Hi All! I usually post on the hand tool board but I have a lathe tool question so I'm seeking out the experts over here. I don't currently turn and never have but I'm currently building a Roy Underhill design spring pole lathe so that I may begin turning (spindle mostly) for furniture projects. I've been looking at the cheap (like $10-$15) sets of turning tools you always see on the bay and was wondering if anyone has ever used them?
Now before you jump all over me about saving my pennies and buying quality, hear me out on my thoughts about these tools . I realize they will not be HSS but I do not want HSS.I am looking for carbon steel tools, not HSS. I only work by hand and hone freehand on oil stones so I want to be able to sharpen them like I do all my other edge tools. My thought is that the cheap sets are likely regular O1 or even W1 tool steel and may not even be heat treated (or if they are they were probably poorly treated). However, I have re-heat treated tools before and even made my own from scratch so I am not intimidated by this if it needs to be done. I figure that for the $15 I am buying a piece of steel rough ground to resemble a turning tool, not a finished tool. I am expecting to need to do some work on them and maybe even redo the heat treating and I am ok with that.
So has anyone ever tried these cheap imports as a starting point for making turning tools? I figure for $15 for an 8 piece set it may be worth a try. If you have tried doing this I would really be interested in how the tools turned out. Thanks!
Be gentle!
Bob