A newbie that jumped right in!!!

[Brian Clevenger]

Hello all, and thanks for having me.

I don't post as much as some, and the times I do post are usually in the "general" site. I try to ask for advise if I need it, and give advise if I've got something to add. I spend most of my time trying to catch up with the "honey-do" list, that seems to have no end. I'm a fairly novice woodworker, but have managed a few projects that have made it into the house. Luckily, the mistakes I've made became some pretty nice shop cabinets and fixtures.

So I was in Rockler just the other day to grab some odds and ends. I stop in there from time-to-time, and have made friends with some of the hands. One of my buddies knows me pretty well, and we had talked about turning on many an occasion. He knows I'm on a budget (I'm a teacher), and he doesn't usually push me to get something I'm not looking for.

On this occasion though, he said they had I deal I oughta look into. It was a JET vs mini lathe with a Nova chuck for $299. I've always wanted a lathe, but hadn't made the jump. I had the money to spare (not really.... I've been saving up for a replacement for my HarborFreight band saw, and was hoping to trade up soon..... looks like that will have to wait), so I took a look.

To make a long story short, I bought the JET and a couple of pen turning kits. I had also heard some good things about the HarborFreight turning tools, so I stopped by there as well. I know I'm a little further out from making my band saw upgrade, but I'm glad I bought the lathe.

Last night, I grabbed a couple of pieces of leftover brazilian cherry I've been stashing just to try my hand. I cut some "chess-like" figures just to get use to the tools and the speeds. The results were pretty good, without much tear-out.

I haven't chucked up the pen kits yet.... I still wanna improve my skills. However, I had a great time! I even grabbed my wife and boys to see if I could interest them. We might all four be turning before long. It was really relaxing and enjoyable, and the results were a whole lot faster than, "honey, give me a couple of months to get that ????? finished".

I went ahead and bought the bed extension kit.... not because I needed the distance yet, but really for the mass. I have it sitting on one of my workbenches, but it rides a little tall (by about six inches). I doubt I'll buy the $150 stand, and just build my own.... unless someone convinces me othewise.

I'm learning as I go (and I might have to start teaching my family soon). I've watched a few shows on turning, and it seemed pretty natural how to work each tool for the cutting edge. However, I hope to get fairly efficient, and have good results without butchering nice stock.

I hope to turn a pen later this week (but it's football season and I'm also a coach), and will hopefully be able to post a pic.

Any advise would be great, and I'll keep looking through the older posts. So far it had been a lot of fun. A lot more enjoyable than cutting sheet goods to size.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Hi Bryan,
glad you 'jined' up. The water is cool and comfortable here. If you have questions, ask them, if you have answers, post them. We are a friendly bunch with lots of 'how to' if you need it. Been here about 2 or three months myself. Learned a lot, too.
Again, WELCOME. Max

[Barry Stratton]

Sounds like a smoking good deal! Welcome to the abyss.

If you have the time, build yourself a stand. You can customize it to suit your needs. And be careful of those pens, they are REALLY addicting!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Welcome to the Abyss, Brian. Sounds like a good deal on the lathe and chuck, and the HF tools have worked well for me so far. I'd recommend looking into a sharpening jig -- either purchased or shop-built. Getting and keeping your chisels sharp will greatly improve your results and enjoyment of your new toy.

Enjoy!

- Vaughn

[John Shuk]

Welcome to the fold. The HF set is great for what it is. I have it and use many of the tools alot. I used denatured alcohol to get the coating of varnish off. Best to do that before use. DAMHIKT. I like to shallow gouges that came with the set more than anything else. ENJOY.

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Welcome to the Abyss, Brian. I'm glad to hear that your family is interested in the add... er... hobby as well. I look forward to seeing pics of your work.

BTW: If noone has mentioned it to you yet, you may want to tune your ear to the musical tones of chainsaws operating in and around your neighborhood. There is a lot of "free" wood out there for the taking. If you go this route, you will also need to aquire some type of end grain sealer to help mitigate checking. Also, when turning green wood, be sure to keep in mind that the wood will move, sometimes a little, sometimes way too much. There's a lot of info hereabouts about using denatured alcohol or water boiling to mitigate cracks in the rough piece as it dries.

Good luck, and enjoy the downward spiral!

[Reed Gray]

I do hope that you realize that if you start the rest of the family turning, that may result in the need for another lathe or 3. Welcome.
robo hippy

[Brian Clevenger]

BTW: If noone has mentioned it to you yet, you may want to tune your ear to the musical tones of chainsaws operating in and around your neighborhood.

Ahh, the sound of an honest days work. Problem is, I live in the DFW metroplex..... I don't think I've seen a tree big enough to make firewood since I left Oklahoma.

I think I will go ahead and build my own stand. I would like to add some drawers and dividers in order to keep all of my supplies in one central location. I like to keep my tools organized so they are easy to find.

[Don Baer]

Brian,
Welcome to the round side of woodworking. We'll be looking forward to pictures of your creations.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Welcome Brian!

I'm sure you old HF Bandsaw will last a little longer :D

My girls (12 & 10) do some turning, they made some tops the other day, they like it!

Cheers!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Brian. Lots of good people here and lots of knowledge.

[Bob Noles]

Another big welcome on ya Brian :)

$299 for a Jet VS and the chuck? That is a steal for sure. Must be a in store special only, I have not seen it advertised that low. For a price like that, I would be willing to trade my red one in :D

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome Brian. That is a great lathe and chuck. No turning back now. As Vaughn says going to need a sharpening jig and a slow speed grinder to sharpen those tools. Lot's of people here to help you out along your way and to help you spend your money :)

corey

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the Vortex Brian! I hope you can remember what the color of your money was..........You won't have any now........But...You'll smile a lot more. I started turning in March when the inmates here bombed me with a Jet mini VS. I haven't got my shop finished yet...but I'm turning and smiling and having a lot more fun!




Hey Andy.........We got another one!

[Ernie Nyvall]

Welcome Brian. What all do you plan on turning? Are you going for pens and other spindle type turnings or are you going to branch out into bowls and vases and the like?

[Brian Clevenger]

I believe it was an in-store only special, and I feel blessed that it came at the right time. I don't budget myself a lot of money for tools, and hardly any money for tools that aren't "home improvement" types. It just happened that I had already saved some money, so the timing was right.

Tonight is open house at my high school, so I'm able to make some posts and read. If I were at home, I'd be down in the shop making chips fly.

[Brian Clevenger]

Ernie,

I'm going to start with pens and spindles. I got the extension so I could do legs. I still have flat work that has to be done around the house, but just grabbing the gouge and turning a pen is a very welcome retreat.

[Ernie Nyvall]

... but just grabbing the gouge and turning a pen is a very welcome retreat.

Oh, I couldn't agree with you more. I asked because it makes a difference as to what is recommended. Penn State used to have a free video on turning pens. Not sure if they still offer though. What you are doing with the practice is the right thing, but I'm sure you know that being a coach. Did you get yourself a skew? They make a pen in short order once you get used to it and it cuts way down on the sanding.

[Brian Clevenger]

I just finished turning my first pen. It is brazillian cherry. I think it came out very nice. I used the Rockler pen kit. The only things I don't like about that kit are that the ring fits too loose, and I prefer a very fine point. Other than that, it went pretty smooth.

I need to learn how to post pics though.

I think I will show it at the school tomorrow and then give it to my wife. Total cost= $425. Not the cheapest pen I could own, but I sure had a blast turning it.

On a side note, I split three blanks in a row because of stupitity. I didn't have the blank completely sanded to the brass insert, and it caused it to split with the pressure on the nut from the "pen turning thingy" (sorry, I don't know the proper name for the kit). I finally figured it out, but I had originally thought it was a tooling or method problem. After I jumped that hurdle, it was a smooth race.

A quick question: the people I've asked have said to use 3/4" blanks. The final size of my "slim-line" pen was under 1/2". I was wondering if it might have been faster and easier to cut the corners down on the bandsaw with a 45degree tilt...... making the blank an octogon, and getting rid of the scrap faster and more efficiently???

[Jack Lewis]

So you bought a Lathe? By the way that is a great price for that Jet vs. Your on the road to one of the most addictive..but enjoyable aspects of woodturning ever.....The Pen. I'm pretty much a newbe myself about 4 months old. Watched a DYI short on pen turning . Said Gee I could do that. Since I'm only about 20 minutes from PSI (what a mistake that is) Went down there on sat. Its now become my "toy store" With money scarce, my first lathe was a beat up shopsmith found on ebay.

My first 3 pens was turned on my old grandma. Don't be surprised as each week goes by that you find yourself bring another and another toy in the house. I am a proud owner of a Jet mini (not as nice as the vs) but is my favorite toy now, and my shopsmith is my drill press,jigsaw.

By all means try to get the family interested but be prepared to then invest in more equipment. My wife didn't take the bite .

Have fun with penturning. Its very relaxing and rewarding addiction.

Jack
iturnwoodpens

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Brian:

As you become more proficient in your turning technique, you will undoubtedly find that it is faster and easier to rough to round from square than it is to rough to octagon on a bandsaw then rough to round from octagon. Using this method is fine if you're a bit leery of the spinning corners, however it is my opinion that it removes a learning tool.

The trick to turning square to round is to imagine that you're turning "air". Present the tool to the work as if the corners are at the extreme diameter of a cylinder, hold the tool steady, and make your cuts. With practice, you'll most likely be able to have a square blank roughed round in less than half the time it would take you to cut the corners off.

It is my personal opinion that this kind of practice in turning "air" is also useful when turning oddly-shaped blanks (such as winged platters, NE bowls/cups, etc). The visualization/thought process that goes into roughing a square blank round can be easily transferred for this purpose.

Good luck!

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Brian:

As you become more proficient in your turning technique, you will undoubtedly find that it is faster and easier to rough to round from square than it is to rough to octagon on a bandsaw then rough to round from octagon. Using this method is fine if you're a bit leery of the spinning corners, however it is my opinion that it removes a learning tool.

The trick to turning square to round is to imagine that you're turning "air". Present the tool to the work as if the corners are at the extreme diameter of a cylinder, hold the tool steady, and make your cuts. With practice, you'll most likely be able to have a square blank roughed round in less than half the time it would take you to cut the corners off.

It is my personal opinion that this kind of practice in turning "air" is also useful when turning oddly-shaped blanks (such as winged platters, NE bowls/cups, etc). The visualization/thought process that goes into roughing a square blank round can be easily transferred for this purpose.

Good luck!

Ditto.

Speed is also you friend when roughing, slow is not good.

Cheers!