New turner here, Help!

[Steve Hertzler]

I just got my first lathe yesterday, a Jet 1442 and was wondering if there were any web sites with plans and ideas for turning.
Thanks, Steve

[Tom Sweeney]

You got yourself a real nice 1st lathe. I'm pretty new to turning myself but what I do is just surf the web for inspiration & techniques. There are lots of great turners here. If someone post pics of something you like - ask them how they did it. Also click on their www button, if they have a web site.

Bill Grumbine's site has several helpful wite ups.
http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/

Also I think any of the Richard Raffan books seem to be excellent choices. He also has several videos & you can buy a set of 3 of them for about $30. I keep meaning to go to my local library to see what they have. Personally I prefer watching someone turn than reading about it so the videos work best for me, YMMV.

I think the most important thing you can do is take a lesson from an established turner. I spent the day with Bill Grumbine recently & it has made a huge difference in my turning.

Also the general consensus is to join the AAW & a local turning club - though I admit I've been procastinating on this one, I think it will also be a big benefit. I think most of them have libraries of books & videos that you can borrow.

Mainly just be sure to practice safe practices - but turn on that new lathe & make sawdust. The stuff to turn bowls out of is free for the taking all around. With the series of storms we've had here, over the last few months, I have more wood to turn than time to turn it.

Good Luck & have fun. If you have any specific questions - just ask. There's a great group of folks here that are more than willing to help.

[Dennis Peacock]

Steve,

Get Raffan's book and video, wood turning projects. Also, get any wood turning video that you can get your hands on. Seeing the tools and all in action will greatly help you learn about turning. Find a member of your local AAW and get them to show you a thing or two about turning.

Get as much free firewood as you can and start "playing" with the various turning tools and start building your skills and knowledge about turning wood. Play with free wood as much as you can before you start spending good money on better wood.

[Dave Smith]

Hi Steve,

I recommend one book. Woodturning: Two Books in One by Phil Irons. The book is divided into Projects and Techniques. I like that the top 2/3 of the book is the projects and the bottom is techniques. You can refer to a technique without losing your place in the project. The 22 techniques start with Chainsawing and Lumber Conversion through Finishes. Excellent illustrations with easy to understand text. The book is free of self praise and promotion I have seen in other books. In a distant life I wrote procedures for a nuclear power plant and I like clear concise information. It is a good beginners book and since I have only been turning 4 years it is still the only turning book I own.

Good luck and be careful of anyone that says it is his way or no way. Bill Grumbine made a very good statement when I took my only turning lesson from him, "If it is safe it is legal."

I made this observation early on the my turning adventure.

In furniture form follows function.
In turning form follows catches.

Good luck.

Dave Smith

Lunch time in Longview, WA.

[Bill Grumbine]

I just got my first lathe yesterday, a Jet 1442 and was wondering if there were any web sites with plans and ideas for turning.
Thanks, Steve

Hi Steve

I would say that your best course of action is to spend a few turning sessions finding out what each tool you own does, and then fooling around with it a bit. If you start out like many of us did - or at least like I did - you will approach the lathe with a chunk of wood and a tool in hand with the firmly determined mission of creating a work of beauty by the end of your first session. The lathe is not like any other woodworking tool, and has enormous potential for frustration.

There are a number of books and videos which go into tool presentation and use, and of course, the very best thing you can do is get some time with an experienced turner. That alone will shorten the learning curve dramatically. The American Association of Woodturners has chapters all over the US, and in addition, there are many turners who will teach lessons for free or otherwise, depending on how much time you want to spend.

The reason I counsel this course of action is simple. There is no faster way to get scared off turning than to stick tools into wood willy nilly until something scary happens and turns you off turning. I have been turning for just over 10 years now. That figure would have been over 15 years now if I hadn't had such a scary accident that I put my lathe away for five years.

I do not know what tools you have, but some of them will work on wood in any orientation, and some of them won't. You never ever want to stick a roughing gouge into a bowl blank. There are a few who claim to do so, but it ain't recommended. A skew chisel also has very limited application on a bowl. However, if you have a bowl gouge, you can use it on a spindle with very good results. Parting tools and scrapers can go back and forth, depending on the angle of the grind. Spindle gouges can in some instances be used on bowls, but do their best work on spindles.

Once you get an idea of how the tools work (and there are lots of subtleties there) you can think about "making something" with a lot more experience and confidence. Before long you will be knocking out pieces on the lathe one after another, and it is a lot better than knocking yourself out. ;)

Good luck with it.

Bill