Buying the Best to Start With - Robert Sorby Lathe Chisels
Written: Aug 07 '08 (Updated Aug 07 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Top quality and good edge holding
Cons: Expensive
The Bottom Line: These tools you can be proud to show off to your friends, use with confidence, and hand down to your heirs (much) later.
|
|
|
| gamblin_man's Full Review: Sorby Six Piece Turning Set |
Robert Sorby has been making turning tools since the mid 18th century in Sheffield, England. They actually trace their parentage directly back to the early 1500s, when their name was Sawsby. It became Soresby, then, by the time their name was registered as an official Sheffield toolmaker, it was Sorby. The original company was Robert Sorby and Sons, named after the founder.
The edge tools from Sheffield have long been considered the best in the business and Robert Sorby is considered one of the best chisel makers in the world. I had used both Sorby lathe chisels and others in my past life as an amateur woodworker so when I decided to take up lathe work again I had the experience to know you get what you pay for. I paid almost as much for this Sorby Six Piece Turning Set as I did for the lathe I planned to use them with.
What You Get
These six mid-length Sorby chisels come in a nice box. Packed with them is a CD that explains their use and a brief manual. The six chisels are all of quality high speed steel for good edge holding. They have well turned wood handles that fit well in my hand. Since I am ambidextrous they can end up in either hand. No problem there. The six tools comprise a good starter set of lathe chisels that will allow the beginning turner (me) to do most projects. The set includes
3/4" roughing gouge
3/8" bowl gouge
3/8" spindle gouge
3/4" oval skew chisel
1/8" parting tool
1/2" round nose scraper
Each of these comes pre-ground to the most used shape and bevel but does require honing before use. I have so far left the shape as delivered and honed them to a sharp edge, some more than once already.
The CD
Once you get used to the clear but British accent of the demonstrator, the CD is well worth the time to view it. It covers each of the tools and its use with good demonstrations. It also has some simple projects to try for us beginners. Robert Sorby obviously wants the purchasers of their tools to be successful in their use.
In Use
I have now used all six of these tools to practice with and to make projects with on my new midi lathe. My first reaction was that they were too short but I was used to working on a full size bench lathe. Once I got the feel of the new lathe and its more diminutive size, the tools just seemed to flow into the spinning wood, making smooth rolls of shavings. They each took an edge easily and hold that edge a good while. The shafts are solid and thick enough to handle a reasonable distance between the wood and the lathe rest while hollowing a bowl, for example, without flex or chatter.
The roughing gouge has seen the most use and I have honed it twice already. Just a few strokes with my diamond stones have brought the sound and feel back to where I wanted it. The spindle gouge gets those coves and beads out of the spinning wood effortlessly. The edge has held well, but I did hone it once just to see if I could get it better.
The skew chisel has an oval profile instead of the flat rectangle I was used to. I really like this profile as it slides smoothly on the tool rest, adjusts easily for the best shearing angle, and requires much less initial preparation than the traditional rectangular skew. I have used it extensively with no apparent bending over of the edge. The bevel hits the wood and follows it smoothly.
I went two inches deep into the face of a piece of spinning wood with the bowl gouge when doing my first bowl project. It handled that distance from the tool rest with aplomb. The parting tool likewise cuts cleanly with little friction on its sides as it cuts quickly through the wood. The scraper was polished and then I turned a hook on the edge. The hook held well through the one bowl project I have used it on so far.
Final Thoughts
Like I did the first time, you can buy those $89.00 sets of eight tools and either give up the lathe as a hobby or go on to spend the money for quality tools. Or, you can start right the first time. I will say that I was able to sell my good tools on eBay for close to what I paid for them when we closed down my shop on the east coast. The others ended up being given away because nobody would pay for them.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
gamblin_man
|
 in Home and Garden |
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Larry
Location: Pacific Northwest
Reviews written: 320
Trusted by: 199 members
About Me:
Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.