Ci Mini Tools

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
Today, I'm upstairs, Skyping on on the computer to a friend, and the doorbell rings..... UPS guy... :huh:

My wife walks upstairs with a box in her hand, asking if I'd ordered something, "Not that I can think of...." :dunno:

I take a look at the box......... from "Owensboro, Kentucky".... :eek:

Holy cow, that was fast shipping..... :D

(Full disclosure here, Craig Jackson and his lovely wife Donna have given me these tools, and some of the other tools, I bought the first Ci1 tool from them and just loved it, and each time a new one comes out, I want to buy another one, but, they always send them to me, to get my feedback etc. I think they like the videos I first put up on YouTube when I got the Ci1 as well. Anyway, just to be clear, I would gladly pay for any of these tools, and have offered to do so.)

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Boy do these new mini tool look nice, I've always liked the fit and finish on there tools, but these new ones take it to a new level, even the packaging is very nice, the tubes will be kept on hand for taking these tools to any workshop/demos I get to do, because, as usual, these sucker are sharp! :D

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Here they are out of their tubes, very, very nice, there is the new Ci3 Mini Finisher (round carbide insert) and the new Ci2 Mini Rougher.

They are a lot smaller than the other Ci tools........

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....... but man alive can they remove wood in a hurry, or, step back and take super fine cuts.

I honestly think that no matter if you own a mini lathe or a Monster lathe, these two tools will EARN a place on your tool rack, they are that good.

I used them on my Ver 2.0 Skeet project tonight, and the final cuts needed very little sanding at all.

The smaller handles really do make a nice finesse cut easier, the other tools, the larger ones do their job very well, but these mini tools will encourage owners of smaller lathes to use them and all turners in general to make fine cuts easier than ever.

Two solid thumbs up, I cannot be happier, these are just simply great tools.

Stu
 
This is what happens when you do good things,and I believe that there are a quite a few turners,like my self who more than appreciate the time you take in making an posting those videos.I know they have helped me quite a bit. :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Drew,
Here is Craig's web site. Also our own Vaughn helped update his web site. Vaughn 2 thumbs up. :thumb::thumb:

Also go to you tube & you can see his tools in action.
 
Congrats Stu!

I talked to Craig on Friday and he told me about these tools. Christmas is not to far away and I like to make sure I get a good present:)

I tried to remove the screw in the C1 and ruined the top and Craig is sending me a new tool!
He is a great guy and I love his tools!
 
reminds me of my blades on my helix head planer, interesting enough for me to purchase my first real chisels, even if they aint standard chisels.
Bench grinding is overrated anyway.
 
reminds me of my blades on my helix head planer, interesting enough for me to purchase my first real chisels, even if they aint standard chisels.
Bench grinding is overrated anyway.

The cutters are similar to those used in planers and jointers, although they seem to be a lot sharper.

Before Craig introduced the Ci1 and its brethren, I purchased a couple similar tools from another maker. Although they had carbide cutters, they were nowhere near as sharp, and the tools ended up being about worthless. Like using a dull scraper. When I got the Ci1, I saw there was a world of difference between different cutters. These actually cut ribbons of wood off a wet blank. Craig did a lot of research and experimenting and found a cutter that works very well for this application.
 
I used the Ci Mini tools again today, I made a nice little box, and boy at they great little tools to use :thumb:

The Ci2 Mini, the square tool, it sure made fitting the lid on the box dead easy!

I did find that the side and of the tools interfered with the cutting on the small box I was working on, so I went to the grinder and eased the edge of the tool just a bit....

Ci2mini_mod1.jpg Ci2mini_mod3.jpg Ci2mini_mod4.jpg Ci2mini_mod2.jpg

As these tools are not really meant to be hogging off TONS of material like their larger siblings, (they can hog of a LOT, but not TONS) I do not think the this modification will cause any troubles.

Boy these are going to be useful!

BTW, I forgot before to mention the price etc.


95200 Ci2 Mini Rougher Tool, Handled - 12" natural $89.00
92500 Replacement Carbide Cutter - Ci2 Square $13.99

96200 Ci3 Mini Finisher Tool, Handled - 12" natural $89.00
96400 Replacement Carbide Cutter - Ci3 Round $16.99
 
practice leg Im turning with the cio and ci1, easy to make square cuts in.
 

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