’t tell a difference. I’ll just say I’m happy with all of them. Tool handles…we all develop our own opinions and preferences lol. It’s ok we don’t agree. I have Veritas A2 and PM-V11 plane blades. I sharpen those on water stones. Sometimes use a jig but normally used the freehand figure 8 body motion I was taught. But I don’t notice any difference in sharpening or edge retention between A2 and PM-v11 or even my old Stanley plane blades. They all seem to work good enough that I don’t care I guess lol. But I don’t sharpen plane blades often enough to have memory and when I do, I sharpen them all at the same time.
I do not like switching handle either.. So I make my own handles..Here in central California we have live oak. The wood is tough and suitable for long handles.. Making a handle is easy and takes maybe 30 minutes to complete..I use a thick wall pipe to act as a the furl or end of handle support. I tap the a hole with thread for the Allen screw and then epoxy the handle to the the the tool blank. I like long handles for bowl gouges and some are over 24 inch long..so I say.. have fun, save your money and make your own handles.. Carter and son in Seattle sell tools with or with out handles and all their steel is M 42.. 👍☺️
if you are a new turner there are better videos on tools than this video - and just a point to note - all of the top tools are ALL HSS -yes they are different composition but they are still all HSS.
Thanks for the feedback. This was one of my first videos but I stand by the overall point of the video. “Don’t stress too much about brand or composition”. Most videos are sponsored by some manufacturer and I’m not sponsored by anyone.
Thanks for the feedback Terry. M42 is what many use including d-way tools. Doug Thompson’s tool metal is not inferior to M-42 but from personal experience, I’m not convinced it’s better than m42
D-way and Thomson are also certainly in the ‘the best. Period’ category. Many professional woodturners for decades have used any number of tool steel materials particularly before the modern powdered metallurgies and complex heat treatments became available. Anything from Myron Curtis using his home made HSS scrapers, his favorite craftsman parting tool to knock out thousands of balusters, to Ellsworth using hex keys to do fantastic gallery pieces- and so on. Crown, Hurricane, Sorby, Henry Tailor, Oneway, Carter and sons, Thomson, D-way or whatever…unless one’s sponsored or has some legit reason to confine themselves to any one brand or feeling compelled to get the best/most expensive- generally isn’t going to be much more than a psychological feel good thing. Which to each their own- some people do excel or are more motivated to do work if their socks match their tools and their lathe/workshop is pristine clean. Ya know how it is. I love everything about woodturning; the tools, the techniques, chucks, lathes, wood, finishes, sandpaper, chainsaw chains and the art of creating forms that are pleasing, utilitarian and sometimes practical. We are enthusiasts. Lolz
You are the second person that mentioned Ellsworth using hex keys. I’m going to have to read up on that. Thanks for the comment. I think you summarized what I was trying to say in the video :)
For years and years I used high speed steel.. About 10-12 years ago the M2 showed up and this was amazing.. I sharpened my bowl gouges about 75% less.. The steel is just great.. However with in the last 4-5 the M42 steel just blew the doors off the m2.. Forme today I don’t buy anything unless it’s M42 period.. Most all the bowl gouges cost about the same.. So why spent your time sharpening on crummy steel.. I buy M42 without the handle and the m42 is over 40% less. I use m42 on resin too. it works as good as carbine.. I for one just gave up on name brand tools.. I have 7-8 buddies turning..Most have switched to M42 steel. the few that have not are quickly learning form the rest of us.. The rapture tool sharpening system take 30 seconds or less to put a perfect edge on a M42 bowl gouge..thanks for your video..
