oland vs. Easy Rougher-style tool

HSS can be made sharper, and hss toolbits are much more easily shaped to a particular profile than carbide inserts are. Even if you upgrade to cobalt HSS, usually cheaper than carbide. You can get carbide tipped tool bits in the same format, if you want to play with carbide. HSS takes impact loads (interrupted cuts) better than carbide cutting metal

- I don't know that it matters much cutting wood.

Carbide is never quite as sharp, but gets duller slower. As such, so long as it stays sharp enough, you can hog off a lot of wood without stopping to sharpen (or turn the insert, IIRC it's a circular insert and can be turned for a fresh edge.) The main advantage of inserts is in production CNC tooling, since the geometry does not change (they are swapped or turned, not sharpened, in industrial use.)

2 totally different tools, with 2 different materials for cutting/scraping? One is a big scraper that roughs out a bowl blank with carbide and is way over priced (woodchuck is $65)

and the other is smaller, uses a 1/4" HSS cutter and is usually used at a shearing angle to shape and hollow..

Other than that, they're the same tool..

mac

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Nothing says you can't make an Oland for 1/2" or even 3/4" toolbits - other than the bits cost more unless you hit a good machinist estate sale.

I got the woodchuck. I've only used it for a few hours, but so far it works great. It even does a fairly smooth cut with the sharp radius cutter taking light cuts.

Like here:

and the next few pics.

Local machine tooling companies or MSCdirect or others sell M42 (better than M2 which is better than normal HSS).

Molly steel is great - trade name is MOMAX for the 'HSS' cutter.

They are available from 1/8" to 3/4" in my shop - but likely much larger for big shops. e.g. cannon or stone columns.

Mart>

The newer micro/nano grained carbide is much finer than the stuff you use for circular saw blades. These bits can be purchased from several places, and are comparable to what you get from the makers of the Easy Rougher, and a lot cheaper, but you do have to buy 5 or so at a time. They are not made to be resharpened, they are disposable. They cut very nicely, and cleanly, especially for end grain, like boxes and hollow forms. The Oland tool is a scraper as well. The smaller general size is 3/8 inch, and makes it almost catch proof. Not because of the type of cutter, but because of the size. They both work.

robo hippy

No, but that still doesn't make it a roughing scraper any more than grinding a groove on top of the bit makes it a bowl gouge..

mac

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I use a few 3/8", but mostly 1/4".. Oland definitely knew what he was doing..

>> >>

mac

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I'm waiting for mine to get here... Ken had some really horrendous weather and couldn't get it in the mail last week..

I've done 2 pieces since I ordered it and could have REALLY used it on both :(

mac

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From an article in last years American Wood Turner (co written by Alan Lacer and a PhD in Materials) and a discussion with a fellow Engineer (MS Materials) the above is not quite true. Any more then the story that HCS is sharper then HSS.

What HCS is, is -easier- to get scary sharp then HSS, just as HSS is easier to get scary sharp then a Carbide edge

What is HCS - Carbide steel or cobalt steel ? HSS is a broad spectrum of alloys not a specific. M2, M42 are HSS as is Mo-Max.

Sapphire is sharper and is used to cut hydrocarbon and like materials.

Mart> In article

I haven't personally taken the electron microscope or high magnification photos, but I have read books on the various tool steels and used carbide, HSS (various alloys) and carbon steel tools - I would humbly disagree - the HSS will take a sharper edge and this is because it is softer - it won't hold the edge all that long, but while it is there, it is sharper. If you look at carbide, particularly the inserts for metal lathes, the edges are rounded. Sharpen with a diamond and look under magnification - you just don't get a true razor edge - hone all you want, it fractures on grain boundaries and you get a less sharp edge - at least this is what I see and what my reading suggests. But, whatever works for you

Bill.. Is "nano grain" or whatever they call it just a marketing thing, or does it actually have smaller grain for a sharper edge?

mac

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HCS ?

How about a vendor ? or use.

I cut plastic and fiber from time to time. It would be useful on fortified Al and Si-Bronze.

Mart> >

snip

well, that sounds like a fun research project - the way you heat treat the material affects grain size -it's been a very long time since those classes

I did find this abstract, though I must admit to not reading the article

Abstract Dense nanocrystalline BaTiO3 (BT) ceramics with grain size (GS) 50 nm were successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The nanoindentation experiment was used to test the hardness of different GS BT ceramics. It was found that the hardness of 50 nm nanograin BT ceramics increased 82% than that of 1.2 ?m BT ceramics fabricated by conventional sintering (CS) process. Dislocation pinning resulting from the increase of grain boundary by ultrafine GS are believed to be the dominant factor in raising strength. Restriction on dislocation generation and mobility due to the domain wall motion and sliding imposed by ultrafine GS are expected to be exceptionally important. At the same time, the large stress in nanograin BT ceramics may also play a role in producing high strength. These differences of the hardness behavior between BT ceramics are attributed to the variation of the resultant microstructure, especially the GS of the ceramics.

What's that mean in English, Bill?

mac

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I think it means that the technology is improving to the point that they can make it harder and sharper by using smaller particles. The difference between the final sharpness is getting less and less, hopefully to the point where there is no difference.

robo hippy

aaah, mac - I think this is where I follow Mark Twain's advise about silence.....