Thank you all

[Steve Russell tucker]

So i am really new to wood working and a newborn when it comes to lathes . I just got a craftsman 12 inch wood lathe and the only thing missing was the Drive center/spur center ? (sorry not sure if i have that right) anyway its a #1 Morse taper with a 3/4 16tpi spindle ,my question finally , is what should i do first? i see people talking about chucks,spindle turning, bowl making, and frankly its over whelming i really want to like this lathe! I have no tools to cut any thing with or a chuck or anything I've ordered just 1 drive spur thing that i can afford but I'm looking for maybe a list of tools I should try for or maybe some easy things i can do to get a feel for the lathe. and you all have been so very helpful every time i ask one of these dumb questions, thank you so very much for welcoming me with kindness I appreciate it very much !

[Allan Ferguson]

1. Start looking for a turning club. 2. search out a mentor. 3. DVD when all else fails. 4. Include a location on the site. The person your looking for may be near by and unknown to you.

[Jim Daughtridge]

'YouTube' can be helpful and enjoyable.

[William C Rogers]

Steve, not sure where you are, but I would suggest to see if you can find a local turning club. You will also get a lot of good advice here. I still consider myself a beginner progressing. I started out making pens. I bought the Shopsmith HSS pen turners set of three chisels. They still sell them about $50 and I still use those today. You will need a slow speed grinder with a platform to sharpen these chisels. As I progressed I needed different chisels. I ended up getting a set of 8 Delta chisels free with the purchase of the Delta midi lathe ( Lowes was getting rid of them and I got the last one at that store for a $130 ). They are not HSS. Then I needed to sharpen these, thus buying the slow speed grinder and Wolverine sharpening system. The next progression was the HF set of HSS chisels. A good beginners set, some I still use. Finally on to Sorby and Thompson tools.

If you are going to do pens I would get the Shopsmith set. For other things I would get the HF ( also called Windser Design ) set of chisels and bypass the really cheap sets. I wouldn't get a lot of #1 taper centers etc as most lathes use a #2 morse taper should you ever upgrade your lathe.

[Mark Greenbaum]

1. Go to a local club, and meet fellow turners. Most helpful bunch of people you'll ever meet. (Our club actually owns about 7 lathes, and conducts Saturday Turn & Learns once a month, for paid members.)
2. I purchased a set of 8 Harbor Freight Lathe gouges for about $30 on sale, and with a discount coupon, and they have served me well for about 5 years.
3. Learn to grind whatever tools you use to get a sharp edge. Dull tools can cause problems.
4. If you buy a chuck for this lathe make sure it's adaptable to a larger lathe later, because you will out grow this one eventually. It does happen.
5. Buy a face shield and wear it every time you are cutting.
6. Learn to be safe, and practice safe methods always.
7. Have fun, and welcome to the torrent we call Woodturning.

[john snowdon]

Welcome to the addiction,er...hobby! Tho' I have had my lathe for a few years, I am really just starting to learn turning. Like everyone has said, find a club. I finally found mine after 4 years and the first meeting made a huge difference in my work. Youtube videos can be incredible but just because someone has a video online does not make them an expert. Start with the trusted names like Bill Grumbine, Reed Gray, aka Robbohippy who often posts on this forum, Lyle Jamieson, Richard Raffan to name a few of my favorites. All have DVDs as well. If you are going to learn from videos as I have, you should start with the right guys. Also, use the search capability of this site. Almost every question I have ever had has been asked and answered by the fine folks here. The Creek is the first place I come to whenever I have a question.

I absolutely agree with William. I would not invest a lot of money in #1 taper accessories. If you find that you love turning you will find a way to get a larger lathe with a #2 taper. For tools, I started by buying a fairly extensive boxed set of Sorby tools, half of which I actually used and have since replaced with D-Way and Thompson. In hind site, I wish I had gone with a less expensive set to get started and then upgraded to the best quality tools I always use. The difference truly is remarkable.

Lastly, which should actually be primary, is safety. Like Mark says buy a face mask qualified for woodturning and wear it EVERY time. I would also include, at the minimum, a good dust mask – especially until you can decide/can afford a dust collection system. Then wear it anyway.:rolleyes:

Enjoy! I am convinced by seeing the quality of the work shown on this site that this is a hobby where one will never stop learning.

John

[Michael Mills]

Just to add a little.
I would start with this video by Mike Peace; he covers almost all holding or drive methods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUXil-5dEeo

I would suggest starting with spindle work as it is generally safer during the initial learning phase.
Once you get a little experience learning how to cut and how to follow the bevel with spindle tools I think bowl gouges will be a bit easier.
There are very many good videos on you tube (and of course many not so good).
If you ask about a specific tool or project someone can probably direct you to a video which is presented clear and safely.

First hand with a mentor is the fastest way.

Have fun.

[Brice Rogers]

Work holding is an important part of wood turning. If you do not already have one (or more), a faceplate is handy. When I was first starting (I had a Craftsman 9x26 wood lathe circa 1950) and before I bought my first chuck, I used a faceplate to do bowls. They are fairly inexpensive, plus it is possible to make your own inexpensively. I suspect that there are some Youtube videos on the subject. Also, I occasionally see people on Craigslist selling them at reasonable prices. I have also bought one on Amazon for around $16 that has a beautiful finish.

When I finally took the jump to get a chuck, I bought it from Grizzly. IIRC, the price for that 3/4-16 low end model was in the neighborhood of $60. It has served me well. You'll find that a chuck is very handy. I eventually upgraded to a much larger lathe with a larger thread but I still use it (with a home made adapter). Some people recommend buying a chuck that is big enough to be used on a much larger lathe, so that it can be used if you ever upgrade to a bigger lathe. I noticed that many of the bigger chucks were quite a bit more expensive (like $150-300). But I went the cheap route thinking that if I got rid of the Craftsman lathe that I'd include the chuck on the sale. Investing $60 in a low end Grizzly chuck didn't seem all that dumb. Now, I find that it is nice to have two chucks at times. That way, I can leave a work piece on one chuck and just switch to another chuck if I want to change projects.

[John K Jordan]

Steve, So many possibilities!

You might mention where you live. For example, if you happened to live in East TN I would invite you to my shop for a day and show, discuss, try things, make a plan!

You can look on the AAW web site - they keep a list of clubs. Hopefully there is one close to you. That's a great way to get started

Another thing is get some books. I learned from two books: Turning Wood by Richard Raffan and another book by Mike Darlow. It was years before I found other turners and a club and woodturning forums but with the books I went from zero to 60 in short order.

JKJ

[Steve Russell tucker]

This is exactly why I love this site really all of you have been so helpful thank you so much !! I live in north central West Virginia ,about 12 miles south of Morgantown I just started yesterday checking out some you tube stuff i did look into the AAW site for clubs after reading this and it looks like the closest chapter is 99 miles away from me ...not that I am counting that out completely but that may take some extra effort to get into, aside from that you all have really given me some great advice and I am very grateful! i will keep checking eBay and Craigslist for tools. and get right on the books you mentioned Mr. Jordan thank you for the invite to your shop if i could work that out I would sadly this fight with the VA has taken a little longer than i would have hoped but after wards i Hope to have a little more free time , thank you all very much again and good luck to you all . S.

[John K Jordan]

If you can get this way my offer for a visit is always good. I have people come often for intros and lessons or to get something made. Some are kids, some are teens, college, or older. These two girls are pre-vet students. The one on the left was in my kindergarten SS class some years ago! They made these bowls on their second lesson - the first one was on spindle turning. (Sorry if you've seen these, I think I posted them on this board before.)

330246

330247

Tuition is free for anyone who drives from West Virginia. :-) And if you come when the weather is nice you can take a llama for a walk!

JKJ

BTW, I drive about 30 miles to a club meeting and I know some who drive over 60. And some guys from our club drive about 80 miles every month to go to another club! It is really worth the time and driving just to learn things.

[Steve Russell tucker]

Outstanding bowls ! I have not seen them thank you for posting them again for me , I would love to start making the trip to some of the AAW clubs near me maybe once some of this snow melts to a more manageable depth that would be possible, plus I would really like to walk a Llama! Thank you again Sir I really appreciate all the help thank you .
S.

[roger wiegand]

AAW should be able to tell you about other members nearby-- if there are enough of you you can start a chapter. As I recall there were only 5-6 of us when we started the St. Louis group. Morgantown seems like it ought to have enough folks nearby. Their magazine is great in any event.