Here’s the difference...

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
40/40 grind bowl gouge vs carbide.

D4DE967A-D59C-4E98-8214-F80356C85BF2.jpeg
 

wndopdlr

wally
Senior User
New to turning, I started with carbide tools.........and hours of sanding. I am transitioning to cutting tools and have purchased a sharpening station. So much better results and less sanding. I am using Turnawoodbowl.com on YouTube for reference and progressing. Covid has shut down so many one on one lessons that it makes the learning curve longer without personal instruction.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
For a carbide tool cut, that's actually pretty good or maybe the stock is easy to turn. I've seen a lot worse.
 

Bill_L

Bill
Corporate Member
It’s all about having a sharp tool. I admit that sharpening the gouges hasn’t been easy for me and I thought carbide may be a better option. Certainly easier to sharpen. But I’d rather learn how to sharpen correctly as that likely opens up more opportunities with the piece you’re turning.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
It’s all about having a sharp tool. I admit that sharpening the gouges hasn’t been easy for me and I thought carbide may be a better option. Certainly easier to sharpen. But I’d rather learn how to sharpen correctly as that likely opens up more opportunities with the piece you’re turning.
It is also about angles, presentation of the tool, riding the bevel, and speed/feed.
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
Carbide tools work great for rough shaping and removing waste quickly. After that, one needs to transition to better tools. Carbide tools used a in rough shaping will get you there quicker and with less sharpening but you still need to switch to HSS or spend valuable time sanding like crazy. Mike has given you some good pointers and shown you some great examples.
 

cyclopentadiene

Update your profile with your name
User
Carbide tools are scrapers and it is all about the angle as scrapers tend to tear the wood fibers. A the angel of the cut with a bowl gouge makes a sheer cut across the fibers and henerallyvleaves very little tearout as long as they are sharp.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
Try a carbide tool on spalted wood. Not a pretty sight. And I have always thought the carbide tools were ridiculously expensive.

Roy G
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
Carbide tipped tools have been around a while. It never really caught on for good reason.
From a 1946 Deltagram (photoshop cropped front and back from that issue)
$4.65 in 1946 adjusted for inflation is $67.67 in 2021 dollars.


1   Deltagram 1946.jpg
 
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cyclopentadiene

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User
They have their application. Inside hollow forms where all of the alternatively are some type scraper, they are great. Generally they hold an edge for a long time
A square tool like easywood is much safer as a round tool tends to twist if you have a catch and it is easy to pull your hand into the piece
The easywood triangle shape is good as an alternative to a parting tool as both are scrapers. However, a parting tool is the easiest tool to sharpen. Also ypu are limited by the triangle shape for deep coves so a narrow parting tool is still a better option
The square tool is useful when rounding a square spindle to round as you take off a lot of material quickly. Just an opinion but it seems a little faster than a roughing gouge
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
@Mike Davis thanks for posting that - your hand must be getting much better?!

I would request the next comparison of a HSS scraper in comparison to the carbide (IMHO a more "fair" comparison)
Finally I used an "upside down" grind on my round-nosed scraper to achieve an active "burr" for finish scraping and wonder how that finish compares...
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I've been thinking about alternative approaches to the Carbide scraper as a shear cutting tool.
May experiment with that, I will need to get a square carbide tool.
Also don't have any negative rake carbide nor HSS negative rake scraper.
Have drawn a burr on a conventional scraper similar to a card scraper and that works well for a minute or so.

But, I'm sure this has all been done before.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The word "scrape" when applied to woodturning can be misdirecting. Cramming an old screwdriver in a spinning piece of wood could be called "scraping".
The burr on HSS is actually a cutting edged tool, small as it may be.
Look at the results in the shaving pile rather than the turned piece of wood. A good "shear scrape" tool will produce shavings so fine and light that if dropped in your hand, you wouldn't feel them.
Below are what a good technique and sharp shear scraping edge will produce. Under that whispy layer are chunks of wood that result from actual scraping or a bowl gouge. Naturally the nature of the species being turned will have a bearing. What is shown are shavings from a small cherry bowl.

1    shearscrape - 1.jpg
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
The word "scrape" when applied to woodturning can be misdirecting. Cramming an old screwdriver in a spinning piece of wood could be called "scraping".
Thanks Bob,
That made me laugh out loud! (simply because I have a few "screwdriver tools")
I agree with the shaving result, but like Mike's original post - I would like to see the surface of the wood and especially if it is of a face-plate turning where the grain alternates.
I know what the results are like, but would like to see them documented. Comparing carbide,high-angle carbide, and HHS in a scraping "test" to show-off the capabilities of the different tools / tool geometry.
 

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