Good turning book for beginners?

[Rob Price]

See title. I want to start reading more about turning before I jump into the vortex so I can make better purchasing decisions. See my other posts on my lathe shopping. Thanks.

[Philip Morris]

I personally like Richard Raffan's Books. He has a general book on Turning Wood, then others on bowls, boxes, etc. There are also accompanying DVDs. Of the two, my learning style is geared more to the book, just covers more stuff in more detail than the DVD.

One of the typical things new turners struggle with is design and proportion of turned pieces. Although now out of print, Raffan's book on Turned Bowl Design is a great resource and still available through online used book sellers like Alibris for less than $10.

Hope this helps.

[Richard Allen]

Take an introduction to the lathe class. I know the class cost a lot more than a book or a video but a class will make a HUGE difference in your woodturning. The class is like 6 months of trial and error. Woodcraft, Rockler, Highland Hardware, adult education are all good places to look for a class.

A book can help reinforce things you learn in a class. My favorite book is the Dale Nish book, but it has been out of print for many years.

[Wally Dickerman]

I'll second the motion for Raffan's books and also on taking a beginners class. I've been teaching woodturning for a lot of years. I've followed the turning progress of many of my students and without exception they all agree on how beneficial a biginners class was for them.

[Philip Morris]

And don't forget checking out local turning clubs. You may find a local experienced turner willing to be a mentor.

[Rob Price]

I don't have a shop nearby, but we do have a local woodturning club. I'm trying to track them down right now actually. Thanks for the Tips. I found Raffan's book on my iPad/Kindle app which will be handy.

[Jon McElwain]

Books are really great - the author has a chance to explain exactly what he is doing along with snapshots of the action. However, turning is very much a fluid action activity, and as such, is hard to capture what is going on with still photographs. I would recommend reading what you can, but looking at some quality videos as well. Raffan, Drozda, Bosch, Clewes, Rex and Kip, Mahoney, (just to name a few off the top of my head), would all be excellent resources and would give you close-up video of what exactly the tools is doing when it cuts the wood.

There are also a lot of good you-tube videos on turning as well. By the way, +1 on Raffan's book. I also like the one by Ellsworth "Turning by Ellsworth" or "Ellsworth on Turning" or something like that.

[Prashun Patel]

Rob-
I think getting a book or taking a class is a good idea to help LEARN. but for informing purchasing decisions, my advice is to ask questions around here. I learned (read, am learning) almost entirely through this forum and Youtube, and have made happy progress in a year. What do you want to make?

If bowls....

As far as design advice, I've found Richard Raffan's "The Art of Turned Bowls" very informative and rich; I go back to it again and again.

I also highly recommend Bob Grumbine's Turned Wood Bowls Made Easy. It really takes you thru the process from selecting, to mounting, to cutting. It helped me avoid some non-obvious possible dangerous mistakes, like selecting the right screws to mount things, or the right gouge for roughing.

[Paul Heely]

I like Raffan's books also. When I was getting started I bought a box set of his with Turning Bowls, Turning Wood and Turning Boxes. A hands on class is worth every penny though. I was fortunate enough to take one from Raffan and learned more in one day than I ever did reading his books over and over.

Raffan's Turning Wood video is available for rent through Amazon video. It's a couple of bucks and you can watch it for a week over and over, which you will need to do because he goes fast in his videos.

[Noah Barfield]

I'm an English teacher and a book hound, so I never thought I'd be saying this: get the video instead! I'm also a beginning turner and have collected a shelf's worth of turning books so far. None of these have helped nearly as much as Clewes's Turning It On 3-DVD set. If I had it to do over again, I'd go straight to the DVDs and skip the books entirely.

[Tom Hamilton]

Rob: There are many clubs in GA; start there, get the books and video's from the club library. But really, join the club and schedule a mentoring session with one of the members. There is no substitute, replacement or alternative for rapid progression. After the lesson the books and DVD's will make much more sense.

Raffan is wonderful, so is David Ellsworth. But for a beginner, try Keith Rowleyd's, "Woodturning, A foundational Course" ( ISBN: 9781861001148)

How do I know this: because some took the time back on 2007 to put me on this path.

Enjoy, Tom

[Bernie Weishapl]

The first book I bought and it is excellent was Keith Rowley's, "Woodturning, A foundational Course". He covers turning and tools really well.

[Donny Lawson]

Rob, what part of GA are you from? There are alot of good turners nearby that would be willing to give you some pointers or lessons. If your close to me just come on over. My classes are "FREE". The person that taught me charged $15.00hr. but after a few lessons I knew enough to figure it out myself.

[Rob Price]

our local turner's group does offer some lessons, I'll email them and see what the cost is. We have the guy who designed all the carter bandsaw guides here in town, I know he charged $40/hr for sessions.

[George Morris]

There are lots of great books,elsworth,raffin and many others. You tube has some shorts. Try Bill Grumbine for a very good DVD. G

[Jake Helmboldt]

Raffan's Turning Wood book and video are a great complement and he covers all of the fundamentals (sharpening, wood selection, mounting, techniques for spingle and face grain turning, equipment, etc). The video shows things in motion and the book provides lots of detail to refer back to. Clubs and mentoring are great but you can't just go back and refer to them when you need info or a refresher.