PSI Woodworking LCHSS8 Wood Lathe 8pc HSS Chisel Set

After reading some of the negative reviews I was a bit worried but when they came in they were in perfect condition. I never trust edged tools for sharpness so I planned on touching up the edges anyway. Only one of the skew chisels had what I would call a 'Bad' edge. I have done a lot of work in Asia and I realize one product is often sold under several names but I found it odd that these were clearly not 'PSI' but 'Bejamins Best'. No matter, they work fantastic. Just to put them through a quick test I grabbed a hunk of limb from an appricot tree that died in my orchard. I used every chisel to test them and thet were all fantastic. As you can see in my pictures my lathe is a low-end Cummins but I had zero issues. Not a single catch and that is impressive since I did not knock the corners off with the bandsaw as you can see. I may still modify the heel but I would do that even with an expensive set. A few things to note that I read in other reviews: 1) If you use these correctly there is never enough pressure to snap the steel. To be sure that doesn't happen, watch Richard Rafan's video on 'Catches'. 2) Yes the ferrules may be loose (mine were not). If they are, my uncle who was a proffesional wood worker would litterally soak them in water overnight to allow the wood which had over dried to swell up and tighten the ferrules again. I would think a light oil would work better but I didn't question what he did. 3) I love the box it comes in but honestly as soon as my shop is set up they will never see that box again. They will be in a handmade rack behind the lathe. So the bottom line is that I am very happy with the purchase and highly recomend them.

These are a great starter set of tools for someone who is starting off working on a wood lathe. I purchased them as a gift, but had the opportunity to use them for a while. For the price, I was more than satisfied -- the set includes covers all the basic needs. The tools are generally well-made. They take a good edge, but (as expected given the price) don't hold it very long. That's a problem if you're a professional woodworker, but is not a big issue for hobbyists. The handles are comfortable and the chisels are pretty well attached. It comes in a box, but don't expect much - it's not very well made. It would have been better if the manufacturer replaced the box with a roll-up pouch that would provide more reliable protection. But, box aside, I'm pleased with these. They won't give a set of high-end turning tools (such as Henry Taylor's) a run for their money, but it's a great value set for a beginner.

I am pretty happy with this set. I will be comparing this set to a 5 chisel set I previously purchased from Woodcraft at a sale price of $86 after tax, original price was $130 + tax. The PSI set cost me under $50 with free shipping and no tax. The blades on the PSI chisels measure between 6.25 to 6.5 inches from ferrule to tip, which is the same as the more expensive Woodcraft set. The Woodcraft set came with what I felt were clumsy, overly large, overly long, and slippery handles that felt too light, while the PSI handles are made with denser/harder/heavier wood that IMO handle better for more detailed work. The overall fit and finish of the PSI set is better, except that the Woodcraft set is sharpened better. For some reason, the edges of the PSI chisels that are supposed to be flat (not the ground cutting edges) round over near the tips of the new tools. Grinding/sharpening gets rid of the problem for good but that means you'll have to spend more time preparing the tools for use. This is the reason I gave it 4 stars out of 5. The PSI set also comes in an softwood/plywood case while the Woodcraft set came in a sad cardboard box. Funny enough, the PSI case needed some fixing just as I had read from the other reviews here. It wasn't broken though, there just wasn't enough glue applied to the lid and bottom of the case. A tiny bit of glue and some light clamping pressure fixed it up like new - a job that really should be a piece of cake for anyone. Amazon did a good job of packing it. The case is actually a nice touch. It's good enough to use on it's own, but I keep all my tools in a large rolling chest with drawers. The tools will roll around even if your drawers are lined with the good tacky drawer liners, so I unscrewed the hinges of the box, removed the lid and placed the box in one of my shallow drawers. This saved me the trouble of having to make individual partitions for each chisel inside my drawers to keep them in place. The PSI set was overall better, cost about 40% less, and came with three extra chisels, so I returned the more expensive set. I found all the tools included useful, except I don't need two skew chisels of similar size so I plan on grinding the tip into a different shape when the need arises. The well known Sorby chisels are good, but I couldn't justify spending $30-$40 for just one tool when an extra $10-$20 buys me eight of these.

I'm new to wood turning. Having just purchased my first lathe I was looking for a good starter set. After some research, I "settled" on these as offering a good balance of quality (HSS & nice handles), selection and number of tools, and price. Ordering through Amazon was easy, and even with free shipping, they were delivered within a few days. Based on other reviews here, I was expecting the tools to need immediate sharpening and the box to be falling apart. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts. The tools were reasonably sharp and the box was sound. Initially they didn't cut as well as I though they should and I wondered if they needed sharpening, but, then I noticed there was a filmy coating on the tools (probably some kind of protectant) which I removed using "Goo Gone". After which they cut much better. Any new sharp tool can use some sharpening, so I dressed them slightly with a diamond "stone" and they cut great. I do wish the parting tool was an 1/8" diamond profile rather than the straight 3/16", and, I can see where bigger, heavier tools will be nice in the future, but, I've already done several small spindle projects (and a fair number of practice spindle trials of beads and coves) which I'm happy with (I really love how you can shave the wood with the skews and get such a smooth finish). I'm very happy with this set and would highly recommend it as a starter set for any new wood turner.

I wanted a general set of woodturning chisels to start me out. I plan on relatively small projects like desktop wooden machines and don't plan on getting into anything major like bowl turning or making table legs. These chisels have mid-sized handles and would be too small for major sized pieces but perfect for use on a midi-lathe. Out of the box the chisels need only minor touching up with either slip stones or diamond hones and that's mostly to clear the sprayed on protective coating out of the way. Under close inspection the edges are quite good. No nicks or bad grindings. Just as good as several other chisels I bought recently for quite a bit more money. All the basic chisels are included. The wooden box is thin but not too bad. Better than I expected at this price point. I rubbed in a little mineral oil just to give it a fighting chance in my shop. I fully expect to get quite a few years use out of these.

I really like these chisels. would be nice if they had longer handles but that would be the only negative comment I would have. I like these so much I have added a set if inboard and outboard scrapers (very nice long handles and big blades) as well as a mini hollowing set for my hollow forms and received just today my BB square nose chisel. I have yet to get a crappy box or crappy chisel. 4 different orders of add ons and not so much as a loose handle or anything. you WILL need to sharpen these before you use them however, they are coated and not super sharp. I tried using a scraper straight out and thought it was very sluggish... threw it on the grinder and DANG! that sucker was flipping some curls. so obviously I really like these and recommend all BB chisels. get them today! I have successfully turns pens, bottle stoppers, a vase and my personal favorite bowls with these. no problem.

These are pretty good tools, especially at this price (70% or less than the cost of a single top-quality chisel). You might want to create some new handles for them; they're not terrible but definitely not top quality. However, the steel is quite serviceable - especially if you're looking for a set of tools to do some unusual grinds or to experiment with new grinds. I used the scrapers, for example, to experiment with a negative grind - at this price, even if you ruin them it's not a lot of money lost (and negative scrapers are quite fun to use, BTW). I gave them 4 stars instead of 5 for 2 reasons - one, the steel (even though it is M2 HSS) is chinese and therefore somewhat inferior to most (and very inferior to top quality european or american steel - it's worth spending some time researching this if you're not familiar with different types of steel and qualities of production). You'll notice this primarily in the fact that these tools will not keep an edge nearly as long as top-quality HSS tools (you'll be honing quite a bit). Though it will be less noticeable, especially to a beginner, they also will not achieve the hair-popping razor sharpness of a top-quality tool and will require a bit more work to get the best edge that they are able to achieve. The second reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is the handles - they are large enough and fairly well-balanced, but you'll likely be replacing them within a few months (or immediately if you're more experienced and particular). Bottom line - this is a perfect set for a beginner. They will do a great job teaching you to turn - how to use each tool, how to grind and hone, etc, and they will be fantastic for helping you learn what grinds/techniques work for you. Once you've figured all that out, you can go drop 20 times the price of these on top-quality tools - and this set can become the one you experiment with.

Got these for the price. If you are new to working with a lathe these are the chisels you want. No they are not top of the line. They are good chisels and you get 8 of them. As anyone knows that have worked with a lathe you will gravitate to a few chisels more most of your work. This set give you 8 to use and find out which ones you really like so when you do drop the big bucks you and do it on the chisel you really want and not on one that you hardly ever use. So unless you don't care and have to have the best regardless of use this is a great set to start with. I have to mention my favorite scrapper was one of the more poorly put together chisels. The hole was not drilled well so it is cocked to one side. I have to say I like the feel of it. I think of it as the euro grip chisel sine I tend to stand cock to the side also. Anyway, this was a very good buy.