PSI Woodworking LCHSS8 8-Piece HSS Wood Lathe Chisel Set & TM32 1/2-Inch Drill Chuck with #2 Morse Taper Arbor (1/2" 2MT) - Perfect for Woodturning, DIY Projects & Professional Woodworking

Yesterday was my very first time to use my new lathe. These tools are a great place to start. I think this is a great value especially for a beginner.Came well packaged and seemingly sharp enough. I purchased the Sorby Pro Edge to take them to the next level. So far so good for this beginner!The gouges I have used were not sharpened very well. Maybe they well work better when sharpened. They seem to be well made and sturdy enough but they should be sharp out of the box.This is a fine little set of tools. Mine came with solid handles and have worked fine.However, the tools all need to be sharpened before first use. I made the mistake of doing otherwise and now have a couple chipped blades that I will have to recut once I learn how.After reading some of the negative reviews I was a bit worried but when they came in they were in perfect condition.I never trust edged tools for sharpness so I planned on touching up the edges anyway. Only one of the skew chisels had what I would call a 'Bad' edge.I have done a lot of work in Asia and I realize one product is often sold under several names but I found it odd that these were clearly not 'PSI' but 'Bejamins Best'. No matter, they work fantastic.Just to put them through a quick test I grabbed a hunk of limb from an appricot tree that died in my orchard. I used every chisel to test them and thet were all fantastic. As you can see in my pictures my lathe is a low-end Cummins but I had zero issues. Not a single catch and that is impressive since I did not knock the corners off with the bandsaw as you can see.I may still modify the heel but I would do that even with an expensive set.A few things to note that I read in other reviews:1) If you use these correctly there is never enough pressure to snap the steel. To be sure that doesn't happen, watch Richard Rafan's video on 'Catches'.2) Yes the ferrules may be loose (mine were not). If they are, my uncle who was a proffesional wood worker would litterally soak them in water overnight to allow the wood which had over dried to swell up and tighten the ferrules again. I would think a light oil would work better but I didn't question what he did.3) I love the box it comes in but honestly as soon as my shop is set up they will never see that box again. They will be in a handmade rack behind the lathe.So the bottom line is that I am very happy with the purchase and highly recomend them.As a beginner with a wood lathe, I was unsure what to expect or need. The set I received "seems" to be ok.There is a film or coating on the metallic surface of the chisels, and it feels like it creates resistance when I slide the tool along the lathe tool rest. There were no instructions included on how to address this problem.I found carbide quirky and catchy for what I do, so needed to make the proper, HSS plunge. You have to get comfortable sharpening (definitely don't learn to sharpen on a $90 gouge first). All HSS gouges and chisels need sharpening; expensive ones just less often. I just got done roughing a square piece of wood into a cylinder, lazily dwelling on the outer edges of the gouge instead of doing the "even wear roll".I fully expected the edge to need a touch-up, ran my finger across it, and cut it because I didn't expect it still to be fully sharp. Bled on my wood. Very, very satisfied. Truly high speed steel. Another brand had reports of flaws in the steel and breakage. PSI has good QC for the price and the "Benjamin 's Best" they sell as PSI I will use for life. If I buy a fancy tool or two that cost as much each as this whole set, it won't be soon, and I'll know better my favorite ones to choose and get fancy about. I the meantime I will make money with these. I would not have bought the slow speed grinder to sharpen if I would have just remembered I can sharpen on the back of my lathe or spare, cheapo headstock on the bench set to slow enough speed not to overheat HSS and lose its temper. Good to have the grinder eventually but save for a $150 minimum one, I got an orange #100 one and the wheels are junk and it vibrates a little. Anyway get these PSI "Benjamin's Best" gouge and chisels. This model could disappear like other good deals.NEEDS TO BE SHARPENED!Otherwise not badOn a trip to a store to buy garbage bags I somehow ended up coming home with a wood lathe. The lathe came with “tools” but after seeing them it didn’t take me long to realize I needed something better. After a quick search I ended up with these. I was pretty impressed when they arrived at their quality for that price point. They were a decent enough size and came in wooden box for storage. In that price the only thing else I could find that was comparable were single or double tools. They were better quality, but I needed a full set to start.After initial inspection most of the edges needed some fine tuning before they cut properly, but nothing major and they would work right out of the box if needed. They are comfortable to use and perfect for my use. I wouldn’t recommend them for more robust projects, but as a initial starter for some smaller projects they seemed just right.Pro:• Decent quality and size• wooden storage box included• full decent set for the same cost of single or pair of tools.• comfortable to useCons:• perhaps a bit small for some larger more robust projects• edges needed refinement before use, but were passable if neededI bought this based on most of the reviewers saying it was a good set for a beginner. However there are a few issues you should be aware of.1. As stated by many reviewers, The tools come dull as . There is some kind of plastic coating on them I found threw me off when I was sharpening them. You will have to sharpen them and put proper edges on the gouges.2. The handles are small and all the tools are the same size. I have learned that some tools need a little more handle size so you can lock between your hip and forearm. These are undersized for me but I'm not a small guy either.3. Some of the tools are not bedded straight. For example, the parting tool doesn't line up with the handle well which I didn't see immediately and was wondering why it wasn't sharpening straight. Even worse goes into the wood at an angle you don't expect. I call it the V tool now.For the money there aren't many other options so if you wanna start with something I guess the options are limited. I have since bought a few individual (Sorby) gouges giving me something to compare to for writing this review.Ignore the bad reviews, they are written by uninformed woodworkers.- Coating on tools is gross/whatever - This is a heavy coating applied in factory to protect your steel and is standard in industry. It's easily removed with some solvent, be sure to immediately lightly oil surfaces after removing this to prevent rust. I suggest sewing-machine, air-tool, or mineral oil as available. Use heavier oil for longer storage.- They arrived DULL!!! - This is normal also, as even higher-end brand-name chisels generally come only ground to approximate shape. Sharpening a brand new chisel is a thing. Order yourself a bench grinder and put a high-quality wheel on it just for sharpening. Better and finer wheels remove less chisel which saves you money. Chisels cut miles of wood in moments, get used to sharpening.- Short handles, can't lock against hip/forearm - First of all, you aren't supposed to hold your chisel like that, please take a class before you cause injury from vibration or worse. Secondly, these are suited for smallish to mid-size work on an average bench lathe, not turning large burl bowls or doing hollow work with long reaches required. Thirdly, turn yourself a longer handle instead of blaming the tool.I've put my set to good use on hard and soft punky woods, dry and wet, and have no complaints. Steel seems to be high quality and holds an edge as well as the Sorbey's I've used. Gouge is well designed with a short flute for stability. It's not every chisel you'll ever want and you may not even use a couple of them, but it should be enough for most beginner and intermediate turners to get things done.- FishNFries on TwitchI'm new to woodturning and these are my first set of chisels. Out of the box, they were sharp enough to turn my first piece of wood (ash) but it seemed they weren't sharp enough. After tuning them up on the slow speed grinder they seem to cut better. I think that my skill in sharpening may need improving though. Aside from that, the handle feels nice in the hand, the HSS seems to be good quality and is holding what edge I gave it. As a noob - no complaints.Bit of an overkill for use on my mini lathe but much better than the cheap ( won't cut ) mini chisels. Have not tried these yet as they need to be cleaned and have a sharpness touch up, but look forward to using them later today. Also they come in a very nice storage case. Overall - Happy with purchase.