HOW TO video posted for using this website and our Cross Reference chart!

HOW TO video posted for using this website and our Cross Reference chart!

TO my woodturning community and customers!

Please watch this video if you are having any questions about which insert fits which tool. It’s a little impromtu but is very informative.There are new tools coming on the market all the time and our inserts fit a vast majority of them.  We’ve created the cross reference chart to make it easy to find which size fits your tool.  Of course if you still have questions, please feel free to call or contact us with any questions!

thanks so much,

Ron Campbell

 

Click the video below:

 

Press release!

Press release!

For immediate release!

AZ Carbide are extremely pleased to announce that as from February 1st 2019 UK based craft and woodworking supply company, Craft Supplies / Turners Retreat will be the worldwide distributors (except USA & Canada of AZ Carbide products

All North America enquiries, please continue to order direct with AZ Carbide and

Retail stores and outlets worldwide…are you interested in stocking AZ Carbide cutters?

 For wholesale enquires please contact Craft Supplies / Turners Retreat by using the details below, to become an AZ Carbide stockist in your area.

 As Craft Supplies / Turners Retreat establish new stockists of our products we will add those companies details to our website.

 

Craft Supplies / Turners Retreat
2 Faraday Close
Harworth
North Nottinghamshire
DN11 8RU
England
+44 (0) 1302 744344
Advantages of Round Carbide Inserts

Advantages of Round Carbide Inserts

In our ongoing efforts to introduce and inform newcomers to woodturning we are going to discuss a few basic principles related to the different shaped carbide inserts for woodturning projects. Although this entry may read much like our recent posts on diamond and square, it is geared to be a useful and educational outline for newcomers to woodturning.  Admittedly, we’re also working on our SEO rankings, but don’t let that discourage you from reading further. Round carbide inserts have a specific use on the lathe and in your tool box.  Basically, round inserts are great for curves and rounding and even hollowing small forms.  They are most commonly used for finishing and detail work.  There are many youtube vids on woodturners demonstrating techniques. Round carbide inserts come in a variety sizes and cutting angles to fit many different tools, especially our popular AZ Carbide Hollowing systems including the Little Hogger and Pro Hogger.  AZ carbide carries not only it’s own inserts but makes a square insert to fit the Carter , Rikon and other custom tool lines.

Carbide provides better rigidity than steel. Carbide is tough and extremely heat resistant and used for high speed applications on the lathe. Carbide itself has enjoyed a long and popular reputation of being a longer lasting and stronger with most applications of carbide tools being for cutting.  Everything from saw blades to ball point pens have a sharper longer lasting edge.   Carbide tips do eventually dull. Sharpening uses the same techniques as tool steel, but because they are so hard, you use a different abrasive. Something coated in diamond or carbide abrasion wheel is commonplace.  However, the beauty of carbide is that they are affordable, and can be thrown out when dull.   Many woodturners use a combination of both carbide and steel.  Check out the blog where we weigh in on that here.

 

Shop our ROUND carbide inserts here!

The advantage of square carbide inserts for woodturning.

The advantage of square carbide inserts for woodturning.

In our ongoing efforts to introduce and inform newcomers to woodturning we are going to discuss a few basic principles related to the different shaped carbide inserts for woodturning projects. Square carbide inserts have a specific use on the lathe and in your tool box.  Basically, square inserts are great for roughing out work.  They come in a variety sizes and cutting angles to fit many different tools.  AZ carbide carries not only it’s own inserts but makes a square insert to fit the Carter , Rikon and other custom tool lines.

Carbide is a binary compound of carbon with an element of lower or comparable electronegativity. Solid carbide provides better rigidity than steel. Carbide is tough and extremely heat resistant and used for high speed applications on nonferrous materials, plastics and, other project material that is tough on machinery including the lathe. Carbide itself has enjoyed a long and popular reputation of being a longer lasting and stronger with most applications of carbide tools being for cutting.  Everything from saw blades to ball point pens have a sharper longer lasting edge.  Well, maybe the pens aren’t sharper than our inserts! Carbide tips do eventually dull. Sharpening uses the same techniques as tool steel, but because they are so hard, you use a different abrasive. Something coated in diamond or carbide abrasion wheel is commonplace.  However, the beauty of carbide is that they are affordable, and can be thrown out when dull.  An additional advantage to square inserts is that you can flip the sides 4 times before replacing.  The alternative is to use and repeatedly sharpen old school steel tools/ handles.  Many woodturners use a combination of both.  Check out the blog where we weigh in on that here.

 

Get yours here!

Here is a video of our square insert in action:

 

Carbide inserts versus wood lathe Chisels

Carbide inserts versus wood lathe Chisels

Every hobby, sport and past time has it’s share of debates which help drive competition and innovation in that specific arena which in turn gives it life.  Luthiers argue over whether a Taylor or Martin may sound better, but at the end of the day a Taylor’s neck is not engineered for a long life, but a temperamental one.  This fuels the race to build a better mouse trap…in this example a guitar.  Anyone rebuilding a  67′ GTO is going to have to face a lot of opinions on which shifter and intake perform better.  The examples here are endless. One of the most polarizing debates amongst woodturners on lathe tools today is carbide vs. wood lathe chisels. Assuming some newcomers may reading this, I will briefly outline: Carbide inserts or known as carbide tips, carbide cutters, etc. are the interchangeable inserts that go in the end of a wood turning tool/ handle via a screw.  They have a factory razor sharp edge and can be flipped for different angles and longer use . Wood turning chisels or wood lathe chisels are handles with a piece of steel with an edge like a knife. Like a knife you need to sharpen them to keep them sharp.  Instead of creating a con and pro list, I will just briefly outline the benefit, advantage, and cons of each tool.  Clearly we endorse Carbide here, however you will receive an honest and fair assessment.  I can’t cover every angle of this argument but I will start with  the following, and publish more down the road on this ongoing debate.

First off, many of wood turners use both carbide and chisels.  There are good and varied reasons, but lets start with the fact that wood lathe chisels are the oldest tool used for the job and continues in an old school camp of turners.  Carbide inserts are a reasonably new technology, so wood turners up on the latest and greatest will naturally gravitate to carbide for that reason to start.  Carbide is much easier and there is less of a learning curve.  However, sharpening your chisel, if you’re skilled and experienced will save you insert bucks in the long run.  However, you have to look at the nominal cost of an insert and ask yourself if the time saving  benefit of not sharpening is right for you.  It’s the difference between sharpening your kitchen knife, or pulling out a new one every-time you need it sharpened…but without throwing the knife handle away.  Most importantly, when hollowing forms carbide inserts are scrapers, and traditional gouges are slicers.  However the cup cutters like the AA Carbide’s cup cutters and Hoggers are more of slicers.  Slicing will always give you that immediate satisfaction of a refined surface where gougers are more chiseled and rough.  The immediate satisfaction is popular for nubies.

One popular choice for even the old school hold outs are using gougers with carbide inserts for hollowing.  Sharpness and angle is very critical to a good hollow and makes short work of it.  This is why you find both camps using carbide for hollowing forms.

At the end of the day many woodturning professionals and hobbyists would say choosing carbide inserts or chisels boils down to tradition vs. the latest technology. A lot of wood turners use and make their own tools and handles.  So are you a purist or traditionalist?  I wish I could write more on it, but its really that simple.  So what are the best woodturning tools for the job? As an authority on carbide inserts, we would ask whether you’d chop a tree down with a chainsaw or axe?

 

 

Why Carbide tools?

Why Carbide tools?

Why Carbide tools?

Carbide tools have been a controversy since they were introduced. Old-timers slam them as they don’t teach you how to turn with traditional tools.

Trout fishing has long had this conversation regarding fly fishing and using bait. Those who fly fish look down upon those who use bait. I have done both. If I want to relax and eat trout that evening I use bait. If I am out for fun I take my grandfathers old bamboo rod and fly fish

Well Carbide hand tools and traditionalist have this discussion almost daily on social media. If there was one tool that could do everything there would not be such a large number of tools on the market today and someone, the inventor of that universal tool would be very wealthy

Most of our customers are older retirees on fixed incomes. They have a smaller lathe and are learning to turn. Some of our customers are youngsters that are learning to turn pens. This it is their first experience turning. Their parents may not have the money for traditional tools that are going to require a sharpening station.

We also have many turners with disabilities. A couple of years ago life long friend Dave Hinkelman spent a week here with us in Michigan. He had never turned. In grade school he suffered from Polio. One leg would not recover and he has struggled his entire live just getting around. Before he left Michigan he had ordered a lathe. He turns much of the time from a wheel chair. This does not give him the ability to dance at the lathe. Carbide tools have allowed him to turn from his wheel chair and do well

Other customers that have disabilities is Andi Sullivan and David Albright. Yes they are blind turners. Andi started Lighthouse Turning for the blind. David then started Lighthouse Turning in Kanas City. They too use carbide tools.

Dick Gerard stopped by the house a couple years ago to turn with me. He is one of the founders of the AAW and continue to support the AAW. I did not know it until we started hollowing that he had not done any hollowing in years as he had 3 shoulder replacements and his doctor told him no more. We were on the Carter Hollow Roller with a 6MM shear cup cutter. He was amazed

There are many more stories like this. There are many uses for carbide cutters. The most common place for carbide cutters is in end grain hollowing. Most of the hollowing systems today come with or have a carbide shear cup cutter.

Ron Campbell

Woodturning technology and what it means

Woodturning technology and what it means

Here’s a lofty one for those Philosophical turners:)

Woodturning is considered by most turners to be an art form, and a cathartic one at that.  It’s a fantastic way to kill time (before or after retirement), and excellent medium for self expression.  Like all artistic mediums technology has impacted woodturning.  On one extreme end of the scale, CNC machines and computers plot designs to lathes and cutters in no time flat for consumers.  However, this technology cannot match or take away from the true artist essence of a hand-crafted bowl or vessel.  So then, why do we turn wood if it can be done so easily by a machine? and for whom are we turning??

Before we go any further, I am going to spoil it and answer the question this very blog title begs. In a nutshell, technologies impact on woodturning has been on safety.  We’ll come back to the side topic of “purpose” in a moment for fun.

Centres, tapers, belts systems, swivels, and user controls (interfaces) have all evolved for our safety, as well as ease.  Woodturning can still be dangerous, but we are less likely to hurt ourselves turning wood than we were 2oo years ago.  Tools are also better.  Handles are more ergonomic and promote optimal use and muscle memory, and carbide inserts are machine sharper and designed to do a more efficient job than ever before.  Hollowing systems are also better engineered to get the job done more efficiently, faster, easier and yes, safer.

So, coming back to he question and purpose of wood-turning, brings out my luddite cynicism, and reminds me of other cautionary tales such as the “ballad of John Henry” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF-3t8Id6mA .  Ned Ludd of course (historically debated) destroyed the printing press in fear of his economic security. Same reason John Henry took on the steam driver.  I think many artists, craftsmen, and  hobbyists contemplate this today, as they grapple to use technology as a tool and even as a medium.  Do they wonder how far technology will go?  Should we care as craftsmen or artists?  Many art forms and professions become antiquated as technology presses on.  You can’t stop progress.  However, my purpose for turning is as personal as the next woodturner.  We turn for ourselves, art admirers, and for people who just appreciate beautiful and useful things made by another human being.  the rewards can be fun, lucrative, and relaxing all at once.  Now, it is all of that and safe.

At the end of the day It’s not craftsmanship, thats coming from a computer.

 

 

 

How to choose a lathe

How to choose a lathe

 

Well, the lathe is obviously my favorite tool. It’s my passion and it happens to be the oldest “power tool” on the planet. I’ve used, purchased and sold many lathes throughout the years. When most beginners consider purchasing a lathe they have a plethora of questions, then want to do research on another plethora of questions they weren’t aware of. After all, when shopping and researching something online, we all end up having more questions when perusing answers.

 

Here a quick and dirty list of basics you may want to consider when getting going.   The biggest thing in buying a lathe is to buy more lathe than you think you need or want and more than you can afford .  Buying a lathe and out growing it in a year can be costly.  It’s like buying a gun safe…always buy the bigger one no matter how many firearms you currently own. Growing into things is almost always a prudent choice. However, don’t be afraid to put some time in on a used or starter model.

First ask yourself, what type of turning you will be doing. If you will mostly be turning spindles, then there’s no need for a swinging head option, on the other hand, if you’re going to jump into bowl turning, a swiveling head is vital. Your between centres capacity is less of an issue here. Also, bigger bowls means a bigger motor.

You do want to anticipate the largest diameter you’ll plan on trying. As with anything we purchase as mentioned above, it’s about anticipating size. Also, take into consideration how long you plan on spending on the lathe.  As you go further up the range you will find this extra power and as with any hobby, turning can get expensive, as it is highly addictive. Budget your ambitions accordingly

 

Here are 4 major (of many) things to consider when purchasing a lathe. I encourage you to do further research then talk to the person selling it to you.

 

  1. Is it a floor or bench model? Either way, go for weight.
  2. Solid headstock and tailstock. Here again, go for size and weight. Housing should be a good die cast. It also needs to have a good spread between the bearings to ensure the spindle’s rigidity. The tailstock should be the same, make sure its bored with a Morse taper.

3. Swivel head. This helps with doing off lathe bigger pieces .  Almost like outboard turning.  I think you need this for           sure. We’ll leave it at that.

  1. Motor controls. Variable speeds are a must. Allowing you to increase speed without stopping to change belts. Go for the model with the most whistles and bells such as speed memory, etc. You’ll need a foot or easy reach gear switch, make sure that’s equally durable.

 

-Ron

AZ Carbide in the Press

AZ Carbide in the Press

We are excited and honored to have a writeup in The new issue of WoodTurning Magazine.  It comes out later this month in print and online.  Sneak Peak: they love our inserts and Hogger Hollowing tools!  We’ll announce it when and where with a link on Facebook as soon as we get it.  Be sure to like and follow us on FB for the latest in events, offers, turning hints and advice, along with discount coupons.  As always thanks for your support.

https://www.facebook.com/azcarbideinserts/

Keep turning!

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