# Carbide V's High Speed Steel and whatever else might be out there



## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

I have never used any carbide chisels. 

From a wood turners point of view I am interested to know the pro's and con's of each including any limitations thereof

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

I haven't used carbides either but from what I hear they keep there edge a lot longer but are hard to sharpen. I think they cut differently, more like a scraper, but I might be wrong.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

How do you shawn a round carbide tip

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

DaveTTC said:


> I have never used any carbide chisels.
> 
> From a wood turners point of view I am interested to know the pro's and con's of each including any limitations thereof
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


The carbide I have seen are shaped cutters which are screwed onto a steel shank.

A well known brand in the US is Easy Wood Tools whose chisels are all carbide cutters.

The UK Robert Sorby has a HollowMaster tool which takes different shapes. Really carbide scrapers. They have just announced the TurnMaster, which takes carbide, or HSS or TN coated HSS cutters. I have seen the ads but so far this has not got to the stores.

Carbide in theory is not quite as sharp as HSS, but it holds its edge longer. This is the main reason for carbide. A longer working life.
Carbide is hard to sharpen, which I think is why the market went to the replaceable cutter. Unscrew and move the cutter to get a fresh edge, or eventually replace the cutter. Fast. The replacement costs vary based on where you purchase.

I use the Hunter Hercules tool a lot. A round cutter. The edge is pointed up, it is cutting rather than scraping.
http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...&Product_Code=101830&Category_Code=tools-hunt


On the HSS side there are many different steel alloys being sold. The nuances are the same - how sharp can you get the steel, how easy is it to sharpen, and how long does it hold a decent edge.

I have purchased some tools from Thomson Lathe Tools. The "standard" offering is a 10% vanadium steel, powder metallurgy. He also offers some styles in a 15% vanadium steel.
http://thompsonlathetools.com/products.asp

The powder metallurgy is meant to be finer crystal sizes. The theory is the fine droplets cool so far the crystal are not able to grow as large as in normal steel production.

The topic of steel selection is always hotly debated. I like my Thomson tools. I am able to sharpen them and they do cut well.

Other people like brand x and say the price of the more "exotic" steels is not worth it.

Glaser Hytec are one of the premium brands of tools in the US.
This page on their site has more about the CPM steels which they use, same as Thomson.
http://www.glaserhitec.com/shop/cpm-steels/

So the "pro" of the exotic steels is better edge retention. The "con" is cost.

The carbide tools have a very small cutting area. Normally this is not a "con", but for people who like the different cutting angles a fingernail grind offers on a bowl gouge for different parts of the bowl, I do not see how this could easily be done with the carbide.

Edit. In case you really meant normal hand chisels for e.g., paring, dovetail work. I have not seen these in carbide. I have no idea if they exist.
The latest steel for hand chisels is being sold by Lee Valley in their just releases PM-V11 series of chisels. See this link for the technical information.
Meant to hold an edge longer but be easier to sharpen.

http://www.pm-v11.com/


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Edit. In case you really meant normal hand chisels for e.g., paring, dovetail work. I have not seen these in carbide. I have no idea if they exist.
> The latest steel for hand chisels is being sold by Lee Valley in their just releases PM-V11 series of chisels. See this link for the technical information.
> Meant to hold an edge longer but be easier to sharpen.
> 
> http://www.pm-v11.com/


Thanks Dave, a very comprehensive answer. Yes wood turning chisels is what I wanted to know about

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Still interested to hear what others have to say

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Just bumping this again, hoping to hear from other wood turners.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Davearmie (Jul 17, 2012)

I know almost nothing about turning wood, but as a machinist I work with carbide tools all the time. The carbide end mills I work with are extremely sharp (I could show you my fingers to see how sharp).  

One of the biggest reasons for a carbide tipped tool is the cost. Carbide can be as much as 5 times more expensive as HSS.  It is also more brittle, so a long carbide bar may shatter under the cutting force.

Sharpening is not a problem as long as you can get a silicon carbide (green) grinding wheel. They are softer, and will break down faster than Aluminum oxide wheels. After that you can finish them off with a diamond stone. I would not recommend using a belt grinder.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Davearmie said:


> I know almost nothing about turning wood, but as a machinist I work with carbide tools all the time. The carbide end mills I work with are extremely sharp (I could show you my fingers to see how sharp).
> 
> One of the biggest reasons for a carbide tipped tool is the cost. Carbide can be as much as 5 times more expensive as HSS.  It is also more brittle, so a long carbide bar may shatter under the cutting force.
> 
> Sharpening is not a problem as long as you can get a silicon carbide (green) grinding wheel. They are softer, and will break down faster than Aluminum oxide wheels. After that you can finish them off with a diamond stone. I would not recommend using a belt grinder.


Thx for the info, and food timing. I just won a carbide tipped chisel in another post and was discussing sharpening.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Davearmie (Jul 17, 2012)

I Just saw the tools you won. When the inserts get too dull to use just rotate them to a sharp edge. When you have used up all the sharp edges on the insert it's easier to just replace them than resharpen them.


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