turning tools

[jeff oldham]

I'm new at turning bowls and have had. Bad bad results using bowl gouged;;everyone tells me to learn to suspended them and I have tried very hard;;; watching you tube;; that's my only way of getting educated;;;but I found some easy way tools carbide on you tube;;;if they cut as good as they say;;;;it seems like a no brainer except for the cost. Its kinds like using a steel blade or a carbide tip blade on a table saw;;;both does the same job;;;but the carbide does it better and last longer;;;can anyone give me some comments on this;;; thank you

[jeff oldham]

Sharpen them;; please excuse some misspelling;; my keyboard was sticking

[Roger Chandler]

Being new to woodturning, you lack some basic knowledge on tool presentation. Easy wood tools are basically scrapers, but they will not be a great substitute for learning how to use most basic wood turning tools.

You do not mention where you are located, but that would be helpful. Instead of paying high prices and still not knowing what you are doing, you would be better served in both the long term and immediately to find a local woodturning chapter of the AAW near you........they will be able to mentor you and show you correct sharpening and tool presentation so you can enjoy this great craft.

I highly recommend you get with an experienced turner.......you will never regret it, but if you fail your regrets will go on and on and on.......etc.

Give us your location, and if we are able to help you find a local chapter, then we will here on this forum. The American Association of Woodturners [AAW] has a website and lots of great help for beginners as well as advanced turners.

http://www.woodturner.org/

Trust me on this! ;)

[Reed Gray]

Jeff, I will second Roger's suggestion to find the nearest club. You can't beat hands on sessions, and most clubs have mentors. I have a number of clips up on You Tube if you type in robo hippy. I mostly turn bowls.

robo hippy

[Dale Gillaspy]

I'm going to go out on a limb here. While I fully agree with the above statements about getting some hands on, I also have some very positive things to say about Easy Wood Tools. I think they are great. I use them interchangeably with my gouges. So what if it is "just" scraping. The first turning tools were scrapers. While the purist may have a problem with it, the average guy turning a bowl or 2 in his garage can get some great results with them. If it means the difference between turning and getting frustrated and quitting, then by all means, use them. They really do live up to their name sake.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Jeff
I agree with Dale's comments and I can speak from experience, and know what you're going through. When I started a couple years ago I did take a basic class (well worth the money) and began turning. I got frustrated early on and simply wanted to actually see something completed. I tried so hard and kept watching videos, reading books, reading the posts from this and many other sites. I finally bought an EWT and was in heaven. I was turning things left and right, very proud that I made something. Funny thing is, as I turned more, I craved more. I think as you have success, which you will with an EWT, you will grow in your skills. Keep reading and watching and I bet, before you know it, you will still use your EWT but it will be more on occasion than it was to start with. I love my EWT's and do use them for certain things but I now have too many other gouges, skews, etc to count. Good luck and as soon as you can, post a pic of your turning. It's another way for others to look at the detail and give great advice.

[Len Mullin]

Jeff, I agree with what Dale and Scott both have posted. I know when I first tried turning, I couldn't do anything worth a dam. After a short while I was getting fed up and thinking of quitting, simply because I wasn't getting anything that looked good. So, I watched a few videos on carbide tools compared to regular gouges and scrapers, and seeing how easy it looked to use the carbide tools, I decided to buy a set of three from EWT. That was one of the smartest moves I've made, since taking up turning as a hobby. I was finally able to get the results I was hoping for, it was so nice to see something that was worth keeping. The results from the carbide turning tools are what kept me in turning, as I don't think I would have continued much longer without some good results. I used the carbide tools for a while, but, I wanted to learn how to use hss tools as I believe you should be able to use both types of tools if you want to be successful. Nowadays, I use both types of tools, I'm not real good with the hss tools yet, but, I'm getting better with them. Personally, I don't think that you'll be sorry if you purchase a set of carbide tools, they may be what it takes for you to get some satisfaction at the lathe. Like me, you can always learn how to use the hss tools as you progress with this hobby. Good luck, let us know what you decide about carbide tools.
Len

[Dale Gillaspy]

Not that this is a reason to buy EWT in and of itself, but they are the American Dream, IMHO. I first met Craig and Donna Jackson (The owners) years ago at the Desert Woodturners Roundup. They were just starting out and Craig was doing most of the machining himself in a very small shop, and Donna was doing all the office work. On weekends they would go to shows to market their product.

They have since had to relocate from Owensboro to Lexington to a much larger shop and to have access to the personnel needed. All of their products are made here, sourced here, etc. I just think it is a great success story. At one time, they were selling a signature line with larger, exotic hardwood handles. They stopped that and went to all domestic wood handles so they could be 100% made in the USA.

[jeff oldham]

I could not have said it any better about how I feel right now about my turnings;;;I don't want to quit;;;I'm not a quitter;;but I would like to see a few results for my efforts and I know I'm new and have to learn and I'm not putting down the other tools. I do want to learn how to sharpen them;;but I also would like to make a bowl even its its just something small to start with;;;thank all of you for your input;;it made the difference between continuing on or quoting;;;

[jeff oldham]

Quiting; ;;my keyboard is sticking;;;lol

[Peter P. Brown]

I could not have said it any better about how I feel right now about my turnings;;;I don't want to quit;;;I'm not a quitter;;but I would like to see a few results for my efforts and I know I'm new and have to learn and I'm not putting down the other tools. I do want to learn how to sharpen them;;but I also would like to make a bowl even its its just something small to start with;;;thank all of you for your input;;it made the difference between continuing on or quoting;;;

When I first bough my bowl gouge I was so excited I gave it a go and destroyed 4 bowl blanks in a row. I had no idea how hard it was going to be.

Turning is a skill not a gift, and skills come from doing. I would be hard pressed now to get the sort of catches I was getting two years ago. It just comes with doing. Get some WET wood and know that it is going to take time, and catches to get a feel for turning with a bowl gouge.

Rub the bevel and take it slow. Like anything it will become second nature. Luckily turning wet wood is fun, so it won't feel like work...

[Kevin Wolfe]

We wood is FUN to turn. I had a few small logs my neighbor gave me. I think they are poplar. I slapped them on and just stared making shavings. Heck, I ground two of them down to nothing just having fun.

Now, last night I took my bowl gouge to a piece of Osage that I got for cheap at woodcraft. Man that stuff is hard. Sharpened my gouge three times to get a 6 inch bowl almost done. Rub that bevel and take very small bites. You will get it. Try some spindle work. Don't make a spindle, just carve some coves and beads to get used to the tools.

[Stan Smith]

I had been woodworking for a year or two and joined our local club. Many in the club were turners so I decided to do it. I bought a full size lathe and some tools. I guy showed me how to use a gouge, but I just didn't get it. I bought some books and a Raffan vhs tape. I used mostly scrapers on small stuff just to be able to do some projects. Years later I was finally able to use some gouges, but not the skew. I sold my big lathe and got a mini. When I first saw the carbide tools, I got the pen rougher. Wow, I could actually feel comfortable and competent with it. I bought some more EWT tools and some full size Harrison carbide tools. I thought this was it and I wouldn't go back to my other tools. Wrong! I found myself gradually picking up my other tools and it was like learning all over again, but a lot quicker. I finally made it to the skew and now have 3 different sizes of them.

To the O.P. , I say if you find something that works and gives you results and fun, use that tool--carbide or whatever. The goal for us amateur turners is enjoyment--not frustration. Don't even worry about having to learn traditional tools right now. Later on you may want to try them out of curiosity. I have bought a number of carbide tools and even though I'm back to using traditional tools, I still use the carbides about half the time so they were not a waste of money at all. I do have a few surplus traditional tools that are going to my son to get him started. One last thing....practice on some cheapo wood, like a piece of 2x4. Don't start out trying to learn a technique on something that you really want for a project. Good luck to you!

[jeff oldham]

what speed would you recommend for hollowing out the bowl;;;I think I was around 1800 rpm but I read somewhere that was too high;;;;

[Wes Ramsey]

That speed is too high. As a rule of thumb you want to start a piece out about as fast as you can go without the lathe wobbling around on you. As you round out the piece you can bump up the speed. I don't know how to tell you what speed as I don't have a way to measure speed on my lathe, but you want to only spin it as fast as feels safe and comfortable.

As for 'learning wood', I would recommend finding a bunch of wood that is common to your area. If you are a scrounger that will most likely be what you turn the most of. Oak and walnut are most common around here so I learned on those. Some of my most interesting pieces have come straight from the wood pile, which is always a good source. It's dry by nature though, so don't expect it to turn easy. Green wood is your best bet. Call a tree service and ask if you can come get some cutoffs from whatever they're working on. I've found some fantastic wood that way. I also post pics of my finished pieces on Facebook and have more and more people hunt me down to ask if I can haul off a big limb or tree they have in their yard. A guy last week told me to come cut whatever I want whenever I want it, but right now my stash is bigger than I know what to do with! From my perspective if it is free it doesn't matter what the final results look like as long as you had fun and increased your skill. Takes a lot of the pressure off to deliver if you're just having fun and don't care what you create.

[Peter P. Brown]

what speed would you recommend for hollowing out the bowl;;;I think I was around 1800 rpm but I read somewhere that was too high;;;;


Depends on the turner and the lathe! I have a 12" lathe with a 1/2 hp motor I turn bowls around 12 18 rpm. Now If I was turning a 16" bowl on a large lathe, that would be a bad idea

[Reed Gray]

Lathe speed is as much about what speeds you are comfortable with, and how fast you can go without the lathe trying to walk across the shop. Jimmy Clewes turns at speeds that make my sphincters pucker, and I turn faster than most bowl turners. If you have good tool control, and don't get catches, and have a good solid chunk of wood, you can turn a 10 inch bowl over 1,000 rpm. However, the faster you go, the more 'dramatic' your mistakes will be. Start slow, and work your way up, say start at 500 or so. There are formulas for suggested safe speeds, but I didn't know about them till I had been turning for years. Nice thing about variable speed lathe, is how easy it is to turn your speed up or down. Good idea to remember to turn it all the way down when you start a new piece... Many pieces have gone into orbit...

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I read a book on turning, and the author said there is no reason ever to turn faster than 500 RPM. I disagree with this statement, but I would say, I agree that you should not turn faster than 500 RPM to start out. After you get some experience, turn faster. I personally turn faster than 500, but 1800 is a bit fast for me....

What lathe and accessories if any do you have? That information cuold be used for many of us here to give you even beter advise than you already got.

[Thom Sturgill]

The late Dale Nish had a formula -> diameter(in) x RPM should be between 5000 and 9000

So a 10" bowl should be turned between 500 and 900 rpm. Smaller faster, larger slower.
This rule does not hold for spindle work. :D

I always use the rule that I set the speed based on how the wood feels. Unbalanced -> obviously slower - speed up as it gets in balance. Use the fact that there is nearly always some harmonic vibration to help judge the speed - just minimize the vibration. I do tend to turn fast, but then again I am now often turning miniatures and they require fast.

[Stan Smith]

The late Dale Nish had a formula -> diameter(in) x RPM should be between 5000 and 9000

So a 10" bowl should be turned between 500 and 900 rpm. Smaller faster, larger slower.
This rule does not hold for spindle work. :D

I always use the rule that I set the speed based on how the wood feels. Unbalanced -> obviously slower - speed up as it gets in balance. Use the fact that there is nearly always some harmonic vibration to help judge the speed - just minimize the vibration. I do tend to turn fast, but then again I am now often turning miniatures and they require fast.

Off Topic, but I didn't know that Dale Nish had passed. That explains why I couldn't buy another of his bird house kits that I had used in the past. I had to make up my own and everybody really likes them.