These Carter fellas make a darn serious M42 tool, huh? Three new 1" x 3/8" scrapers epoxy mounted into oiled white ash handles with polished copper ferrules. I swear, this better not become a slippery slope!
-
It's time to cast your vote in the January 2025 Turning Challenge. (click here for details) -
Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Alan Weinberg for "Elm Burl Bowl" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 27, 2025 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
3 new Carter scrapers
- Thread starter Steve Tiedman
- Start date
Acme grooving tool? What was it's intended purpose? It doesn't look like it was a hand-held turning tool to begin with.
I assume it's first job was possibly ship axles or drive shafts. I adapted the idea from Ashley Harwood. I realized I never put the handles on my Stuart batty scrapers, so I ditched the handle for my experiment. NRS works perfectly on the outside since I am 1/4" off the toolrest when finishing the outside, it's not a problem.
Interesting, maybe I'll check it out. Thanks.
Looks similar to the John Jordan double-ended scraper.
With handle.
Works well on convex curves.
That looks like an excellent idea. Since my cnc is up and running I might have to prototype one from hdpe.
In a moment of weakness... no, it was deliberate... last night I sent more coin to Carter and Son for a 1" wide radius skew and a 1/2" spindle gouge.
I have a C&S skew 1-1/4". I find it too thick and heavy. Great for roughing or tendons, but hard to get a light touch for fine finishes (at least for me it is). I much prefer my 1" D-way. Maybe I just need to lower the included angle more....but that's a lot of grinding with the amount of steel in the C&S.
I thought the same thing about the weight when deciding between the 1" and the 1-1/4". I do own a 1-1/4" M2 Crown (7mm thich or 9/32") which works well, but I've wanted to try something different from my 1" x 5/16" thick M2 P&N (Aussie, no longer made) and this one meets the want, which is M42. The thickness doesn't worry me, but I hear you about regrinding the bevel angles with that thickness. If you still own a course stone wheel for your grinder, or even a hand-held angle grinder, I think you can draw back the bevels a little bit without too much effort. A course belt sander would do it, too (edge trailing the belt rotation).
Last night I tried to get a feel of the Carter bevel angle looking at the photos on the website and thought decreasing the angle a bit might be warranted, but I'll see what it's like when it arrives. If it's at 40 degrees inclusive (20 each side), I'll leave it for a while. If it's steeper, or the bevels are shorter than the old rule of thumb of the bevel lengths being 1.5x longer than the thickness of the blade (about 9/16", which should be about 35 degrees), I'll draw out the bevels just a little bit. 35-40 degrees will serve well.
After trying several things, I ended up with a 60 grit CBN wheel on a bench grinder for the heavy grinding. I buy Thompson skews and square-end scrapers (from 1/2" up to 1-1/4" and reshape and grind the bevels to suit me. What that wheel, a 600 grit CBN for sharpening, and a 1200 grit CBN on a Tormek for my spindle gouges I'm a happy turner!
I couldn't believe the difference between the 60 grit and the 80 grit wheel I used before. Changing shape and bevel angles and grinding my custom NRS with even thick steel is so much easier. And no problem going directly from 80 grit to 600 grit. (Hmm, I wonder if I should look for a 40 griit CBN!
)JKJ
Richard Raffan and Tomislav Tomasic are linked for videos on grinding and sharpening skews in this thread from about a year ago, which also has other times and thoughts to ponder. Tomislav does a great job (better overall video with guidance and explanation) showing the "1.5x thickness" method of developing the skew bevels, and creating a swept/radius edge (if that style is if interest-I use it).
I've not seen D-Way, Thompson, nor Carter turning tools in person. Other than a Packard-labeled rectangular HSS parting tool, I've not bought a turning tool since the days of the debates between Crown Pro-PM, Jerry Glaser, and Hamlet 2030/2060 tools- 20 years and more. (It was Pro-PM gouges for me.) I don't think these others were in the business of turning tools yet.
I have no doubt that today's brands have upped the performance bar across the whole turning spectrum of tools with the steel alloys they utilize. The giant in the room, Sorby, still seems to be sitting on their hands, the same M2 high speed steel they offered 30 and more years ago. But, they still make them in England, they now at least roll over the corners of skews, and they are still the benchmark for other M2 tools. If I were a new turner, and on a budget, I'd buy Sorby over anything from China. If money were not as much of a concern, I'd look to these other brands, including Crown and their M42 and cryo M2 offerings.
I have no doubt that today's brands have upped the performance bar across the whole turning spectrum of tools with the steel alloys they utilize. The giant in the room, Sorby, still seems to be sitting on their hands, the same M2 high speed steel they offered 30 and more years ago. But, they still make them in England, they now at least roll over the corners of skews, and they are still the benchmark for other M2 tools. If I were a new turner, and on a budget, I'd buy Sorby over anything from China. If money were not as much of a concern, I'd look to these other brands, including Crown and their M42 and cryo M2 offerings.
Just wondering, are you asking in response to the last message about skew sharpening? ( Your link appears to be to D-Way's negative rake scrapers. )