Has anyone ever made a really good DIY Lathe Chisel?

[beeg]

The lathe tools from 1980 are made of carbon steel. So ya have to be careful while grinding them, so ya don't lose the temper. You can tell the type of steel, by the spark pattern when grinding them.

[pennview]

Beeg, thanks for the input. I did grind a set of Shopsmith chisels the other day, but I didn't take note of the spark pattern. In any event, I just looked at the Shopsmith web site and see that they say the 5-piece set is of high speed steel and that this has been the standard Shopsmith set for many, many years. Great Neck advertises theirs as high carbon tool steel. Whatever the metal, they work well and hold an edge.

[woodburner]

Fellow Woodturners,

I believe Shopsmith has been having their chisels made of high speed steel for some time now. My first set I received with my SS are carbon steel, but later sets I have purchased from them are HSS.

If the chisels you have are stamped with HSS on them, they are high speed steel. The carbon steel chisels do not have anything stamped on them regarding the type of steel they are made of.

Also, all of the SS turning chisels are made overseas now.

Using carving chisels for turning is not a good idea. Most are mae of cold steel and will break under the pressure woodturning will force on them. If you are just starting out in woodturning, you are much better off buying some actual lathe chisels. With experience, you can gain the knowlege you need to make your own chisels. Just guessing at what angles and grinds you need will probably lead to injury. Shop around online for a decent set of lathe chisels. Harbor frieght sells a complete set of spindle tools for around $30.00, along with Grizzly Woodworking Tools. They are no means the best, but they can get you started and also give you an idea of how much grinding is actually involved in creating certain types of chisels.

Gouges are the toughest to make from scratch as you need to be able to cut a flute in the round bar. You will need a metal/machining lathe to accomplish that.

[shipwright]

I need some turned finials for a table I'm making. It would be nice if they were identical so I thought I might try using shaper knives. I happened to have about three feet of brass bar in the shop so I drilled it and bolted the cutters on and guess what? It worked like a charm. I may not use these particular cutters but the idea does work. It makes me think I may have made the round corners on my kitchen crown moldings the hard way, I think you can probably use the same cutters on the lathe to make corners that you use in the shaper to make the straight parts. (Round outside corners on crown molding is a characteristic of antique French country furniture)

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Paul M

[shipwright]

This may not show the corners too well but they are there. Sorry only shot I had that showed them at all... but of course, I digress.

Paul M
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[charlese]

I need some turned finials for a table I'm making. It would be nice if they were identical so I thought I might try using shaper knives. I happened to have about three feet of brass bar in the shop so I drilled it and bolted the cutters on and guess what? It worked like a charm....Paul M

Super idea and super innovation!:D This idea may help many of us!

THANK YOU!!!

I can see it will even work with my lathe dancers.