Got me a lathe!

[Jack Camillo]

Well, finally did it - bought a Delta 46-460. Woodcraft's sale for 509 pushed me over the edge. Now I just have to learn what to do with it:D
Is there a "best" book for beginners that you guys would recommend?
thanks

[David DeCristoforo]

Run! You fool!!!

[Jim Burr]

No pictures...never happened. Please try again tomorrow. Thank you for playing.

[David Warkentin]

Ah the vortex gets another one! Look, now he wants to buy a book. Actually, welcome to the round side! The first book I bought iirc was Woodtuning, a foundation course.

[Roger Chandler]

Jack,

Welcome to what we call the VORTEX! We call it that because of all the things one has to purchase in order to do turning on a fairly skillful level. The lathe is just the start.........you will need turning tools, 4 jaw chucks, sanding supplies, finishing supplies, etc.

There are woodturning videos on you tube, and you can get them in the turning catalogs as well. One of the best things you could do is get with a local club, or another woodturner that has some turnings under his/her belt, and they can teach you a lot about tool presentation and safety. You will need dust masks at minimum, and also a full face mask. These are imperative for your safety. Don't delay these!

[Scott Hubl]

Yup, No pics Did NOT happen.:p

Congrats.

Go watch some vids on youtube. Then depending on what you actually want to turn, buy some DVD's.

Our local Woodcraft has a DVD section I would guess most do, or even Rockler.

Or any number of online places search for a vid you want that teaches what you want to learn.

I myself learn much better by watching, then just reading. YMMV.;)

[Chris Colman]

Open your wallet, take a picture. Bye bye cash...

The vortex takes all! But what a way to go.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack....Congratulations! I have several books for beginning turners but the one I find most useful is "Woodturning - A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley. It's currently available at Amazon for $14.24 plus shipping. It is well illustrated and he leads your through proper use of each tool and a series of projects. I often place it near the lathe.

You will find turning to be the closest thing to instant gratification in the woodworking world! Hang on!

[Donny Lawson]

DVD- Turned Bowls made easy-BY:Bill Grumbine Great DVD for someone who would like to turn bowls.
Donny

[Jim Burr]

OK Jack, now that you've been admonished for lack of photos, here is a good link from Jet on Youtube about bowls. Should be a good starting point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqPuDFtz_-Y&feature=related

[Mark Hix]

They pretty much covered it.....books, dvd's, turning club....all make a rounded training.......Maybe we should offer a service....just send us your lathe money so you won't buy one and that will "save" you???? Too late for Jack but maybe the next one?

Congratulations Jack, you will find hours of enjoyment.

[Bill Hensley]

I'll second the recommendation on the Jet tool videos. They cover the basic tools and all are very informative

[Dennis Ford]

+1 on the Jet videos. Be cautious about you-tube videos, there are a lot of good ones but a few that show dangerous techniques.

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the invisible lathe!

[Bob Borzelleri]

:DTough crowd:D

[Jack Camillo]

Okay, gents, I'm a chargin' my camera battery... Hadn't thought about a pic because I didn't want to "show off" my messy shop, but if it's a matter of believing me ...

And really, though, thanks for all the great advice! I've begun playing with my new toy and I can (almost) see why many folks get caught up in turning and move away from flatwork. Can't wait to really get going with the turning - there are some great clubs and classes in the Baltimore area that I'll be checking out. And those Jet youtube videos are really great at my level.
Thanks again. Stay tuned for lathe pics.

[Tony Pridmore]

If you have a local AAW chapter it will likely have a library of books and videos. The clubs in this area offer extremely cheap ($1/month) to free rental for club members.

[Jack Camillo]

180431Okay, messy shop with lathe180430

[Baxter Smith]

Congratulations on your new lathe. That big yellowthing in the middle of your shop will be a great place to store/show off your turnings while you wait to finish them.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the lathe. Ken Fitzgerald gave you the best book to start turning. It also now comes with a DVD I think. Great book and source.

[Tony Pridmore]

...messy shop with lathe

I would call that a clean shop. Wait until the shavings from the lathe are ankle deep. Then you can call it messy!

[Jim Sebring]

A couple of things were left out of the suggestions above:
1) Find and join a local club. The folks there will mentor your fall into the vortex!
2) Get a good sharpening system. Turning is the quickest way to dull tools I know of. Without sharp tools you will just be wasting your time and energy - and will probably quit in frustration in short order.

[Travis Schafer]

The 15% off was the deal breaker for me too (Rockler price matched). What a beauty, you can tell as soon as you open the box that Delta invested in quality on this one. LOVE IT!

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Oh man...why did you guys have to point out the Woodcraft sale on that lathe? I have been happily waiting to save up for that lathe and now it is on sale for a great price! I wish my local Woodcraft actually stocked it so I didn't have to pay the $50 in shipping. But still....I feel like I now have to figure out how to come up with $550 before the sale ends!!! :)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack,

Jim Sebring gave you some pretty sage advice. Turners are some of the most generous folks around. Often you can get free lessons and mentoring from someone after joining a turning club. And Jim's advice on sharpening is spot on. Dull tools are the pits to turn with, more prone, IMHO, to catches and take the fun out of it. A lot of turners use the Wolverine sharpening system by Oneway but there are alternatives out there. Trying to learn to freehand sharpen at the same time as you are trying to learn to turn would be horrible. The Wolverine jig system or something similar reduces the time spent learning to sharpen so the beginner turner can concentrate more on learning to turn. Good luck!

[Ian Jeffcock]

2nd all of the above. + you might want to check out smartflix.com. It s like netflix but "how to " movie rentals.

[John Keeton]

Jack, congrats on the fine lathe, and thanks for the pics of the shop. First thing to do - find a good home in that shop for the lathe that will permit you to use a shovel to get rid of the shavings! If you use if where it sits, you will never find any of that stuff on either side again! It will be buried in chips and shavings.

You are going to love this lathe! Go slowly in buying tools, etc. In my excitement at the beginning, I bought tools thinking I was going to turn certain things and ended up doing other types of turnings. Kind of stick to the basics for awhile until you find what you like.

But, above all - have fun with it!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jack - Congrats on your new lathe! Looking forward to watching your progress! Have fun!

[Roger Wilson]

Nice shop with lots of room.

Don't be in a rush to use the lathe (tough I know). The first thing you need is information.
I'd recommend going to youtube and searching on "woodturning". Jet has a series of videos on tool use and projects.
As for specific DVDs; both of Bill Grumbine's are excellent, Raffan's are good as well.
You can goto www.smartflix.com (http://www.smartflix.com) and rent DVDs, search on "turning" there.
Ernie Conover's lathe book is excellent as is Bill Raffans bowl design book.

In addition to info on how to use your tools and accessories, you need to focus on safety. You need to look at dust collection and respirators as well. As Grumbine says you only get one set of lungs.

You will find that in the lathe world there really is a vortex for spending. Everything you want to do can involve buying more tools and accessories, so try to think through what you are going to be doing first and look for inexpensive options. Ernie Conover has a new book out (The Frugal Woodturner) on how to build your own tools and accessories.

And post questions, issues, problems here. You will get lots of good repsonses as you move along. And yes pix help.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Ugh....this sale is killing me :) Still trying to recover from the holidays, but I got a $75 Woodcraft gift card for Christmas....put that towards this lathe on sale....Ugh....I really don't have the money for this, but this is what I have been waiting for...I need to figure out how to come up with some more $$ before March 3rd :)

[Jon Nuckles]

To those in the Maryland area: start checking Craigslist for a nice looking Powermatic table saw in 3 to 6 months, when Jack realizes he hasn't used it in a while and he needs some funds to buy more turning tools and accessories! I guess I should post this in the power tools forum; what do y'all need a table saw for?

[Vince Welch]

Congradulations on your new purchase!!! Now for the tools and other fun stuff!!!! Let me know if you need any information on what to look for in sanding abrasives. Vince