Carbide Woodturning Tools - Who Needs Them? Part 1 

Hi Mike, just watched this video for the first time. My experience has been similar to Jeff's. I started turning 2 years ago, and I bought the same set of carbide tools you demonstrate in this video so I could make something right away and avoid sharpening. It worked, and I was satisfied. I began acquiring traditional tools about 2 months later and began to learn how to use and sharpen them. Gradually I shifted more and more to traditional tools, to the point where now I only use the carbide occasionally, mainly for hollowing and some delicate spindle work. I find the detailer a handy choice where a little slip with a spindle gouge could seriously mess up a piece. A few minutes with a diamond card sharpens them up well.

I started out using carbide tools and found them to be OK. For me, they basically increased the amount of time and effort to finish a project since I had to do so much sanding due to the way carbide scrapes things away. Once I moved to conventional tools, I found my projects turned out much nicer. IMHO I think carbide tools have their place in wood turning, but one must exercise good judgement on when/ where to use them. Thanks for the video and sharing. Good info!!!!

Great timing Mike. I have a set of carbides coming in tomorrow. I chose over HSS for the exact reasons you gave in the first few minutes - lower learning curve, no sharpening, long lasting, and no grinder expenses for now. Thanks for the (2) vids! -Mike

Thanks, Mike! I really love my Easy Wood Tools products!

Hint! ~ Set carbide at a 45 degree angle for a fine cut ~ FYI My tools are Woodpecker Brand & I love them!

Wow some crappy comments on this video with people who clearly didn’t actually watch it properly! Good insight from both a carbide user and an experienced traditional tool person there, hats off to you and Jeff - looking forward to part 2!

Carbide tools are very easy to make and the homemade carbide tools are a fun first project. There are plenty of videos out on You tube on how to make them and Capn Eddie will sell you the carbide tips for a very reasonable price! And the homemade ones are a fraction of the price of the store bought! One thing I saw is that he is too high with the tool rest using the carbide tools. You need to be a bit lower for a best cut from carbide. The tool should be level or very slightly low from level when you are cutting into the wood and he is about 10 degrees or more high off of level.

Hi Mike As someone who sold Easy Wood Tools, I actually introduced them to the UK market some years back, I would first of all suggest that people view the Craig Jackson videos that he put out when he owned that company. Then the person buying these tools will know the correct way to use them. Yes, they can be angled over to around 45 degrees but PLEASE, first of all, learn to use them in the manner they were designed to be used. Then, by all means, you can experiment. You mentioned that the carbide cutters last some 40 times longer than what you could expect to achieve with a normally freshly sharpened HS tool. At that point, you said to ditch the carbide cutter and fit a new one. Sorry, all you need do is to remove the carbide cutter from the tool and apply the flat side to a diamond hone and lubricate with some good old spit. It will restore the flat edge so that it can be used again however for finishing cuts I would use a new cutter or just work my way through the sanding grits. Regards Roger Phebey

TIps ,tricks techniques! Really Mike

I use carbide sometimes, and #1 hollower to bring walls of bowls to final thickness. A few minutes with a diamond card beats paying $15 for a new cutter.

Hello Mike, I have been using round carbide tips for 7y now, since being gifted a Robert Sorby Turnmaster, at launch. I have since gone on to make my own design of tools, and find that quality of carbide tips varies just as with HSS. I was surprised to read about the amount of tear out. My "go to " wood is English sycamore from my own tree, felled in May 2009.That is said to be harder than maple, but I also turn spruce and cedar without too much trouble.I shear scrape by turning tools to up to 45 degrees as necessary, and experience fewer catches than with gouges. Sharpening with a diamond card has given me 2y life with one tip, though I am not a heavy user, and have some very fine HSS tools; using a skew or bedan to smooth ridges on odd occasions. I think I prefer a carbide tip for roughing out irregular shaped blanks and for hollowing, but it is too easy to deskill away from using HSS. Just my two pennorth. Bernard.

i like them both i use them both . carbides have there place for sure i like the fact you dont have to sharpen them . but i will agree there is a pleasant kinda joy you get from using traditional tools . carbides are scrapers pure and simple how ever you can get a good shear cut with them if you just turn them on there side a little bit . when it comes down to it there are pros and cons with both . how ever they complement each other and i have to say carbides are the tools you want when turning resin . unless your doing a jones vrs jones thing there is no reason to turn your nose up at a good set of carbides .

I started turning not too long ago, and got a set of standard cutters. But I was much more interested in turning resin, or resin/wood hybrids and got the carbide cutters from EasyWood tools. There is a world of difference when turning resin with the carbide tools. To make it even better, EasyWoods also has a carbide negative rake, and I would no longer turn resin with anything else but that. It makes turning & cutting resin an absolute dream.

A good discussion topic. I appreciate the low learning curve with the carbide tools like the Easy Wood Tools. All are used horizontal at centre line height for the cutter. They are fast to change cutters. I have a home made round version of the Easy Wood Tool made by another turner. I have used this a couple of times and did not like it. I purchased the Easy Wood Tool diamond shaped tool. I use this now and again for small grooves. To be honest I do regret spending the money since other tools work as well. I use my HSS tools most often. I did have to get a sharpening system and some jigs to help me get consistent edges. As you show with the roughing gouge and skew, the HSS tools cut with less tearout and when rubbing the bevel leave a much better finish than the carbide scraping style tools. I also do metal machining. I have a mix of carbide insert and HSS cutters. Some metals cut better with one vs the other, so good to have both in the shop. I find carbide is more brittle than HSS. I have chipped both. A chip with carbide means a new edge or discarding the insert. A chip with HSS means time to sharpen. So many things in our hobbies have pro's and con's. Personally, if I could only have carbide or HSS for turning, I would chose HSS. My observation with HSS is that the specific alloy is often not stated. HSS is a term for a wide range of tool steels. Some hold their edge longer than others. Hence some folks may feel HSS dulls fast since the alloy in their tool may sharpen to a fine edge but not keep the edge. Others may be more difficult to sharpen but hold the edge longer. I wish all manufacturers would state the alloy so we would all know what we are purchasing and the differences of a given alloy. Metal HSS cutters seem to state the alloy more than wood working tools, but not all. Dave.

I started with a set of HSS Craftsman lathe tools. I just now after 40 years have carbide tools . I enjoy the turning and shaping regardless of tool material. I noticed in the carbide demonstration his hand above the tool rest. For me I have better control with the closest hand under the tool up against the tool rest. Critical control of vibration and feed is hard to maintain with your hand on top. I have made my bowls with traditional face plates and am on here to learn how to use the chucks and not have to worry about extra scrap material for the screws to hold the pieces. I guess now I have still got some material held in the lathe chuck. I guess I will start using these chucks in the next few weeks. Presently busy with bedroom furniture for my grandkids

Turn that square cutter on a slight angle and you will get as good a cut as you did with that skew thing.

I have three carbide by the popular maker and thought I would use them a lot. I rarely get them out now. I don't like scraper for the most part and they are scrapers even if you angle them. I turn a LOT of resin and wood mills and after I cut the corners off on the bandsaw I shape the entire mill, right up to sanding, with a spindle roughing gouge. I start sanding with 240. I honestly tried the carbide but had to get it ready for sanding with a sharp rougher. I also found the carbide dulls pretty fast working into end grain. I try them in the tight inside curves at the neck but can do better with other tools. Never use them anymore. Just my thoughts, Lee

Working as a team is a great way to demonstrate the differences between carbide and hss. Although I've been turning for some time now I still use a mix of the two and my carbide came from Capt Eddie. Great video, BTW... video #2 is still set as private. EDIT: NM! It's showing now. :)

I’ve always wanted to get carbide tip tools, but they are just so expensive..... one day tho haha great video mike keep up the great work 👍👍👍👍✌️

Mind blowing nice video and thank you so much for helping

I collect mid/high end knives and have experience sharpening, but don’t have a grinder. Can you sharpen traditional tools using sharpening stones?

I've started with traditional tools, I wonder if a carbide rougher would make a good box scraper though.

Hola bunas. Por fabor en Colombia .donde las consigo .gracias

There is a time and use for everything I think. 😅 I have a few tons of old reclaimed Jarrah railway sleepers that I want to reuse. This wood contains a lot of silica and has a significant blunting effect on tools. I hope carbides will give me a bit less sharpening frustration when working with Jarrah and other high silica wood on my lathe.

I think that the carbide tools are nice when you are carving really hard wood, purely to the extent that I would be sharpening my HSS tools every hour.

Oh, by the way craft supplies two years ago Sharpening carbide cutters.

As Mike has said below used correctly and in the manner they are supposed to be used Carbide tips will leave the wood as smooth as a baby backside I would go check out perhaps Mike Waldt he uses carbide for the first time researches first and needs no sanding after you do not need to drag the arse end of the tool along the rest flat a simple angle like with a normal chisel and bingo it runs smooth as a brand new push bike .

If you will turn the square carbide tool at a slight angle it can give you a slicing cut. I can get pine smooth enough that I can start my sanding with a 320 or 400 grit sandpaper. Just takes a little practice the same as you need practice with a standard HSS tool. Still a good video.

Your bias is coming through a little bit Mike. I've used standard gouges for years but several months ago bought a Hunter #3Hercules tool. Hunter tools use a drop point and uses cupped carbide cutters. I just finished a Black Walnut bowl turned from a log with bark on and used only this one tool from start to finish. Very easy sanding with little tear out. I'm sold on has tools and just ordered another one. They may become my go to tools. Enjoy your videos

Do the negative rake carbide tools perform better for finish turning?

Hi Mike, I'm a little disappointed about the way of the comparism. Have a look to Rick Morrisons "As Rick turns". He made some Carbide tools diy, and the results are as good as with a skew, if u use the carbide tools on 45° angle. Regards from Austria

If I had to start woodturning all over again I still wouldn't go with easy tool I played with skew for hours until I got real good and pracic for hours hours and hours.the ez tool is just a scaper you can make a Cyilder a lot faster with a skew or a spindle gaugle..that being said that me

Thought the video is about carbide not HSS tools?

Already in the first few seconds of using that tool to round the timber is wrong, you can tell by the sound.....

Looks like the carbide tools are the micro version. A better comparison would be to use same size tools

Pushing the carbide tool into the wood at slow speed was guaranteed to fail - you could do that with any tool - but you didn't.

at the end of the day, the wood nor the viewer knows what type of tool you used. I have used both..like the carbide due to maintenance..

Carbite tools are better in hard wood than pine and I can tell you prefer conventional cooters

R.I.P Mike.......

Your video title is about Carbide tools - but you aren't using them...frustrating. Let the man demo he carbide's.

I think there good for beggeners

Does anyone else think the video is a little biased towards traditional , get the carbide to do the work and get all the glory with the traditional tools

You aren’t really doing the carbide any favor as you seem to prefer hhs.

You can easily sharpen the carbide cutters with just a flat diamon hone. You video is misleading and potentially costly to the turner. Frequent honing protects the edge and improves quality.

Guess this video isn't about carbide

Get somebody on this video that can actually use carbide tools the right way. That is use the right tool for the right job. I use carbide all the time and do not have the problems that you guys are having.

Barely even let the man demonstrate his carbide tools

It's clear you do not like carbide, You invited your friend to demo and pulled him off and took over the "demo" to show how a very experienced turner does it with your preferred tools . your friend appears to be very new to turning,and your agenda is clear. Maybe try this again and be fair to the turner and tools perhaps let your friend use the finisher tool and achieve the smooth finish as it is designed.

How about you actually show people how to use the carbide tools.

Too much talking and not enough demonstration. Left us with absolutely no idea how the cove turned out. Filming very amateurish. Could have been a good instructive video but fell short of being that.

i love when people try and trash carbide. its hilarious. every tool has its place, and youre not a true turner if you dont use carbide in the same way youre not a true turner if you dont use "conventional" tools. conventional are just as easy to use. heck, half the conventional tools ARE scrapers. its just funny, this whole argument online. its like arguing if a hammer or a screwdriver is the superior tool.