Robert Sorby 67HS Turning Tool Set Review
Five or six proper HSS tools with full-size handles, aimed at someone starting out. Good steel, and more tools than a beginner needs.
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Turning tool sets are where a lot of money gets wasted, so it is worth separating what matters from what is packaging.
The steel matters. Sorby’s tools are high speed steel: it holds an edge through more work than carbon steel and, crucially, survives being ground without losing temper. Beginners overheat tools on a grinder constantly. With carbon steel that ruins the tool; with HSS you take a bluish edge off and carry on.
The handles matter. These come with full-size ash handles. A turning tool is controlled by leverage against the tool rest, and a long handle tucked under your forearm gives you the control to stop a catch. Sets with short handles are cheaper and much harder to learn on.
The factory grind matters less than people think, but Sorby’s is good, and it means the set works out of the box rather than needing an hour on a grinder before the first cut.
What you will actually use
Every turner’s set follows the same pattern. The roughing gouge and the parting tool get used on almost every spindle. The spindle gouge does the shaping. The skew is either your favourite tool or the one you are afraid of, with little in between. The scraper comes out occasionally.
None of that is a criticism of the set — it is an argument for not buying a bigger one. Ten-piece sets are mostly there to look like value.
Spindles, not bowls
This is a spindle-oriented set. Bowl turning needs a bowl gouge with a deeper flute and a longer bevel, and that is a separate purchase whichever set you start with.
The carbide question
Carbide-insert tools — a square or round cutter screwed to a bar — are much easier for a total beginner. The cutter is presented flat, it does not need bevel-riding technique, and when it dulls you rotate the insert. No grinder, no jig, no skill curve.
The trade is surface finish and control. Traditional tools, sharpened and used properly, leave a cut surface that needs far less sanding. If you want to learn turning rather than just produce a shape, HSS is the path, and this set is a reasonable way onto it.
What works
- Genuine high speed steel that holds an edge far longer than the carbon steel in budget sets, and survives being ground hot
- Full-size ash handles give the leverage a beginner needs — short-handled sets are the reason new turners get catches they cannot control
- Sorby grind their tools properly at the factory, so the set arrives usable rather than needing a session on the grinder first
What doesn't
- Sets always include tools you will barely touch: most turners use the roughing gouge, spindle gouge and parting tool constantly and the scraper rarely
- It is a spindle-biased set, so a buyer who wants to turn bowls needs a bowl gouge that is not in here
- The price sits well above carbide-insert starter sets, which are far easier for a complete beginner to get a result with
Worth comparing against
- Check price
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