# easy wood tools



## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

I'm new to bowl turning and looking to buy gouges and roughing tools.
Have any of you used these? 

Being a finish carpenter for most of my life, I like the idea of the carbide tips.

I watched their demos and liked the simplicity of laying the tool flat on the rest, and how much material these would remove without having to resharpen so often.

www.easywoodtools.com











I appreciate your input good or bad:thumbsup:


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

They do work. It is purely a scaping technique instead of cutting so you will probably get more tearout of the wood. However they have almost no learning curve what so ever so people are jumping on them. I think a bowl gouge does a better job and is more controllable but you do have to spend the time to learn to use it and sharpen it properly.
The cutters do dull. With some effort they can be sharpened with diamond hones. If you buy aftermarket cutters they can be had for about $2.50 each but you might have to buy 10 of them.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Also, remember NEVER use a roughing gouge (traditional style) on a bowl.


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

sawdustfactory said:


> Also, remember NEVER use a roughing gouge (traditional style) on a bowl.


well that was kind of a blanket statement there, sawdust.

Care to elaborate more with a novice like me listening?
Thanks


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

tcleve4911 said:


> well that was kind of a blanket statement there, sawdust.
> 
> Care to elaborate more with a novice like me listening?
> Thanks


I'm not much more than a novice myself, but when I went to a bowl turning class, rule number one -- use a BOWL gouge, not a roughing gouge.

It's a safety thing -- the tang is heavier, the shaft of the tool is heavier, and the chances of it turning into a piece of sharp flying metal are smaller.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

They are great tools but expensive. Here's a discussion of making your own C1 roughing tool for very little

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/first-homemade-lathe-gouge-19990/

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/2nd-homemade-lathe-tool-20047/

Paul


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

What duncsuss said. Also due to the grain orientation for bowl turning and the bevel angle on a roughing gouge you are way more likely to get a "catastrophic catch".


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Here's from Craft Supplies USA 
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/article/32?Args=

I recommend any new turner checking them out. Their resources section on their website is full of useful info.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I have five of the easy wood tools. I consider them another special tool. I still prefer my regular lathe tools. I think the easy wood tools come in handy for certain cuts, inside curves of bowls, lidded boxes, etc. For some cuts I turn the tool so it is taking more of a shear cut. I don't like the lack of feel of the tool when compared to using the bevel of a traditional tool. I would not recommend them to a new turner. Learn how to use traditional tools, including sharpening, and you will be a much better turner in the long run. 
Mike Hawkins


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Here's one of the best designs I've seen, more of a shearing cut than scraping; if you hold it at the right angle.:

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s...ols___Easy_Finisher___easy_finisher_ci0?Args=


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Thanks to all of you for your replys.

Safety is #1 always.......

I watched the videos of the Co1 and was impressed at the amount of material that was beeing removed in a very short time frame

Am I being duped by an advertizement or am I watching very experienced turners who could turn anything from nothing?

I am a traditional finish carpenter that has cut and fit wood for many years. 
I use carbide whenever possible in my saw blades, planer blades, even drill bits. It just lasts a lot longer than HSS.

The replaceable carbide tips just seem to fit my style.

So as I embrace this new way of working with wood, I need help in deciding which way to go with the tools, buy them once and be happy with them.

Sorry for the long post:icon_cool:


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

If you have some basic tools you could always make yourself some tools too. You can either use round stock or square stock and make the "Easy" style tools but instead of carbide cut up some old steel skilsaw blades(not carbide tipped). Take a hacksaw and notch the end of the square stock then drill and tap it for a machine screw and cut a piece of the skilsaw blade in the profile you want. Just put a back bevel on it for a cutting edge.

You could also make an Oland style tool real cheap too. I made one of these and love it. Heres a link to help explain it.

http://aroundthewoods.com/oland.shtml

Don't underestimate what you can do yourself.:thumbsup:


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