Flying curls

I have a woodturning friend who has been urging me to try one of the new Glaser HiTec tools. I finally succumbed and tried a Glaser HiTec 7/16" detail gouge.

I use a detail gouge for end grain work and grind it to a bevel of between 45 and 50 degrees. This allows me to have sufficient steel under the tip of the flute to hollow and shape end grain.

I was in the process of shaping the lid on a box turned from a piece of very old, very dry and very hard persimmon. Persimmon's hardness is well known and used to be used for the heads of wooden golf clubs.

I was very impressed with the tool as it peeled beautiful curls off the end of this hard wood as I shaped the lid. The curls flew off the lid as if I was turning green wood so I had my wife snap an action shot freezing the curls in mid-air.

After completing the lid I tried the Glaser detail gouge for hollowing end grain and it performed very well and was able to reach about 2 1/2"- 2 3/4" into the body of a box blank before I experienced any chatter.

All in all a very nice tool with good heft in the handle and excellent edge holding characteristics. The shot filled handle was a pleasure to use and is very different from the wooden handles that I am accustomed to using.

Love the action shot Mike, very cool!

Those tools are awesome.

I have a few of the original Glaser tools that were purchased directly from Mr. Glaser when he was an active member at the Glendale woodturning guild. I got them at cost.

Great shot, Mike, and thanks for the mini-review.

Have you used any of Doug Thompson's tools? If so, how do they compare to the new Glaser tools? I've seen discussions about 10V steel vs. 15V steel, and supposedly the 10V is great,and the 15V is better. It's my understanding that Doug's tools have been made with the 10V steel, although he's started offering a few in 15V also.

Yes, I have several Thompson gouges and I am not qualified to make comparisons between steel grades. I have been using Thompson gouges for a couple of years with no complaints.

I have limited experience with the Glaser tools as this is the first time I have ever used one. All I can say is that it performed very well for me, felt good in my hand and seemed to stay sharp for a long time. It is a beautifully constructed tool and seemed to have more rigidity than its small diameter would have suggested. I used it on the hardest woods I had at the time and it performed very well.

Today I started using the Glaser detail gouge on a box turned from blue gum eucalyptus which is very different from the hard woods I used it on over the weekend. It worked very well on this softer wood so my opinion of the tool continues to improve. I believe it is a very fine tool.

Let me say one thing about tools. I have many tools that I love and love to use. I have never been one to say unequivocally that one tool is better than another because I think that is a comparison for which I am unqualified. I have tried many tools for a variety of reasons. Some were tried because I was looking for an improved tool. Others were tried because someone recommended the tool. How I feel about a tool is a matter of personal preference and my comments constitute my opinion. Yours may differ.