Woodpeckers Turning Tools - Pen Tools
Love Turning but Hate Sharpening? If you love pen turning, but don’t have the time or expensive equipment necessary to constantly sharpen traditional tools, you need Woodpeckers new Ultra-Shear carbide insert tools. These tools eliminate the drudgery of sharpening by using nano-grain carbide inserts mounted to induction-hardened alloy steel shafts. When the edge finally gets dull (more on that later), simply rotate the cutter to a new edge. When all edges are dull, put on a new insert and get right back to your project.
So, What’s New? Carbide insert tools have been around for several years, and insert tools in general have been around since at least the mid-1980s. So, what makes Ultra-Shear different from all the rest? The list is long, but the three most important differences are the grade and grind of the inserts, the design of the tool shaft and the material and treatment used in making the shaft.
High Tech Steel; Higher Tech Manufacturing. A truly sharp cutting edge needs rock solid support to give you the best results. Ultra-Shear tools feature the same rigid ChroMoly alloy steel used in NASCAR roll cages and crankshafts. CNC machines create the intricate insert seats, then the shafts go through a two-step hardening process which creates an ultra-smooth surface finish that glides easily across your tool rest and resists corrosion.
Not just for pens. The three Ultra-Shear pen tools include square, round and diamond-point insert profiles. The square tool is the workhorse for most pen projects. The diamond-point detail tool inscribes fine detail lines for accents. The round tool creates inside curves (coves) on specialty designs. Their small size and razor-sharp inserts make these tools ideal for other detailed work in addition to pen turning, such as finials and miniatures. Projects many think impossible with carbide tools can now be tackled with Ultra-Shear.
It All Starts at the Cutting Edge. Ultra-Shear’s development team started this project by interviewing dozens of carbide manufacturers, seeking out a partner that recognized the unique requirements of woodturning. Any carbide blend can create a long-lasting edge, but for advanced performance at the lathe, you need a truly keen edge. That requires a carbide that doesn’t just last, but also is fine-grained enough not to crumble when formed to a very sharp angle. The result of months of testing and trials is a unique nano-grain carbide matrix, polished to a mirror-finish on the cutting surface and precision ground on the bevel. They are the sharpest, longest lasting inserts on the market.
Cut Cleaner. Sand Less. Today’s pen turner works in a world full of exotic materials; acrylics, polymer clays, stabilized wood, and even mixtures of all the above. Most of these materials don’t cut cleanly with the normal approach for carbide tipped tools (tool level on the centerline and parallel to the stock). Shear scraping is a technique where the tool is presented at an angle to the workpiece, improving the surface finish dramatically. In solid wood, 45° usually delivers the optimum finish, but acrylics, polymers and blends are different. Ultra-Shear pen tools feature round sides allowing you to locate the optimum shear angle for whatever material you’re turning. There’s a large flat surface milled on the bottom for solid support of your initial roughing and shaping cuts.
The pen tools have a 3-1/4" tool length with a 9" handle for a total length of 12-1/4".
Sold individually or at a savings when you order them as a set. The Ultra-Shear tools are machined in our own shop in Strongsville, Ohio.
| Country of Manufacture | United States |
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What size allen key is needed for the turning tools?
A: The Full-size and Mid-Size Turning tool sets take a 1/16” or 3/32”, and the Pen size uses a 1/16”.
Q: How do I remove my difficult to loosen cutter screw?
A: Make sure the screw head pocket is completely clean of sawdust and residue to ensure that the wrench is fully seated in the socket before you attempt to remove it. This will give you full contact between the wrench and screw and will make removal easier. Firmly turn the screw counter clockwise to loosen. When reinstalling the new screw, apply a light dab of anti-seize compound to the threads.
