OK, I'm buying a lathe. Now what?

[Mike Cogswell]

I've been working wood for decades and have a small shop with a the typical machinery and a good selection of hand tools. I've made a variety of things, including doors, furniture, cabinets, even a full set of sash windows that are exact duplicates of the originals in my daughter's circa 1880 house, right down to the pegged full mortise & tenon joinery.

Yet somehow, I never owned a lathe. But now SWMBO has added some furniture items to the honey-do list that will require a lathe to turn the legs.

I've settled on the Delta midi with a bed extension, but would like advice/suggestions for two areas:

1. Besides the lathe, what do you recommend as initial accessories (e.g. chucks, tool rests, calipers, centers, etc.) that I'm likely to want/need early on.

2. What are the basic turning tools I'm going to need to get started? Should I get a set, or just go a la cart?
Woodcraft is having a sale on wood turning items next week, so I'd like to take advantage of it if they have some good quality items you can recommend.

Right now, and for the foreseeable future, all my turning will be spindle turning, so any bowl related items wouldn't be an issue.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Mike

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the lathe purchase! For spindle work, you really don't need a chuck although there are times when they come in handy… You can turn table legs and balusters between centers, and you're lathe will come with a drive center and live center. You'll want a decent roughing gouge(1" or larger), a parting tool, and a nice spindle gouge(1/2" to start). A detail gouge and a skew are both handy tools as well, but I don't think they're necessities. You'll need some way to sharpen them properly(slow speed grinder or tormek type). Woodcraft carries Sorby stuff which I've used in the past, and they're nice tools. It seems most of us are gravitating toward powered metal tools such as Thompson or Glaser, but there are other manufacturers in that realm. You can buy your tools handled or make your own handles, and there are fans in both camps. I would imagine you've already got a decent set of calipers, but if not, they're a must for turning duplicate spindles.

I'm probable leaving something out, but the others will chime in shortly.

[John Keeton]

I agree with David's suggestions, with the exception that for furniture related turning, the skew would fall into the necessity category for me. Doing V cuts, and some pommel work is so much easier with a skew - and, I hate the skew! But, for those tasks, it is handy.

[Curt Fuller]

Mike, a gun and a ski mask would probably come in handy for the financing of your new adventure. Actually, the lathe is probably the cheapest part of the turning vortex. The one suggestion I will make though is buy your tools as though you were planning on making bowls, vases, platters, etc right from the beginning. "Funiture parts" are just the very tip of the very tip of the iceberg once you start spinning wood.

[Jim Burr]

Make pens...you can get your investment back...I did.

[Dave Lehnert]

No lathe expert here compared to others on the forum. But I would recommend trying an inexpensive tool set like this from Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-high-speed-steel-turning-set-35444.html
Good tools are expensive. This set gives you a chance to use different types of tools then you can upgrade to good tools with the style and size you use the most. Also the cheap set is good to learn to sharpen on. No reason to grind away on a $100 gouge.

[Larry Lilly]

Not knowing what you may have but if you dont have a grinder, you will need one about 20 minutes after you start turning. That is really the third thing to buy after One, the lathe and Two, at least one turning tool. Woodcraft often has the slow speed 8 inch grinder which is a great deal since the wheels that they offer are good and wide, 1 inch, so rolling the tool off the edge is minimized. If you have a 6 inch high speed like lots of us have, then that is a second best deal.

The rest will follow as your work dictates. But beware, its a deep hole that not many get out of. And that old adage, "If your in too deep, stop digging" doesnt apply here. Keep digging. When you can say that your lathe is the only tool you use, the rest are just accessories, then you can see the light at the end of the tuinnel.

[Andrew Kertesz]

My local Woodcraft currently has a sale of 15% off all Nova turning accessories not sure if it is corporate wide. Nova is probably in at least the top 4 for chucks and accessories with the SN2 the most favored.

[James Combs]

If it were me and spindles/legs etc. were my only turnings I would at least invest in a set of collets like these at PSI (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCDOWEL.html) otherwise most everything else has already been covered and ditto the "buy as if you were going to turn bowls" comment.

[Jim Underwood]

A club. Really.

Join a turning club.:D Single best thing you can do to improve your skills.


For spindle turning I'm more comfortable using a 3/8 spindle gouge than a 1/2 gouge, but I agree with everything else Keller says about the roughing gouge, parting tool, and spindle gouge. An outside caliper is nice for transferring measurements. I also agree with Keeton about the skew. It's almost essential for V-grooves and pommels. (Get help with this tool!) I'm not sure that buying a cheap set is worth it, but if you do buy one from HF get the higher priced one. Definitely go with HSS rather than a cheapie carbon steel set. The sets usually come with stuff you don't ever use, but you can always repurpose those...

I'd also say that a faceshield and dust protection are essential. The faceshield might save your life some day, and will definitely save you from facial injury at some point. It has saved me several times in the past few years. A good powered respirator like the Triton, Trend, or 3M are pricy, but worth it. Try them on before you buy if you can.

[Richard Allen]

I agree with Jim about the safety equipment. A face shield and a respirator that you wear. That respirator could be an N95 paper dust mask or it could be a $1000+ PAR system.

To improve safety, taking an introduction to the lathe class would also be good. How you use your tools, where you stand, how you mount wood on your lathe are all important to your safety.

Carbide turning tools are all the rage right now. If you go the carbide tool route you can avoid the whole sharpening thing (a thin parting tool is a necessity but you can sharpen it with a diamond hone). Hunter and EWT (Easy Wood Tools) appear to be the most popular carbide turning tools.

A spindle steady will be one of the tools that you will eventually need. The spindle steady made by Oneway is a good choice.

The Galbert Caliper is a fantastic spindle/furniture caliper.

Task lighting helps a LOT and the Moffat lights work perfect as task lights at the lathe.

Recap:

Face-shield
Respirator
Carbide turning tools
Thin parting tool
Diamond hone
Steady rest
Galbert caliper
Moffat light

Oh yea, you will need a bigger shovel to remove waste(;->)

[Russell Neyman]

Mike, where do you live? I ask that because there's nothing more useful than to see woodturners in action and to share techniques with them. Most AWW turning groups are remarkably student-friendly, and if there's one near you I'd join immediately. This not only gives you a resource for technique, but members are notorious about swapping tools. If there isn't a group nearby start Googling. YouTube has a bazillion really good videos (and a few bad ones) on turning techniques. And, or course, Sawmill Creek is a wonderful resource, too.

It seems to me a sharpening system, a skew chisel, a gouge, and a parting tool -- plus the requisite safety equipment -- are the basic things you'll need to do spindle work. Not a week goes by here in my town (Seattle) that I don't see one of those six-tool gouge sets listed on Craig'sList, so grab one of those for $20. Yes, they're cheap and they probably won't hold an edge for very long, but it's a good starting point. One or two premium tools augmented with a handful of cheaper ones will certainly get you going.

One other thing that is often a necessity for doing furniture legs is a steadyrest. I don't do a whole lot of spindle work, but when I do I see much more vibration on the piece, and a stabilizing roller (steadyrest) will minimize that.

Congratulations on the new adventure. I hope you enjoy "makin' chips" as much as I do.

[Reed Gray]

Learning how to use the tools is as important as figuring out which tools you will need. Finding the closest club is probably your best opportunity to learn. Most clubs will have mentors and a library.

robo hippy

[David DeCristoforo]

Kiss your "life savings" good by......

[Russell Neyman]

Com'on, Dave. Don't scare the crap out of this guy until he's sucked in a bit more.

[Mike Cogswell]

I have both a 6" and 8" bench grinder, but I suspect the 6" is too small and the 8" too fast for sharpening turning tools. I guess I fellow can't have too many grinders, so I'll see if I can get a slow speed one during the WoodCraft sale.

I'm pretty confident I'll get the hang of sharpening these tools pretty quickly. I've been sharpening a variety of other ways of turning perfectly good lumber into raw material for particle board for years. I know this isn't like handplanes or chisels, but at least I understand sharp edges and burrs.

[Mike Cogswell]

Thanks David.

I see Sorby has "midi" tools. Any good, or should I just stick to normal ones for the Delta midi lathe?

WoodCraft also sell powdered tools made by Crown. How would you compare them too the Sorby tools?

[Mike Cogswell]

Curt

Thanks. I'm well aware of the black hole side effect and can see that the basic lathe is just the top of the iceberg. By the time it gets an extension so I can turn a leg, and legs of its own, only a few more basic accessories will hit double the lathe's base price. And that leaves out the tools.

Well, my motto has always been "every good project requires a new tool". After 45+ years, I have lots of them. Yet there's always another.

Mike

[Mike Cogswell]

Dave,

While I have no qualms about buying some things from HF, things that require sharp edges aren't among them. In the long run I've always found it cheaper to buy quality hand tools and keep them forever than to deal with cheap tools that take way too long to make usable and then quickly lose their edge.

[Mike Cogswell]

I do intend to buy a full-face shield. I've been using a paper mask respirator, safety glasses and hearing protection when using other power tools in the shop, but I see the need for the shield with a lathe.

I'll look into the carbide tools. I probably already have all the diamond hones I need to maintain them.

[Mike Cogswell]

I was thinking of just taking a beginner's course at the local WoodCraft.

I've used both metal and wood lathes in the past, but I think the last time I used a wood lathe was probably in high school. Back then when the tool lost it's edge you could just knap a new one on the flint. :)

[Mike Cogswell]

I'm addicted to hand planes - my life savings are already long gone. :D

[Kevin Hampshire]

Mike,
You may want to consider the HF turning tools. They actually are considered to be pretty good. I bought mine to learn sharpening on and have gotten good use over a few years.

BTW, where in NoVA are you?

[Michael Menzli]

Mike,
You may want to consider the HF turning tools. They actually are considered to be pretty good. I bought mine to learn sharpening on and have gotten good use over a few years.

BTW, where in NoVA are you?

I agree..I started out with these and they have performed well and helped me learn a ton. I will say they do not have a bowl gouge in the set so you will need to purchase one of these separate.