Is Robert Sorby Turnmaster worth buying?

[DAL1957]

I have been giving consideration to buying the Robert Sorby Turnmaster set with a few extra heads - https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/chisels-and-lathe-tools/wood-turning-chisel-sets/turnmaster-set-handled-with-tct-cutters-rsb-rstm-hct123

Having seen the YouTube Robert Sorby video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHJCuK6_Z2Q I came away suitably impressed and thought this might be a worthwhile addition to my collection of chisels.

I was at a local retailer recently and mentioned the RS Turnmaster and the sales person seemed a little dismissive stating "They are just scrapers" before walking off. So I was left a little bemused, are they just basic scrapers that probably won't help me much and was the RS video a lot of hype? Or is it indeed a great little additional tool worth adding to the collection.

Has anybody used this system? And if so would you recommend it? Or would you have any other insights?


David.

[China]

I have rusting away on the bench

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It's pretty much just a scraper.

However - from what I've seen in the short time I had access to one - it can manage scraping cuts that aren't possible with a 'normal' scraper due to the shapes of the heads and the round shaft giving support at any angle on the tool rest. Mind you, when using the left/right extremities of the tips you can get some nasty chatter marks/gouging. Not quite as bad as catches, because it's scraping and not cutting, but almost.

Sadly, there seems to be a class of turners that dismiss scraping as 'not proper woodturning.' This is not so, scrapers definitely have a place in our tool arsenals. Especially if you're predominantly turning timbers that often give a better finish off a scraper than a gouge. eg. Tas. Blackwood.

I can't watch the video (lack of download speed) but it wouldn't surprise me if, in the hands of a capable turner, it can be quite versatile. And what PR dept wouldn't use a skilled turner in their demos? :D

Personally, I wouldn't mind having one, although I'm not rushing out to place an order...

[NeilS]

I have rusting away on the bench

Likewise, my early version of it never gets used.

Suggest you also have a look at.....

https://www.woodcut-tools.com/hollowing.html

https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/category/-woodcut-pro-forme-hollowing-tools

If you also need a scraper, a shear scraper tip can be added.

https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/item/woodcut-pro-forme-scraper-kit

Not cheap, but IMO, one of the best hollowers. You don't have to get all three bars at once.

Hughie, who does more hollowing than most of us, may have some further advice.

[NeilS]

Sadly, there seems to be a class of turners that dismiss scraping as 'not proper woodturning.' This is not so, scrapers definitely have a place in our tool arsenals. Especially if you're predominantly turning timbers that often give a better finish off a scraper than a gouge. eg. Tas. Blackwood.



I'm with Andy on this.

I always use very fine shear scraping cuts before progressing on to sanding, using either my bowl gouge (inside out along wings) or with a dedicated neg scraper. Otherwise I would have to start sanding at a lower grit and spending too much time getting down through all of the grits.

If using a scraper means I'm 'not a proper woodturner', then you would have to call me a very improper woodturner who has turned thousands of bowls the improper way!

Some may say my tool technique isn't good enough if I'm having to finish the tool work with a fine shear scraping cut. Maybe! Perhaps I just need to practise more, despite having done so for 50yrs... or maybe I'm just a lost cause....:U

[powderpost]

I'm with Andy on this.

I always use very fine shear scraping cuts before progressing on to sanding, using either my bowl gouge (inside out along wings) or with a dedicated neg scraper. Otherwise I would have to start sanding at a lower grit and spending too much time getting down through all of the grits.

If using a scraper means I'm 'not a proper woodturner', then you would have to call me a very improper woodturner who has turned thousands of bowls the improper way!

Some may say my tool technique isn't good enough if I'm having to finish the tool work with a fine shear scraping cut. Maybe! Perhaps I just need to practise more, despite having done so for 50yrs... or maybe I'm just a lost cause....:U

I often use a shear scrape cut before using sandpaper, this way I start with 320# paper and not for very long as the surface is good. I also use a lot of hard, hard woods and bone for thread chasing, they respond to "scraping" better than a normal cutting technique. But, for the standard softer woods a cutting technique is far superior to scraping. The bottom line is , "horses for courses". As well as all that, there are circumstances where a scraping technique is the only way to get a cut. Not all turning materials are the same, so why be restricted to one method?????

Jim

[Faulko]

i have the RS turnmaster. have to say i haven't used it much - i have used the round scraper a few times with some success. I generally only turn in fits and starts (ie. when i can free up some time which is increasingly challenging..), which means when i do turn, the first few cuts of each stage of turning a bowl or whatever i am doing sees me getting the feel and technique as close to correct as i can....i found the turn master didn't really fit in with this approach and always felt like it wasn't helping me develop technique etc.
I don't think its a bad tool, i just don't seem to use it much.

[DAL1957]

One of the reasons I was interested in the RS Turnmaster was the ability to use the Mushroom Cutter head for hollowing/undercutting to make a potpourri bowl. Could I use another tool like some sort of Gooseneck scraper to get in under the rim? Though looking at the RS Gooseneck scrapers on the Carbatec website they seem to take much the same sort of cutter as the RS Turnmaster, looks like with one you gooseneck around the corner and with the other you re-angle the mushroom cutter to undercut.

Or have I missed something. I am still very new to this hobby. Would the Gooseneck be the better option for undercutting a potpourri bowl? It's certainly cheaper.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

You have the right of it.

Yes, you can fit the same variety of tip shapes to a gooseneck as you can to the Turnmaster, so long as they use the same diameter mounting screw. ;)

The Turnmaster will do fine undercutting a potpourri bowl up to a certain size. Then, as with undercutting with any tool, the lip of the bowl starts to get in the way. Either the front lip prevents deeper cuts or the back lip prevents you getting the right angle.

With the gooseneck you can undercut much further, however it takes a little bit more tool control and is a slightly more complicated process. Both because you need to alter the cutter angle as you go and because they're more prone to the scraper's equivalent of catches if you don't keep the tip supported properly.

ie. a gooseneck is less forgiving to a novice... but IMHO well worth it. If you do a lot of undercutting, you'll probably eventually end up with a variety of 'em. :)

[artful bodger]

The first link in the initial post says this..
""Featuring a patented interchangable cutter head and a large variety of optional cutters. The TurnMaster from Robert Sorby is an excellent tool for the seasoned woodturner or novice who doesn't have access to sharpening facilities""

If you are going to get into wood turning then you need to have your own sharpening facilities, it is a fact. Therefore that tool is a bad idea. Hard to see any upside to it really from where I stand.

[Jim Carroll]

If it is just for undercut lips on bowls then there is a lot of better options starting with the RS200KT or for deeper undercuts the RS230kt, still scraper tools but suited to this type of work for their shaft size
https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/category/-robert-sorby-hollowing-tools

If you want a cutting tool then the Woodcut Pro Forme flexi is a better option.
https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/item/woodcut-pro-forme-flexi

[DAL1957]

Thanks Jim, those are a couple of good options to consider.