D-Way Beading tools

[Gary Conklin]

If you were going to get 2 of the beading tools what size would you get and why?

[John Hart]

I would get the 3/16 and the 3/8 if all I could have was two of them.

My reasoning would be that I could accomplish all sized beads....3/8ths for the larger, and the 3/16ths for the smaller ones. Heck, I use a skew for everything now...those things would be a gift!! Nice looking tools too.

[Russ Denz]

Gary,
If you want to give them a spin for yourself, come on by and play with mine
Russ

[Matt Hutchinson]

I bought the 1/8" and 3/16" because I can (and have) made my own profile scrapers for larger beads. Also, I had a specific piece that I wanted to use them for when purchasing them.

Hutch

P.S. Personally, for spindle turning I find a more traditional profile scraper to be more effective. That is, cleaner cuts in a wider variety of woods. I honed the D-Way beading tools to a mirror shine, but still didn't get the kind of results I was expecting. I am still experimenting with them, and my opinion could change.

[Gary Conklin]

My thoughts are leading me to 3/16" and 3/8", like John suggested, though I don't really have a good justification...

[Jim Burr]

I bought the 1/8" and 3/16" because I can (and have) made my own profile scrapers for larger beads. Also, I had a specific piece that I wanted to use them for when purchasing them.

Hutch

P.S. Personally, for spindle turning I find a more traditional profile scraper to be more effective. That is, cleaner cuts in a wider variety of woods. I honed the D-Way beading tools to a mirror shine, but still didn't get the kind of results I was expecting. I am still experimenting with them, and my opinion could change.

Those are the 2 I bought...I am doing all my "Atkins" stuff with them. Ran them over some soft curly maple and had some minor tear out. Presentation seems to be the key. I'm tossing around the idea of getting his 1/4". I had the chance to try out a Sorby side by side. From a comparison stand point...the Sorby's presentation angle scared me.

[Russell Neyman]

If you think that a particular piece of wood will produce tearout, coat that area with CA glue first. You'll barely notice it under most finishes, and you can still sand it after you've cut the bead, albeit with much more difficulty. And that's the tradeoff: less tearout versus harder to sand.