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Carbide inserts · turning

CEIEVER XCS-002, carbide turning tool set

Carbide inserts mean no grinder and no jig. What the listing will not tell you is how many tools arrive.

Carbide-insert wood turning tool set, product photograph

CEIEVER XCS-002, carbide turning tool set

Carbide inserts mean no grinder and no jig. What the listing will not tell you is how many tools arrive.

Cutters
Solid tungsten carbide inserts
Shapes
Include a diamond-shaped cutter
Quantity
The title says ten pieces and also "set of four with shank"
Part number
XCS-002
Availability
No EAN published — other markets could not be verified
Amazon reference
B0B1MGNP6S
  • Carbide inserts give a fresh edge by rotating the cutter, with no grinding at all
  • Removes the grinder and the sharpening jig from a beginner's shopping list
  • The listing states ten pieces and four pieces on the same line, and never lists the contents

Best for: A first set of turning tools for someone who does not yet own a grinder

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Specifications

Cutters
Solid tungsten carbide inserts
Shapes
Include a diamond-shaped cutter
Quantity
The title says ten pieces and also "set of four with shank"
Part number
XCS-002
Availability
No EAN published — other markets could not be verified
Amazon reference
B0B1MGNP6S

Every figure below is a manufacturer specification read off the listing itself. The judgments are ours.

What the specification says

Solid tungsten carbide cutters, including a diamond-shaped one, on shanks. The manufacturer claims heat resistance, wear resistance and high hardness, and names general woodworking. Part number XCS-002. No EAN on the listing.

Ten pieces or four

The title of this listing offers ten pieces and, in the same sentence, a set of four with shank. Nowhere does it list what those pieces are. For a set that is the whole specification, and it is a genuine reason to hesitate — you cannot tell whether you are buying four tools, four tools plus spare inserts, or ten inserts and one handle.

What carbide changes

The inserts are the cutting edge, and they are rotated rather than sharpened. That removes the bench grinder, the sharpening jig and the learning curve that goes with them, at the cost of a scraping rather than a slicing action. On end grain the difference in surface quality is real, and it is made up with abrasive.

Availability

No such listing: the American Amazon shop answers the reference with a search box rather than a page.

Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.

Saws this fits

What comes up most often

Carbide or HSS for a beginner?

Carbide removes the hardest part of learning to turn, which is not the cutting but the sharpening. A dull gouge does not cut, it scrapes and catches, and a beginner cannot tell which problem they have. Carbide sidesteps that entirely. What it gives up is the sliced surface a properly presented gouge leaves, and most turners end up with both.

How long does an insert last?

Longer than a steel edge by a wide margin, and it is a cost per edge rather than a skill. A square or round insert can be rotated to a fresh section when it dulls; a diamond-shaped one has fewer usable points. When the last point is gone the insert is replaced, which is a small recurring expense rather than an afternoon at the grinder.

More turning tools

  • Holzstar eight-piece wood turning tool set, product photograph

    Holzstar 8-piece turning tool set

    The eight tools a beginner actually needs, and the second product we have found that Amazon sells under two different European references.

    Quantity
    8
    Contents
    3 hollow gouges, 1 parting tool, 1 roughing gouge, 1 round-nose, 2 straight chisels
    Material
    HSS
    References
    One in Germany and the United States, a different one in Britain, France, Italy and Spain
    Amazon reference
    DE B00CYLW36W · US B00CYLW36W · GB B07GFL3XFG · FR B07GFL3XFG · IT B07GFL3XFG · ES B07GFL3XFG
    EAN
    4036351017042
    • Covers roughing, shaping, parting and finishing in one purchase
    • HSS rather than carbon steel — it holds an edge through a heating cut
    • Two different Amazon references across Europe for the same barcode

    Best for: A first set of turning tools, alongside a first lathe

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  • Hurricane eight piece HSS wood turning tool set with hardwood handles, product photograph

    HURRICANE 02-170, 8-piece M2 HSS set

    The only hardness figure on either half of this shelf that belongs to its own scale — 56 to 63 HRC, for high-speed steel.

    Contents
    Eight, each named and sized: a 1/2 in bowl gouge, a 7/8 in roughing gouge, a 3/4 in spindle gouge, a 1 in and a 5/8 in skew chisel, a 3/16 in parting tool and a 5/8 in scraper
    Steel
    M2 high-speed steel
    Hardness
    HRC 56 to 63, published — the only hardness on this shelf stated on a scale that fits the material
    Handles
    10 in solid hardwood, stated to dampen vibration, with brass ferrules reinforcing the blade joint
    Overall length
    16.3 in — 414 mm
    Edge
    A ready-to-use factory edge, stated
    Case
    A wooden box with a dedicated slot per chisel
    Part number
    02-170
    Amazon reference
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    EAN
    0810034074591
    • Every one of the eight tools is named and sized
    • Publishes a hardness range, and it is the right scale for high-speed steel
    • Needs a grinder and a jig, neither of which is on this shelf

    Best for: A first full set of traditional tools, for somebody who intends to learn to sharpen

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  • IMOTECHOM eight piece HSS wood turning tool set with teak handles, product photograph

    IMOTECHOM MTA0001A, 8-piece HSS set

    The only listing on this shelf to publish a blade length — six point three inches, which is how much tool there is to regrind.

    Contents
    Eight, each named and sized: a 1 in and a 7/8 in roughing gouge, a 5/16 in spindle gouge, a 1 in and a 5/8 in skew chisel, a 5/8 in spear scraper, a 5/8 in round nose scraper and a 5/8 in parting tool
    Steel
    High-speed steel, stated to outlast high carbon steel · No grade and no hardness published
    Blade length
    6.3 in — 160 mm, published, the only blade length on either half of this shelf
    Handles
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    Edge
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    Case
    A wooden case with double-layer panels, an enlarged structure and a thickened hinge, shipped in a mail box with EPE protection
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    Amazon reference
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    EAN
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    • All eight tools named and sized
    • No steel grade and no hardness, where the Hurricane set here publishes both

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Elsewhere in the workroom

  • Clarke Brothers wheel marking gauge in brass and steel with spare cutters, product photograph

    Clarke Brothers RIV001 wheel marking gauge

    A wheel severs the fibers where a pin tears them — which is the complaint the published gauge on this shelf already carries.

    Cutter
    A hardened steel wheel · Two spare wheel cutters supplied
    Bar
    Graduated to 6 in and 150 mm (5.91 in), laser engraved, in both systems
    Overall length
    8 in — 203 mm
    Fence
    A roll-stop fence with a flat spot, stated patent pending, so the gauge does not roll off the bench · A non-marring brass face
    Materials
    Solid brass, steel and aluminum alloy, stated corrosion resistant
    Operation
    Stated one-handed and balanced
    Part number
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    Amazon reference
    B07FWS5T1L
    EAN
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    Check price on Amazon
  • Magnetic digital angle gauge with V-grooved base, product photograph

    XUNTOP XOPXOP039 digital angle gauge

    Seventeen euros to stop trusting the scale printed on the saw — provided you read the accuracy figure and not the resolution.

    Range
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    Accuracy
    ±0.2°
    Resolution
    0.05°
    Base
    Magnetic, with a V groove
    Display
    VA, rotates automatically
    Battery
    3.7 V, 260 mAh, USB-C charging
    Sealing
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    Availability
    No EAN published — other markets could not be verified
    Amazon reference
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  • Four-flute carbide dovetail cutter with straight shank, product photograph

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    Shank
    8 mm (0.31 in), straight
    Cutter length
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    Flutes
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    Material
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    Intended use
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    Availability
    No EAN published — other markets could not be verified
    Amazon reference
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    Search Amazon for this model

All turning tools