I recently got a 3 piece set of carbide turning tools. They are very unconventional when compared to the HSS regular tools. I did some of my first turning today with both soft and hard wood. My impressions of the carbide tools is "WOW"   However it take some practice and you must make some adjustments.

 

  First, they are more of a scraper than a cutter.

 

  Second, the tool rest must be lower than normal.

 

 Third, you must adjust your thinking when you use them.  However, you learn quickly and you find out just  how easily these things cut.

 

I really like them. I think that some of the turning did not produce as smooth a cut as normal.

 Does anyone that uses them regularly feel the same way? Maybe it was just me and after a while

my cuts will be smooth.

 

Any input appreciated.

I agree about the scraping vs cutting thing and that some cuts are actually smoother using conventional lathe tools. Here is a link to a video for using Easy Wood Tools carbide cutters-

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjF8JM714EU

 

They are very similar in construction and design as to the tools you have.

 

 

I found the roughest finish was produced when trying to turn soft wood (pine)

 

I found another video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJCNDJpaQJM#t=52 that shows the carbide cutter being used at an angle. Maybe that would improve the quality of the cut.

I think the cut gets better with practice.

I have used them for a while and at times you can turn a piece that almost doesn't need sanding.

When turning bowls the really help on smoothing the inside.

I used the Easy Wood ones for a while. I liked them a lot. But the finish seemed to require more sanding. Maybe a learning curve. I will say they felt great and worked well though. I am currently working on duplicating a very old table for a customer. My HSS tools are performing well. Just keeping them sharp is the only draw back. I plan on buying a set when I get better at it. I enjoy reading these posts so much. True honest feedback. Thanks Ron.

First, they are more of a scraper than a cutter.

 

Well yes for many of them the flat topped ones that look sort of like a flat head screw   ten yes but Hunter sells another type  of insert that is more like a cup and can catch and dig but also can shear and slice.

 

  Second, the tool rest must be lower than normal.

 

It is not the tool rest's position so much as you angle of attack.     Some combination of how tall you are, the height of the spinning work piece and the height of the rest all work together to get your approach to the work piece slightly below center.  The end result is a negative angle of the tools edge presentation to the work.

 

 

Third, you must adjust your thinking when you use them.  However, you learn quickly and you find out just  how easily these things cut.

 

Well they are sharp and hard.  They'll still rip fibers out instead of slicing cleanly the way a skew when used properly does.  This issue is addressed by Hunter tools with their cup design. 

 

There are turners out there who dis-recommend scraping at all ever.   you'll lean why when you are turning the inside of a thin walled vessel and you bring that lovely carbide scraper to play and the turning explodes on you.  Lesson one is scrapers operate on the principle of force applied.  This is true in the machine shop as well. Conventional  Carbide tooling cuts by applying lots of pressure to the work.  Scrapers do to.

 

I really like them. I think that some of the turning did not produce as smooth a cut as normal.

Back to the fact that you are  scraping and not slicing with the cut operation.

Turn the scraper slightly on its edge and try to get it to slice like a knife blade.

 

Carbide is not a form of steel and there is no steel in it.   The wiki page is pretty informative http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide if not a little confusing by virtue of too much information.  Most probably the carbide we use is Tungston carbide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like these carbide tools. I am sure that most turning can be easily done with them. It is, as was said, a learning curve. Yesterday was a learning curve day and I am satisfied with my turnings. I really like these tools. 

The picture show a small ( 4" ) piece that I am going to make a crochet hook out of. I glued a bunch of left over pieces together and turned it part way down.  It is far from the final project, but I like what I see. There are over 12 pieces in it, hard and semi hard wood, most are exotic. The tools worked very well and my final cuts were smooth as the old HSS tools

I forgot to thank  Cliff for all the great info,  

 

Thanks Cliff

Ron, I have not been turning long at all, as a matter of fact I can count the successful items I have turned on one hand, and during my test runs working with standard turning chisels, I had a bit of a rough time, but I got my hands on some Easy Wood Tools carbide insert tools, and they are a dream to use.

By the way, I love your turnings!