HSS? Mine were/are carbon steel.

Leif
"Ray Sandusky" wrote in message
...
Alan

Owning a set of Craftsman turning tools is a rite of passage for most
turners! Have no fear, these tools are pretty good and can be used
without doubt of their ability to do the job. They are HSS and will hold
an edge quite well.

The best tool in the bunch will be the Diamond parting tool - it has a
good configuration for making the parting cuts with clearance - although
it will prove to be a bit short at times.

My experience is that these tools are quite versitile. I have reground
almost every one - the skew was turned into a 45 degree scraper for shear
scraping the outside of a form. The narrow skew (1/2 inch) was reground
with a very long point for making cuts into deep V's and the round nose
scraper was reground to have a long bevel along the left edge to scrape
the inside of boxes.

The small (narrow) spindle gouge is basically worthless, unless you cut
down the length (to reduce chatter) and regrind the edge for making
grooves.

So, these tools are great as special application tools - they are cheap
and there is little money lost if the tool is ground down to a nub in a
few months! Plus they are a good set of tools to use to learn how to
sharpen at the grinder!

Use them!

Ray Sandusky






"Alan Van Art" wrote in message
news:4YX0d.1827$yJ3.1819@trndny08...
Went to a flea-mkt and picked up a set of old Craftsman Turning tools
cheaply. I was wondering if anybody knew anything about these tools, I
realize they aren't exactly Sorby tools, but I won't be afraid to
experiment with different profiles with them. They came in a blue box
with metal hook closures in the front. The top of the box has a metal
badge with the Craftsman name, and 'Guaranteed Highest Quality'. Inside,
the box has dividers between the tools. The tools have nothing marked on
the steel. The handles are very red in color, pretty obviously not the
natural color of the wood, but stained or dyed or tinted. There is a
small decal on each handle with the Craftsman name and aforementioned
catch phrase. There are 8 tools in all. As far as weight, they are
lighter than my Crown tools, but heavier than the cheesey Jet tools that
came with the lathe. Looks like only two of the tools have been used, but
the box has seen better days (on the outside at least).


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