• Congratulations to Tim Soutar winner of the May 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Dave Landers for "Pod Box" being selected as Turning of the Week for June 2, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Woodcut Pro-Tip

R

Raif Harik

Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
295
Likes
116
Location
Austin, TX
Hi, has/does anyone use the woodcut Pro-Tip system? Essentially it's a long solid bar and a short bowl gouge section that you screw onto the bar. This gives the tool extra rigidity if you are turning aways off the tool rest. I saw Ronald Kanne using one for a bottom feeder and it looked like a good system. But I'm wondering if anyone has experience with it, especially in the states. My questions being: how long is the usable tip? And where can you get them in the states? I've seen a couple retailers who sell the initial setup but I haven't seen the tips anywhere so I don't know what that might cost.
Thanks,
Raif
 
Woodcut estimate 2 years or so, but I find that's very conservative. But the best way to imagine how long they last is to work out long it take you to wear or grind away about 2 inches or 50mm off any on your gouges. For me as I have rack full of gouges its probably 5 to 10 years, as I have yet to replace one. :) Also remember your conventional gouge maybe HSS but its never fully hardened. The replaceable tip allow for full hardness, which gives you better edge retention by far. I dont know about now, but when you buy the tip they used to send a small bottle of Locitite 920 ? [ 20grams or so] retaining compound to fix the new tip on with
 
Raif Harik said:
Hi, has/does anyone use the woodcut Pro-Tip system? Essentially it's a long solid bar and a short bowl gouge section that you screw onto the bar. This gives the tool extra rigidity if you are turning aways off the tool rest.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you are referring to the Woodcut bowl gouges and not their pro-forme tips.

I use both. Their gouges are good value. They cut well and are more rigid that a full length fluted gouge. The solid bar allows them to be used with more extension over the tool rest. They work well as a hollowing gouge and s bottom inside of bowl gouges. One issue with any gouge like this is they don't register in a normal gouge jig, you have to either eyeball the position in the jig or use complementary jig for realignment, like the Hannes “Depth Guide-Flute up Fixture”.

The tips are CA glued on (correction by Dan Hewitt from Woodcut, with an anaerobic adhesive, for example some Loctite adhesives are non-cyanoacrylate). Heat softens the glue to release the tip for replacement...

View: https://youtu.be/9Qytrpl_XsI
 
Last edited:
Hi Raif and all. Firstly I disclose that my family owns Woodcut Tools. Thank you for your interest in the Woodcut Pro Tip products. The Woodcut Pro Tip was actually the first product our company designed in the 1970's initially to friends etc and then commercially from about 1990. Our business actually stared as a souvenir store in rural NZ where Ken Port our founder would turn the craft he would sell. Ken simply got frustrated with the tools available, especially on hard wood with vibration so designed the Woodcut Pro Tip. What the Pro Tip offers is a solid shaft that minimises vibration as it is solid. What also isn't so well known is that the shaft is pressed deep in the wooden handle for rigidity. The product also features the replacement M2 HSS tip which is secured with Anaerobic adhesive for example Loctite or Titan (not CA glue) that is approximately 50mm long. Another benefit of the solid shaft is that it is more comfortable to hold than full fluted gouge.

Please let me know if I can support anyone with further information on Woodcut Tools product.
 
Well, now we are getting to the straight dope with the company owers on the thread.
I have a couple questions @Dan Hewitt ,
a) Do you know of a retailer for the tips in the states? Or do you ship to the states?
b) is it possible to get the tip with a different or no grind? I would like to use one for a bowl bottom gauge which would have a fairly straight ~60 degree bevel.
Thanks,
Raif
 
Raif Harik said:
Well, now we are getting to the straight dope with the company owers on the thread.
I have a couple questions @Dan Hewitt ,
a) Do you know of a retailer for the tips in the states? Or do you ship to the states?
b) is it possible to get the tip with a different or no grind? I would like to use one for a bowl bottom gauge which would have a fairly straight ~60 degree bevel.
Thanks,
Raif
Click to expand...
Hi Raif, apologies for the delayed response. The following retailers can offer you the Pro Tip products: Woodturning Tool store (Tod Raines) and the Walnut Log (Jeff Hornung). Apologies all our Pro Tip product is supplied with a standard 35 or 55 degree grind and sharpened. Please let me know if I can support you with further information. Best regards Dan
 
Lars Hansen said:
@Raif: Have you looked here: https://www.woodcut-tools.com/united-states-stockists.html ?

@Dan: Same wish as Raif, b) except I'd want an even steeper nose angle, so a fluted tip with no grind would be ideal.
Lars
Click to expand...
Hi Lars, thank you for your interest. All our Pro Tip products are supplied with a standard 35 or 55 degree grind and sharpened. We're unable to supply with no grind. Please let me know if we can support you with further information. Best regards Dan
 
Dan Hewitt said:
Hi Raif, apologies for the delayed response. The following retailers can offer you the Pro Tip products: Woodturning Tool store (Tod Raines) and the Walnut Log (Jeff Hornung). Apologies all our Pro Tip product is supplied with a standard 35 or 55 degree grind and sharpened. Please let me know if I can support you with further information. Best regards Dan
Click to expand...
Hi Raif, yes we can deliver to the USA. Here s the link to our online store (admins please let me know if I've broken forum rules and won't repeat) https://www.woodcut-tools.com/store/c23/Turning.html
 
Raif Harik said:
b) is it possible to get the tip with a different or no grind? I would like to use one for a bowl bottom gauge which would have a fairly straight ~60 degree bevel.
Thanks,
Raif
Click to expand...

Just start grinding a straight across 60deg secondary bevel on a 55deg swept back primary bevel. Yes, you will lose a small bit of of length, but it is only the very tip that is doing the work with that cut, so not much needs to be ground off the tip to begin with.

1749166410783.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top