New spinning thing--what tools do I need?

[Joe Mindell]

Up to now I've been a square-corners kind of guy, but for fathers day my family got me this little jet tools that seems to spin the wood in circles instead of the sharp parts. It looks pretty cool and I'm psyched to play with it, but I have to figure out what tools I need.

Seriously folks, I'd like to turn spindles to start (in particular to make some pulls for the drawers on some nightstands I'm making). I was at an estate sale this weekend and picked up a roughing gouge, a skew chisel and something that I think is a parting tool. What else is essential? At the risk of starting a war, do people have a preferred maker that's reasonably priced?

Thanks for your help.

[CPeter James]

Look at Benjamin's Best at Penn State Industries. I just bought my first one and it won't be the last. The quality was much better than I expected. The have a couple of sets that have all usable chisels in them. For the cost of one high priced chisel, you can get a set of 6.

http://www.pennstateind.com/catalog/p/062.htm

CPeter

[Kenneth George]

I have made my own pulls on just about every project that I have done that had drawers. I find I can accomplish everything I need in this particular pursuit with a single 3/8” spindle gouge. My personal preference for that tool is the Henry Taylor mid size but almost any will do well. If you are doing detail work it is pretty important to polish the flute of the gouge and by doing this you will see the difference in how the shavings come off.

Ken

[Lee DeRaud]

You mean you're not supposed to just go down to Woodcraft and buy one of everything on the back wall?!? :eek: :eek:

That's sure what it looked like on my credit-card statement. :p

Seriously, the $30 Harbor Freight 8-tool set is a great place to start for spindle work, and it gives you something cheap to practice on until you learn how to sharpen them...it's bit different from sharpening things like plane irons and bench chisels.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with CPeter. Benjamins Best are good tools. I have about 14 of them. The quality is good and I reach for them most times. I got the 8 piece set. That is what I started with and it is a good set for a start. To that set I added a 1 1/4" heavy duty scraper, 1/2" and 3/8" spindle gouge and 1/2" bowl gouge. That should set you up for some time to come. You can add from there when you get experience. One very important thing I found out fast is the tools you buy and I don't care if it is a $150 or a $20 tool they are not sharp so you will need some kind of sharpening jig of which there are several. I have the Oneway Wolverine and like it a lot. Easy learning curve. Sharp tools are the key to any turning. I sharpen on the jig and then hone with a diamond hone. I am a new turner of about 6 to 7 months. You will be getting a number of suggestions. This is how and what I started with. It has worked well. Just my $1.298.

[Joe Fisher]

I agree with Kenneth's post. I do about 75% of my spindle work with a single spindle gouge. In my case it's a 3/8" detail gouge from P&N.

What do I use the other 25% of the time? In order from most to least used:

Skew chisel: The tool turners love to hate. Once you learn to use it, it is indispensible for making vee-cuts and planing outside curves.

1 1/4" roughing gouge: Good for making square blanks round, but not a necessity. I lived for a long time without one. You can use a spindle gouge, bowl gouge or a skew to accomplish the same thing. Yes, a skew :) It's also good for removing a lot of material quickly after the spindle is round. Again, you can use many other tools to accomplish the same thing.

1/4" detail gouge: I use this for small beads and coves on things like bottle stoppers and small boxes.

That's really it for spindle work. If I'm doing end grain hollowing (like a box or goblet) I will use either a bowl gouge or spindle gouge to do most of the hollowing, then maybe take a few light passes with a scraper.

I also agree with him on polishing the flute. It does make a difference. I just wrap some fine wet/dry paper around a dowel and give it a honing.

-Joe

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joe........First ...Welcome to the Creek!.....Second....Welcome to the Vortex!........As you'll find out the lathe is the cheapest part of this addiction you now have....and it is, indeed, an addiction! There is no limit to the amount of money you can spend on your addiction!

My take on necessary tools.....3/8" spindle gouge....a skew......a 3/4" or larger roughing gouge......a parting tool.......a 3/8" or 1/2" bowl gouge...a flat scraper.....a 3/4" or 1" round nosed scraper.....a sharpening jig.......a slow speed grinder......a hand held honing tool of some sort........

All your tools should be high speed steel. The big secret to easy turning is a sharp tool......used properly! When you first start sharpening, you'll grind a lot until you get the knack and anything less than high speed steel will result in a ruined tool.

Many people here have bought the HSS (high speed steel) set from Harbor Freight and have had good things to say about it. It costs about $35. My problem with the "sets" is that for a beginner it doesn't have everything you need as they tend to be set up for spindle turning. That's fine IMHO as that's a good place for a beginner to start.

A couple of books and videos are great for reference and taking some lessons say at a Woodcraft store and maybe joining a local turning club would be beneficial also!

When it comes to videos.........Turning Wood by by Richard Raffan is a good overall video to use for a learning tool.

SMC's own Bill Grumbine has 2 videos....one just coming out. The first one "Turned Bowls Made Easy" is fantastic!

Good luck with your adventure of learning to turn....Kiss the money in your wallet goodbye!

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Welcome to the Abyss, Joe!

As has been stated before, the Jet Mini is the least of your investments. I would echo the sentiment for the Harbor Freight 8-pc set---it's inexpensive, and if you grind away the tool when learning to sharpen, you can just buy another set.

I've heard that many new turners fear the skew chisel. Given, you can turn beads with a spindle gouge, but a skew chisel will make for a cleaner cut. You can bring a cylinder to round with a roughing gouge, but a skew makes the difference from "fresh from the surface planer" to "fresh from the drum sander". For me, the skew chisel was, I believe, the third (maybe the second) turning tool I picked up.

As with all other woodworking tools, sharp edges are essential. I freehand my tools (and believe me, I can tell it, as I am very inexperienced at this), however some very interesting conversations have arisen concerning the merits and demerits of various and sundry sharpening jigs.

Oh, by the way---if you're doing drawer pulls, knobs, and the like, you might as well get ready to make another $50--$200 investment (depending upon the brand you go for) when you discover that you really want to do finish turning on the end of the knob, instead of coming close with the parting tool/skew and then sanding off the nub. Endgrain doesn't like screws, so you'll most likely eschew the faceplate and go for a spigot, collet, or jaw chuck of some variety.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride---the slope only gets steeper from here!

[Joe Mindell]

That's a great bit of info to start on. I'll have to look at the HT tool set. I've got pretty good at sharpening straight stuff like chisel blades--the turning stuff will be a new learning curve.

And by the way, I saved that extra couple hundred by getting the lathe on the sweet Woodcraft deal that includes a nova chuck--I'm planning on holding work with that.

Thanks again,
getting dizzy from all this spinning....