Hooked........ need some advice

[Mike Burns]

Well, I bought my first lathe a couple of weeks ago, a Jet mini. It's been addicting, even though all I've done so far is practice between centers. I already wish I'd bought a bigger lathe........ oh well. When I bought the lathe, I also bought a set of 6 Sorby HSS turning tools. I'd like to buy an extra spindle gouge to help maximize the time between sharpening. I'd like some opinions on the better tools out there and where to buy them. Also, do you buy the fingernail shape when you buy your spindle gouges or do you just shape them to your own liking? I ask, because I noticed that Robert Sorby sells a couple of fingernail profiles........... and to my surprise, they are less expensive than the others.

Thanks in advance

Mike

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mike........Welcome to the Abyss! It'll take all of your time and money. But you'll die with a wide smile on your face!

Like most of us mini owners.........someday we'd like to have a bigger lathe! I own a Jet VS Mini given to me by the inmates here. It's nice little lathe to learn on and decide if you really want to invest more money in a bigger lathe. I DO! Last time I said that it was for life....Next time will be too! I'm going to buy something that'll take me until I can't get more parts for it or I'm too old to use it safely.

As far as tools, I was given some and I've bought some. I've ended up regrinding until I found a grind that worked for me. On my bowl gouge I have a long side grind. I'm sure more experienced turners would say it's not necessary or maybe correct but I'm comfortable with it.

You indicate you don't want to take time to sharpen during a project. Are you using a jig of some kind? I own the complete wolverine system and I find I can sharpen my bowl gouge in 2-3 minutes. It takes longer to position the gouge correctly in the vari-grind attachment than it does to sharpen it.

The spindle gouge.....I'd buy one and grind it to the shape I'm comfortable using. BTW...I use a fingernail grind on my spindle gouge.

I've got limited experience and I'm sure other more experienced turners will reply to your thread.

Have fun learning!

[Mike Burns]

Mike........Welcome to the Abyss! It'll take all of your time and money. But you'll die with a wide smile on your face!

Like most of us mini owners.........someday we'd like to have a bigger lathe! I own a Jet VS Mini given to me by the inmates here. It's nice little lathe to learn on and decide if you really want to invest more money in a bigger lathe. I DO! Last time I said that it was for life....Next time will be to! I'm going to buy something that'll take me until I can't get more parts for it or I'm too old to use it safely.

As far as tools, I was given some and I've bought some. I've ended up regrinding until I found a grind that worked for me. On my bowl gouge I have a long side grind. I'm sure more experienced turners would say it's not necessary or maybe correct but I'm comfortable with it.

You indicate you don't want to take time to sharpen during a project. Are you using a jig of some kind? I own the complete wolverine system and I find I can sharpen my bowl gouge in 2-3 minutes. It takes longer to position the gouge correctly in the vari-grind attachment than it does to sharpen it.

The spindle gouge.....I'd buy one and grind it to the shape I'm comfortable using. BTW...I use a fingernail grind on my spindle gouge.

I've got limited experience and I'm sure other more experienced turners will reply to your thread.

Have fun learning!

Ken,
Thanks for the reply. I also bought the wolverine jig and the vari-grind attachment when I bought the lathe. I thought I could work around not having the skew attachment. You're right; It just takes a couple of minutes to sharpen once you've gotten the angle right. No big deal on the roughing gouge that just sits in the pocket, but it does take a little longer fussing with the vari-grind. I just thought it would be more convenient to sharpen a couple of spindle gouges at a time. I haven't even started with the bowl gouge yet. I'm going at it slowly. I'm about ready to give it a go with the woodworm attachment that fits into the nova chuck. Right now, my goal is to semi-master the different cuts and then I'll start on some real projects.

Regards,

Mike

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome to SMC and the world of turning! don't be in to big of a hurry to move up to a larger lathe. You can do so much on that Jet Mini. It is a nice lathe and when you do move up, keep it, you will be glad you did! I use the Wolverine set up as well and I don't use the skew attachment either. Works just fine without it in my opinion.

Corey

[Tom Sherman]

Welcome Mike, Hope you enjoy the insanity here it is a lot of fun. Great bunch here and lots of knowledge.

[Keith Burns]

Welcome to the dark side Mike. Nice to see another Kansan here with a great name to boot:) :)

[Jim Bell]

Mike, another thought on the Oneway sharpening system. Go to the Oneway site and on the opening page click the media button and view the instructions. It is about 20 min long and goes a long way toward answering a bunch of questions. If you are on dial up give them a call on the 800# and they will send you a video. Believe me it makes all the difference.
Jim

[Bernie Weishapl]

Hey welcome Mike. Nice to another Kansas boy on here. I am at the other end of the state as you can see.