Easy Rougher Ci1 & Ci2

If you are a wood turner and haven’t heard of the Easy Rougher Ci1 and Ci2, then you might just be living under a rock.  These tools are offered by Easy Wood Tools and since making their launch in 2008 have really gained some momentum.  These immediately became my tool-of-choice for most all roughing cuts involved in preparing bowl blanks.  They are beautifully crafted, built with quality materials, and work BETTER than advertised.  I can’t say enough … I’m in love.

Why the Easy Rougher tools over a traditional bowl gouge?  If I said it’s easy, would that be enough?  I didn’t think so.  Let me elaborate.  The most obvious advantages to these tools are that they are VERY sharp and feature a durable cutter head.  The carbide cutter in these tools is a pleasure for a wood turner.  Not only do they come sharp (meaning you don’t have to figure out how to sharpen them), they also stay sharp a lot longer.  Another advantage of this tools is that it cuts, cuts, cuts.  You won’t be learning how to guide the tool through any special angles, or worry about riding (or not riding) bevels.  The Easy Rougher tools are about as simple as it gets … hold on to the tool and bring it in contact with the wood at a right angle (perpendicular to the tool rest).

A few more benefits of these tools are less obvious … for instance, if you have roughed out many bowl blanks then you know how tiring that can be.  The out-of-round wood can really bang you around and the slow progress seems to just drag out for hours while you prep your blanks.   The Ci tools make it much less of a workout and the whole roughing-out process is a lot faster.  Another example that may not be obvious is the reduced chance of kickback, or a nasty catch.  The way these tools cut really reduce the chance of a nasty accident and keep you safer behind the tool rest.

I’ve been using these tools nearly a year now and can’t say enough good things about them.  Everything is made with quality and the wood turner in mind.  Even the uniquely shaped handles are surprisingly comfortable.

The larger model is referred to as the Easy Rougher Ci1, and the smaller model is the Easy Rougher Ci2.  Both feature a four-side carbide cutter on the working end and (optionally) one of the Easy Wood Tools dual-grip handles.

Each tool is etched with the model, and the tool is secured with a brass fitting.

The cutters have four sharp sides.  When one gets dull, simply grab the provided allen wrench, loosen, rotate and re-tighten … it’s that easy.  You are back cutting in less than a minute.  No more running to the grinder, setting up the jig, making test cuts and grinding every so often.  The carbide tips on these tools last a LOT longer than any metal and can really take some abuse.

This is a side view of the cutter.  As you can see, the back side is dished out to protect the cutter’s edge.

The tool handles that Easy Wood Tools sells are fairly unique.  Some people are going to baulk at them because they are not traditional, but don’t let that steer you away.  I’ve found the handles to be really nice.  They are comfortable to use, the lip gives your hand a place to register time and time again, and the variety of colors makes it easy to identify a tool even from afar.

As you can tell, I’m a HUGE fan of the Ci tools from Easy Wood Tools.  They are a little pricey, but then again what great tool isn’t these days.

Want one?  Head over to http://easywoodtools.com/

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