Life of tools

[Frank Kobilsek]

I ordered a new 1/2" spindle gouge (Taylor, HSS) this week to replace my current gouge that I bought in Sept 05. That's 18 months to wear it down to the point it almost doesn't fit in my Wolverine vari-gage. One demostrator I see often says he goes through 2 per year. How long do tools last other Creekers?

Frank

[Mike Vickery]

I have been turning for over 3 years and have not wore any of my tools out yet. I actually sharpen quite frequently when I am turning, but I probably turn a total of about 6 to 8 hours per week. I count finishing and sanding time in with turning time.
I could see where someone who turns 40 hours a week and only used a couple of tools may wear them out fairly fast, but 2 gouges a year sounds like a lot to me.

[John Hart]

I think I've been turning exactly two years. several months ago, I counted up all the pictures I've taken, and there were a couple hundred projects or so. I haven't worn anything out to the point I can't get a bunch more mileage, but then, I use a lot of different tools because I really don't know what the heck I'm doing!!! I sharpen a lot too.

[Rich Stewart]

I'm just about the same as John. Two years and a couple months and my tools still have lots of steel. I sharpen a lot but I don't take much off at a time. And i use lots of different ones.

[Dario Octaviano]

Been turning for 3 years...but turns very seldom. Turned several hundred pens but only 25 or so bowls to date. About half of those bowls were turned in 2 weeks.

I am only using 5 tools (though I have a lot more) and you can hardly notice the length change on them. At the rate I am going... my current tools will out live me.

[Reed Gray]

I have 4 gouges that I use for turning bowls, (all 1/2 inch or 5/8, depending on how you measure), and even though I turn a lot, they will last me for years to come, although 2 are getting rather short. I use scrapers for all of my rough shaping, and the gouges for the final cuts. I also have a 320 grit wheel that I sharpen the gouges on.
robo hippy

[Keith Burns]

Unfortunately, my tools never wear out. There is always a newer better model that comes along that I'm forced to buy

[Steve Schlumpf]

Frank - still have all my original tools. I do sharpen them often but haven't really noticed that much wear on any of them.

[Jeff Myers]

I'm in need of replacing my 3/8" gouge now, it's only 1 year old,,,i know
i lost a good 1/2" right off the bat changing the shape on it to a fingernail
grind which took me several times to get right,,,then i got smart and got the wolverine jig and sharpening now doesn't take off as much when i just have to touch it up a little each time now. I've only got a couple inches of the flute left so the wolverine jig doesn't grip so good now that it only has
round bar to hold onto,,,the flat plate on top of the jig used to sit down on the edges of the flute to keep it from rolling over in the jig,,now that the flat plate is tightened down on the round surface of the gouge, it's tough to line up and keep lined up in that jig,,,i'm thinking of flatening the top of the gouge's bar so the jig will hole better.
Also,,,i was sharpening quite a bit as i am a slooooow learner and was only turning very dry, HARD as a ROCK exotics,,,,but now that i've learned the benefits of turning green wood,,,the edge stays so much sharper and longer than before.