Of Vicmarcs and Sorbys

**Ozkaban** · 31st January 2010, 04:54 PM

Hi,

I have finally got the VL200 home and squeezed into my shed

Haven't had much of a chance to actually turn anything on it except starting to true up the reverse face of a clock I am making (shown in pic). What a difference... so smooth! So powerful! So quiet! Very happy.

It's funny, but both the VL200 and my old MC1100 were 1hp. I think the original was a shetland and the new one is a clydesdale

Included with the lathe were a bunch of chisels. 3 were Henry Taylor gouges (1 detail, 2 bowl), which I am absolutely chuffed with. There was also a set of 8 Sorby chisels, but I don't know how old or even what the steel is. The handles are very lightweight and have the kangaroo logo on them. The steel only has 'Sorby Sheffield' stamped on them with no other markings I can find. When I put them on the grinder the sparks were orange - not as dark as my P&N chisels, but much darker than some normal steel I have. Would they be Carbon Steel or HSS? The guy I bought the lathe and chisels off bought them new in the early-mid 90's.

Will post more about the lathe once I've had a chance to fire it up a little more and actually produce something

Cheers,
Dave

**bobsreturn2003** · 31st January 2010, 06:38 PM

yellow handle are carbon steel . work ok , hss is better looks a good lathe , cheers Bob

**Ozkaban** · 31st January 2010, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by bobsreturn2003

yellow handle are carbon steel . work ok , hss is better looks a good lathe , cheers Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks - I suspected as much. I might play for a while and see how they go. I guess for CS chisels Sorbys have got to be OK.

Cheers,
Dave

**hughie** · 31st January 2010, 08:35 PM

Dave,

Looks cluttered alright

not to worry it will sort its self out

Carbon steel, well you could sharpen em up like razors and keep them fine work and finishing. I have a 3/8 / 10mm gouge in carbon steel use for finishing cuts.

**Ozkaban** · 31st January 2010, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by hughie

Dave,

Looks cluttered alright

not to worry it will sort its self out

Carbon steel, well you could sharpen em up like razors and keep them fine work and finishing. I have a 3/8 / 10mm gouge in carbon steel use for finishing cuts.

That's my new, bigger shed

It's 3m x 2m, and has a bench, drill press, band saw and lathe with associated ~~crap~~ accessories. I haven't had time to finish the shelves, hence the disorganisation.

That's an interesting thought about the chisels. Thanks

**Enfield Guy** · 31st January 2010, 10:29 PM

Looks great, almost like it grew there. Have fun with it.
Cheers

**China** · 31st January 2010, 11:10 PM

Don't be too concerned about cs chisels it is all we had a few years ago, you will just have to be aware they will rust as for sharpening they will produce a very fine edge, some say much better than stainless.

**Ozkaban** · 1st February 2010, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Enfield Guy

Looks great, almost like it grew there. Have fun with it.
Cheers

hmmm. Lots of things growing there, I fear!

I was a little surprised that a 1 metre lathe fits in *exactly* the same hole as my old 1.1 metre lathe. Actually, it's slightly bigger as the legs are at the ends whereas the MC1100 has it's legs about 100mm in...

**Allen Neighbors** · 1st February 2010, 01:47 PM

Love that baby blue!! Looks nice, sitting there, beggin' you to get on and ride!! Man, that's almost as pretty as mayo!!

Carbon steel is still good... just don't have as much stay-power as HSS. I use a couple of CS tools all the time... they're gettin' short now, though.

**rsser** · 1st February 2010, 01:54 PM

Brent Beach's work indicates that there's no diff btwn metals in how keen an edge they'll take. Click.

I started with S Kangaroos. Good for practicing sharpening.

You might be past that stage Dave.

**powderpost** · 4th February 2010, 09:54 PM

Yellow handles on Sorby chisels does not indicate the quality of the tools, all Sorby tools had yellow handles. I have quite a few Sorby yellow handles with the steel marked HSS. The fact that the tools are not branded HSS does indicate carbon steel.
Jim

**Ed Reiss** · 5th February 2010, 12:26 AM

ain't it fun having a new toy to play with

**Ozkaban** · 5th February 2010, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by rsser

Brent Beach's work indicates that there's no diff btwn metals in how keen an edge they'll take. Click.

I started with S Kangaroos. Good for practicing sharpening.

You might be past that stage Dave.

Never really past that stage

I do use a jig these days and while it might not be a true art it certainly produces a sharp edge pretty darn quick

Cheers,
Dave

**Ozkaban** · 5th February 2010, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by powderpost

Yellow handles on Sorby chisels does not indicate the quality of the tools, all Sorby tools had yellow handles. I have quite a few Sorby yellow handles with the steel marked HSS. The fact that the tools are not branded HSS does indicate carbon steel.
Jim

Hmmm. How do I tell then? The only method I know is the red/white sparks thing on the grinder. As mentioned, much darker coloured than some plain steel I had floating about, but not as dark as some new P&N's. My guess is probably good quality carbon steel from early 90's.

Originally Posted by Ed Reiss

ain't it fun having a new toy to play with

uh huh

Thread: Of Vicmarcs and Sorbys

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Of Vicmarcs and Sorbys

Similar Threads

Vicmarcs

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions