Beginner's lathe tool question

[Paul Coffin]

Woodcraft has their 8 tool wood river brand HSS set with 16 inch handles on sale for $149. Is this a good price for a biginner set? Are there better options out there for newbe's. The lathe is on the way. I can feel the vortex pulling!

Paul

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I don't want to spite the Woodriver set, as I don't have any idea on that quality. This is what I would do if I had to start over. I would get the Harbor Freight lathe tool set, around 40 bucks delivered. Spend the 100 bucks on a Sorby 3/8 bowl gouge, or as more people on this forum like them, a Thompson gouge. But it comes un handled, and naturally you need to buy/build your own. May not be up to the task.
I spent entirely too much money buying this and that, and stumbled onto the HF tool set. I have to admit I bought it solely for the 1 inch roughing gouge. The tools are really good, considering its 40 bucks for the set. It is nowhere near the quality of the Woodriver set. It allows a lot of practice building your sharpening skills too, as you don't want to grind away half of your 100 buck gouge to practice sharpening.
After you practice with the HF set, you can plink down some hard earned dollars on the quality tools you really like. I know a pro turner that doesn't own a skew. No sense in buying a 150 buck WR set and not use the perfectly good 20 buck WR skew. Not using a 5 buck HF tool is a different story. You can dig weeds with it. LOL.

Hvving said all that, if you want the quality WR set, it seems to be a good deal. Invest in a good bowl gouge, that will be the main workhorse.:)

Just my .02.

[Joe Aliperti]

Another source of inexpensive tools to consider are the Benjamin's Best series sold by Penn State Industries:

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/woodturning-tools.html

[Gary Max]

On the other hand----that set you are talking about at Woodcraft will last you for many years and you will not out grow it---I have a couple of them in my shop.
The set they sell with the black handles-----right good stuff.

[Scott Conners]

I came in to say exactly what Kyle said. Get the $40 HF tool set, it's a really good start. Personally, I'd add a 3/8" fingernail spindle gouge (I don't like the 1/4" gouge in the HF set at all) and a 1/2" bowl gouge such as a Thompson V or similar. That set has all of the basics you need, and is a super value.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Another vote for Benjimans Best. I bought this set as my first and still use most all of them. Leaves you some extra cash for a sharpening system or whatever.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCHSS8.html

[Wally Dickerman]

I always advise against buying tools in a set. Some of the tools you'll never use. I looked at the $149 set on Woodcrafts site. 8 tools, most for spindle turning, plus a couple of scrapers and a roughing gouge, which is for spindle turning only. A round nose and a square nose. The skew is oval, which I wouldn't advise, especially for a beginner. Not user friendly. 3 spindle gouges. A beginner can get by with just one, maybe two. Unless you're going to do a lot of spindle turning, you can get by without the roughing gouge.

If you plan to turn bowls, and you probably do, you'll need a bowl gouge. I suggest a 1/2 inch. (actually 5/8 in., dia.) A diamond parting tool, also used in spindle turning. A round nosed 1 inch scraper. Side grind it on the left side. Tha's all you really need to start bowl turning.

For spindle turning, I suggest a 1/4 and a 3/8 inch spindle gouge. For the time being, forget the skew. Unless you get into a lot of spindle turnig, the bowl gouge makes a a good roughing gouge. I know some good turners who recommend Benjamin's Best tools for spindle gouges. Very inexpensive.

As you gain some experience on the lathe you'll want to add some other tools. A 1/4 inch bowl gouge is a wonderful tool. I use mine a lot. A heavy duty round nose scraper 1 1/2 in x 3/8. It should be side ground on the left side. A 1 inch square nose tool. And more.

I don't understand people who tell beginners to buy a cheap set of tools and to wear them out learning to sharpen. Sharpening isn't that difficult to learn. I teach a lot of classes and I always spend time teaching sharpening. I can teach you how to sharpen turning tools, with or without a jig, in less than an hour. So can any other experienced turner.

The best advice I can give you is to take a class in turning. You'll be very glad you did. A good teacher will advise you on tools.

Wally

[Jerome Hanby]

Spend the 100 bucks on a Sorby 3/8 bowl gouge, or as more people on this forum like them, a Thompson gouge. But it comes un handled, and naturally you need to buy/build your own. May not be up to the task.

I turned a handle for the Thompson Gauge I got my wife for Christmas. If I can turn the handle for one, I think it's a mortal lock that anyone can:D

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I turned a handle for the Thompson Gauge I got my wife for Christmas. If I can turn the handle for one, I think it's a mortal lock that anyone can:D


LOL I disagree.... The last handle I made is not straight! It is actually helpful when turning and you need to get around a corner. :rolleyes:
Since I only have a mini, turning a 12" handle, it hard to drill a straight hole. Can't use the tailstock. So I had to use the drill press. Almost a straight hole....

[Gordon Seto]

The best advice I can give you is to take a class in turning. You'll be very glad you did. A good teacher will advise you on tools.

Wally

Can't agree more.

The Sorby factory rep from UK, Kyle was demonstrating at our local Woodcraft last year. A gentleman said the $500 Sorby ProEdge sharpening system didn't work. Kyle asked him whether he bought the unit with him and he would inspect it. The gentleman has almost all the Sorby turning tools that Woodcraft carried with him. They were butchered up real bad, multi faceted, wrong shape. I doubt Richard Raffan can use any of those tools without major catches. Kyle passed around some of his tools without making any comment and calmly asked for permission to try to fix them. He reshaped the profile and sharpened them one by one.
I am afraid this gentleman bought one tool after another when the first few didn't seem to work. He was trying to buy the magic tool that would solve his lack of understanding of how to use what he had.

Or find a local turning chapter:
AAW Local Chapters (http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/LocalChapters.asp)

[Aaron Wingert]

In all my years of shopping at Woodcraft I've only taken two items back due to quality issues...And they both were branded under the Wood River name. Lesson learned, I won't buy that brand again. The first item was a set of stop collars for drill bits that didn't fit the drill bits they were sized for. The second item was a collet chuck that had a crazy amount of runout in it. As usual, the good folks at Woodcraft took good care of me on both items. :)

For pretty good tools at great prices I definitely think that the Benjamins Best line from PSI are worth a hard look. I have high-end tools and also a handful of the Benjamins Best tools, and they do really well for the price. They're very very reasonably priced and hold an edge fairly well. With them on the market I'd never consider looking at the Harbor Freight or Woodcraft sets.

One consideration is that you'll need to immediately invest in a sharpening system or grinder/jig or you'll get frustrated real quick.

[Jerome Hanby]

LOL I disagree.... The last handle I made is not straight! It is actually helpful when turning and you need to get around a corner. :rolleyes:
Since I only have a mini, turning a 12" handle, it hard to drill a straight hole. Can't use the tailstock. So I had to use the drill press. Almost a straight hole....

You need a Craigslist Shopsmith. It's perfect for making handles :D

[Rick Hutcheson]

I have many of the Benjamin Best tools. The thing I have found is that they are only hardened for about the first 1". Once you go past that the tool is mild steel and I need to sharpen about 4-5 times to get one bowl blank roughed out.
I sharpen the used Benjamin tool and try to make fine finish cut, Then I grab my old Record tool that hasn't been sharpened after doing many bowls. The old Record tool makes nice fine smooth cuts, the Benjamin tool you need to work and push hard. Both tools were sharpened the same way on the same jig and grinder, but the steel in the Record tools just takes a lot better edge.
The Benjamin are good for learning to sharpen because of the low cost.