DIY Carbide Woodturning Tools

[hemmjo]

Very nice execution, but it should be noted that you cannot get carbide as sharp as you can a good lathe chisel. I can see where carbide would be useful for roughing work, and for some of the very hard woods. If you look close at the handles made in the video, the surface was very rough and required a lot of sanding. Sharp tools = less sanding and less dust while turning.

It was interesting to see all of the machines he had made from wood for his work shop.

[wizard69]

Very nice execution,

Yes indeed! Considering how much one pays for similar tools that don't look as good these are fantastic.

but it should be noted that you cannot get carbide as sharp as you can a good lathe chisel. I can see where carbide would be useful for roughing work, and for some of the very hard woods. If you look close at the handles made in the video, the surface was very rough and required a lot of sanding. Sharp tools = less sanding and less dust while turning.

Carbide has its place just like high speed steel and even carbon steel.

It was interesting to see all of the machines he had made from wood for his work shop.

In any event this is why I'm responding to your post, the video is worth a watch simply because of all of those tools. To be completely honest I've not had a lot of luck with buying the lower end Chinese tools and even a more expensive drill press did not live up to billing. I'm actually hoping to have more time to a lot to shop build up in the future and frankly homemade tools are likely to be part of that. This mostly due to the quality and price being so out of sync. When you need to consider professional level equipment and pricing to get something that works, home built tools really start to make sense. The alternative is to rebuild old American built tools which I might do too.

I know this idea isn't for everybody and I know that the quality of home built tools can vary widely, which sometimes leads to negativity, but I'm certain I can save money. As for quality they only need to get the job done, well and be safe. Frankly this is why I keep coming back to www.homemadetools.net/, some great ideas, some examples of what not to do and great modifications to store bought equipment.