Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why did you make the Ci1 Easy Rougher and create Easy Wood Tools?
Our goal here at Easy Wood is to step back and take a fresh look at the methods we use for the hobby we are all so passionate about, woodturning. We make every effort to eliminate the issues that decrease enjoyment and safety for woodturners.
More to Come
Once our customers have made a few projects with their EWT tools, many proclaim they just don’t want to go back to ever using traditional tools again. This means they are demanding that we offer tools to accomplish every needed cut and still be simple enough for any skill level to use safely.
This is no small order, but in response we currently have 12 tool models available. See the Tool Line Up pdf on our Tech Info page.
2. Can I use the Ci0 Easy Finisher round cutters on my Ci1 Easy Rougher?
No. Each tool is precision machined to perfectly mate with its respective cutter. The Finishers have a round cutter seat and the Roughers have a square cutter seat. This precision matting prevents you from ever having to worry about a cutter rotating during heavy cuts. Additionally, each tool is designed to provide support directly beneath the cutting edge which transfers the cutting pressure downward into the lathe providing unmatched tool stability.
3. Why are your tool bars square instead of round?
EWT tools are fundamentally designed to be used flat on the tool rest and parallel to the floor. The flat bottom of all our tools provides unmatched tool stability by providing support directly under the cutting edge. Our unique geometries allow for high performance when simply used ‘flat on the tool rest and level to the floor’. This translates to easier use for all skill levels and cannot be accomplished with a round tool bar.
4. How long will the carbide cutters stay sharp?
EWT replaceable carbide cutters have an unparalleled edge retaining ability and never loose proper factory geometries due to re-sharpening. Customer testing shows over 5 hours of turning per single cutting edge. This adds up to about 20 hours per cutter.
5. What do I do when the cutter gets dull?
When a cutter no longer performs to your needs, simply loosen the retaining screw with the provided hex wrench and rotate the cutter to the new edge. When you have used all the edges, simply replace the cutter.
6. Can you sharpen the carbide cutters?
Everyone considering turning must choose a grinding system. We find many turners have trouble deciding which sharpening method to choose for maintaining the edge of their HSS tool and many worry that they are not grinding proper angles on their tools. This leads to the constant concern of “did I sharpen the tool properly this time?”
With EWT carbide replaceable cutters, there is no need to ever have to sharpen again or even invest in a grinding system. Proper geometries are never sharpened away. You can now choose to just turn instead of stopping to sharpen.
7. What kind of carbide do you use?
The composition of EWT carbide is proprietary information but all of our cutters are engineered specifically for wood cutting. We continually research and test emerging carbide technology to always provide you with the most modern carbide technology available.
8. Can I use metalworking cutters and get the same results as I do with an EWT cutter?
Generally, no. Steel cutting carbide inserts must have a slight radius to the cutting edges in order to prevent edge chipping when subjected to the greater forces of metal cutting. This makes steel cutting carbide inserts not nearly sharp enough to cut wood cleanly. All EWT cutters are engineered and precision ground specifically to cut wood.
9. Will carbide get as sharp as HSS?
Our customers can assure you that genuine EWT carbide is certainly sharp enough for cutting most any wood cleanly and definitely sharp enough for acrylics, stone and bone.
Many customers report that precision ground EWT carbide cutters provide a quality of cut that is superior to what they had been achieving with HSS tools and their own sharpening skills.
10. What do R2 and R4 mean?
R = radius
Radius = half the diameter.
Diameter = distance across a circle
Our R4 cutters match the curve of an 8” circle.
Our R2 cutters match the curve of a 4” circle.
(R4 is the stock cutter that comes on the Ci1 tool when you buy it)
11. Why are the R2 and R4 cutters curved?
We offer cutters with a curve to them to get the corners out of the way for final shaping cuts and finish cuts. Think of it like sweeping the wings back as you generally find on a bowl gouge.
12. Why would I need both a tool with a square cutter and a tool with a round cutter and a tool with a diamond cutter?
We recommend doing your ‘roughing’ work with the straighter cutting edges available on our Rougher tools. This will allow you to remove bulk material most efficiently. The Rougher tools are a must when cutting a tenon on a bowl or table leg or where an inside ‘corner’ is required on your project.
The Finisher tools are designed more for inside curves and excel at final shaping. It is certainly possible to do many projects start-to-finish with just the round cutter on a Finisher tool. You can take a rough blank all the way down to a finished shape, inside and out, with a round cutting edge but is not really the most efficient method of bulk material removal.
The Detailer tools with the diamond shaped cutter really pick up where our other tools leave off allowing you to cut small coves, beads and details. Unique to the Detailer line is the fact that one cutter will fit both the 3/8” and the ½” tools. We are proud to offer our customers the convenience of this interchangeability.
13. Why would I choose the smaller Mini tools?
When a customer is undecided on which tool size class to select, we generally suggest the larger 1/2" tools with the 16" handles (Ci1 Easy Rougher & Ci0 Easy Finisher). The longer handles are a bit more comfortable for long periods of turning and the heavier tool bars are a little more stable for most cuts.
There are a few times we definitely suggest the Mini Tools:
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One is if you only do smaller work or pen work; Mini tools are very nimble on those projects.
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Two is if you are new to turning and you are looking for a lower investment amount to 'try out' the hobby.
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Youth turners are more comfortable starting out with tools that are ‘more their size’ and less intimidating
Don't misunderstand us though; most use the Mini tools hand-in-hand with the larger tools on most all projects. For example - they use the Mini Rougher for cutting tenons, both inside and reverse, and they use the Mini Finisher to do the tighter inside curves on projects.
In the end, all our tools are quite useful but you can do hundreds of projects with either size class alone.
14. Why do I need a chip deflector?
When using our tools for any cuts, but especially plunge cuts, the Deflector keeps the chips, wet or itchy, from coming straight back at you and down your shirt. The Deflector just eliminates one more issue that reduces your woodturning enjoyment.
15. Can I . . . . . . .?
The Can I …. is a fill-in-the-blank question because we know woodturners in general can be very imaginative in ways to use their tools and equipment. We do not recommend using EWT cutters or tools in any other application or conditions than what is stated on our website or our printed material.
16. Tips and Hints
A. Producing High Quality Final Cuts
If you choose to use any of your EWT tools for your final cuts, we recommend having one cutter that is dedicated to bulk removal and another cutter for the very light final cut(s). Technology has just not yet allowed for a cutting material that will stay sharp enough after removing the excess bulk of material for an entire project and still be able to perform those most delicate final cuts.
EWT customers find that they can produce very acceptable final cuts with EWT tools by following these methods:
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Make a practice of having one cutter, for each tool, dedicated to making only final cuts. This cutter will stay sharp for a very long time with this light use.
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Decrease the rate of tool travel (not spindle RPM) at which you move the tool along the cut for final cuts and give the tool more time to cut as clean as possible. (1/4 speed of roughing) The slower the travel, the cleaner the final cut.
B. To ensure easy removal of your cutter retaining screw, we recommend:
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Do not over tighten screw. Rest assured, the design of the tool system will hold the cutter securely with minimal hex wrench force. Just grip the short end of the hex wrench to lightly hand tighten the screw. This will provide all the force needed due to the geometries of the tool design.
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Lightly grease your cutter screw threads each time you replace your cutter. Maybe even more frequently when turning green (wet) wood.
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Make sure to thoroughly clean the hex socket of the screw before inserting hex wrench. This allows the wrench to make full contact with the screw and prevent you from stripping out the wrench socket.
Stuck Screw Problems?
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Sorry for your trouble - but it does happen sometimes!
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Try drilling head off with a good 3/16" or so drill bit running fairly slow as to not heat anything up to much. (some water helps) When head is gone, insert will come right off and you can grab remainder of screw with pliers.
Tips for prevention-
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1. Never over tighten - just use short end of wrench to install
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2. Keep a dab of grease on screw threads - especially when working green wood.
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3. Clean hex hole thoroughly before inserting hex wrench for removal
C. Chip Deflectors
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Snug the Chip Deflector thumb screw with pliers when making cuts on irregular shaped blanks to avoid the screw from working loose. You will have to use reason here to not over tighten and strip the treads from the aluminum deflector mounting block.
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Position Chip Defector to be looked over rather than looked through.
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Do you have "demo tools"?
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As a small business, we do not have "demo" tools. Hopefully, as our business grows, we will be able to comply with the many requests that we get each day. We do appreciate all of the support the woodturning community has given us so far and we strive to provide the best products and service that we can.
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Do you ship internationally?
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We have the ability to ship anywhere in the world, however we do have a minimum order size for International orders so please email sales@southern-tool.com for more information.
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Where can I find Easy Wood Tools?
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Authentic EWT products are only found on our website, www.southern-tool.com
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