What would you get

[dennis kranz]

I'm looking for a couple of books that would be for a begining turner. Something that would explain tools and what to use in differant situations. What would you buy?
Also every now and again some of you have refered to differant magazines. Which would be for the beginner?
Dennis

[Ted Shrader]

Dennis -

Richard Raffan has a couple of good books. Some suggestions: Turning Wood, Turning Boxes, and Turning Bowls.

Also look for some DVDs. Having the "moving" demonstration is really valuable. Bill Grumbine has a great DVD that I highly recommend. Richard Raffan also has some good ones. It is also interesting to watch the different techniques each man has.

Regards,
Ted

[Harry Pye]

Dennis,

And excellent book is "Woodturning A Foundation Course" by the late Keith Rowley. Treat it like a text book. Take the book into the shop and work your way through his examples. I think taking lessons from him would have been truly rewarding and the book is the next best thing.

Richard Raffan is an great turner. But he is so fast and so good that he is frustrating for beginners. After watching his video on making a box or bowl you come away with the idea that you can do the same thing. It is easy to forget how many boxes and bowls he has turned. I think he said that he had turned roughly 10,000 scoops. (I've turned three and they take me hours not minutes.)

But the most important thing is to practice.

Hope this helps,

Harry

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dennis,

I am new to woodturning. I would definately recommend the book "Woodturning A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley. I would also recommend the DVD by Bill Grumbine and if you want to turn pens the DVD by Bill Baumbeck at Arizona Silhouette is excellent. If you go to Penn State Industries web site they have a free DVD on pen turning.

I have the book and video by Richard Raffan. The book is great but the video as Harry said is rather fast paced for a beginner. It is a good video plus it follows the book and you will see some very good techniques in the video. He moves rather quickly thru his demonstrations.

[Ed Davidson]

Your local AAW chapter probably has an extensive turning library of books, DVD's and videos. Why don't you apply that money to your first year's dues and then access these club member resources...here's a link to the AAW's local chapter listings:

http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/

[Sparky Paessler]

For bowl turning you can't do better than Bill Grumbine's video.

[Dennis Peacock]

For bowl turning you can't do better than Bill Grumbine's video.

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Joe Melton]

At the risk of sounding cheap, I'd suggest your local library. Ours has a couple of dozen turning books.
Joe

[Andy Hoyt]

Dennis - I'd go with Woodturning Design Magazine (http://www.woodturningdesign.com/) . It's only a couple of years old, but really improves with each issue. They show some great stuff; some amazing stuff; and some incredible how'd they do that stuff; but also pay close attention to the needs of the beginning turner as well.