List of tools to start with

[Jim Podsedly]

I have just started turning after taking a few classes at Woodcraft.

Palmgren 15" lathe is on order.

My question: What is a good list of tools to start with? And a good place to buy them.

I will be doing bowls, pens, letter openers, and bottle stops mainly. At least to start with.

Thanks.

[Dario Octaviano]

From a newbie...

General:
faceshield (HF has a good cheap one)
dust mask (or something similar)
Tools (8 pc HSS set from Harborfreight is nice)
Sharpening station (grinder and jigs)

For pens:
blanks
pen kits
drill/drill press
Vise
drill bits
Glue
Pen mill
mandrel(s)
bushing(s)
60 degree live center
sandpaper/micromesh
caliper
finish of your choice
pen press

For bowls:
Chuck (check woodchips) though you can use a faceplate for now
bowl gouge (check woodchips)
Heavy duty scraper

Nice to have later:
dust collector
bandsaw
curved tool rest
vacuum chuck
beall chuck
beall buffing
coring tool
hollowing tool
chainsaw
pickup truck :D
etc
etc
etc

SCARED YET???? :D

[Bobby Perry]

From a newbie...

General:
faceshield (HF has a good cheap one)
dust mask (or something similar)
Tools (8 pc HSS set from Harborfreight is nice)
Sharpening station (grinder and jigs)

For pens:
blanks
pen kits
drill/drill press
Vise
drill bits
Glue
Pen mill
mandrel(s)
bushing(s)
60 degree live center
sandpaper/micromesh
finish of your choice
pen press

For bowls:
Chuck (check woodchips) though you can use a faceplate for now
bowl gouge (check woodchips)
Heavy duty scraper

Nice to have later:
dust collector
bandsaw
curved tool rest
vacuum chuck
beall chuck
beall buffing
coring tool
hollowing tool
chainsaw
pickup truck :D
etc
etc
etc

SCARED YET???? :DAccording to your list I done bought too much stuff. I thought somebody said to get 2 of all that!!!!!!!:D

[Dario Octaviano]

Bobby,

Believe me on some of it I bought a lot more than 2. Experimenting can be very costly :o ...then again there is also a tool hog in me and can't just have 1 or 2 of some. :D

Jim, Honestly, I started with the lathe, dustmask, face shield, some sandpaper and 8 pc HSS set. Got me through the first month then added slowly after. Added lathes too :D. Sorry didn't mean to scare you off.

[Jim Podsedly]

I guess i should have been more specific.

Mainly interested in the turning tools.

I would imgine a gouge, parting tool, etc. what sizes are good ones to start with.

Are there ones (sizes) that are better for beginners?

One other thing would be a must is a sharpening station. I have a small grinder now but it is not a slow speed one and i do not have any sharpening jigs.

[Lance Sleeper]

If I had to pick must-have tools, this is what I would do (everybody has their favorites)

Roughing Gouge
Skewed Chisel
Round-nose scraper
Parting tool
Flat-nose scraper

I do 80% of my work with these five tools. I have others that I use every once in awhile, but most my work when turning (bowls, ornaments, martial arts weapons) uses these.

Length becomes a matter of preference. I like long handles for control. Width on the tool is the same way. My roughing gouge is 1", I have two of everything else, one small (1/2" ish) one big (3/4" +) along with some specialty tools.

I really like the Crown PM tools, but they are pricey. Sorby is the same way. I haven't bought a tool yet at Woodcraft that I didn't like and they have a tool line (can't remember name) that seems to be priced reasonably and works well. I don't mind spending a little to get better tools, as I plan on keeping them awhile and I buy a piece at a time as I need them for projects.

[Dario Octaviano]

Okay...here is my choice if I have to start over. I will buy Crown Pro PM if possible.

1/2" bowl gouge
1" roughing gouge
1" oval skew
1" round-nose scraper (the thicker the better)
3/16" diamond parting tool

[Rich Souchek]

Best tool to help one start turning is an unlimited source of money. :D Then a time machine to make more time to turn.:rolleyes:
Also, I would kind of like to have a woodchip/curlie collector-eater. ;) Maybe a genetically modified goat that would eat the wood shavings and curlies off the floor and reprocess the wood into something more usefull, like silver dollars or fertilzer.:cool:
Rich S.

[George Tokarev]

I'd get one of the six or eight-piece sets sold for around a hundred dollars. They have a roughing gouge, a couple of shallower gouges, a parting tool, and a skew or two, in addition to the scrapers, which is a taste I never acquired. One example here http://www.woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=230-002 of carbon steel tools which will teach you what each tool is capable of in your hands. Once you find a favorite or two, consider moving to one of the high-speed alloys or perhaps powdered metal in the same pattern.

I'd grind the spear point into a chisel right away and use for beading and planing.

[Jason Solodow]

I'd recommend a 3/4 or 1 inch roughing gouge, a 3/8" bowl gouge, 3/8" spindle gouge, a 3/4 skew oval or flat, a 1 inch round nose scraper, and a 3/4 inch square end scraper. I have both an oval and a flat skew, I prefer the flat skew personally. Some people like the oval better though. Since you want to do bottle stoppers and pens, I think a 1" skew would be a bit bigger then you'd like. A 3/8 inch bowl gouge is a good starter gouge I think. Later you'll want to add a 1/2" and maybe a 1/4" if you like doing bowls. I do mostly bowls and I have a regular 3/8 and 1/2 inch bowl gouge, plus double ended gouges in both sizes. Also, look at www.thebestthings.com (http://www.thebestthings.com) They have a really good selection of Sorby and other turning tools for a lot less then what you'd pay in a store. If you order more then one tool at a time the cost of shipping will be less then the difference from buying at the store.


Just my $0.02

[John Hart]

My two cents would be to get long handles in whatever you buy. No since in fighting a leverage problem right out of the gate. Chatter can be a tiring experience.

[George Tokarev]

John, what and why would you even need to fight with leverage? Move that rest in close and you're the man in the leverage department. Handle length should not be about leverage if you love your arm, but rather finesse. With an inch forward of the rest and fifteen aft, you can move the nose of the tool in fractions by moving the handle in reasonable arcs out at the end. Big advantage.

Then there's the matter of tool angle to the rest, and the clearance problems some folks get themselves into. Of course, closer to perpendicular to the rest you get with your tool, the more it rests and the less it requires from you to hold it up first, and engage in the cut second. Why I can't figure the business of heavy handles either. That's on my end, leverage-wise.

Not to mention that handle length is something you can change on all your tools in an afternoon's turning.

[John Hart]

yup...I agree George. In fact, on another site, under a different name, you taught me the importance of tool rest placement. (something about tines snapping all over the country);) It was a valuable lesson and I flashback to that lesson regularly, and I thank you. However, with that said, the beginner often forgets to move the toolrest and/or doesn't have the tooling at the onset of turning to get in close sometimes....'specially in the bowl department. At those times, chatter wins....wouldn't you agree?

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Jim, I would have to side with Dario's first list. As a new turner you need to do some learning on some reasonably priced tools. The HF set can do anything you can possibly think of and your lathe can handle in the first six months to a year. You can spend a grand on fine English Steel and the result won't be any better than the HF set at $36.99 starting out. Once you learn your tooling and sharpening techniques, then you will feel comfortable in putting more $ into the Abis. Just my thoughts.:)

[Jim Podsedly]

Some great replies and points. Thank you all for sharing your expertise.

Jim

[Mark Pruitt]

Jim, I agree with what Chris said about the HF HSS set. While most of what HF sells is pure junk, that 8 piece HSS set is a real value inasmuch as it is very inexpensive and provides you with the opportunity to experiment with sharpening methods without worrying about grinding away expensive steel. Plus, those tools are just plain good. I use them alongside my Sorby and Crown tools and for their designated purpose they accomplish their tasks equally well.

[George Tokarev]

No doubt about the importance of tool rest placement. So important it's one of the most valuable things a new turner can learn. After the bit about keeping out of the way of flying whatevers. Unfortunately, the ability to exert more leverage, so important in opening paint cans, is the wrong way to go to protect your more fragile tools. Instead of it departing your hand, you're more likely to bend something. Or if it doesn't bend, it might be long enough to whack you under the chin.

I'm of the opinion that you can perform a turner's self-evaluation by counting how many times you move that rest on a turning. Safer (or more frightened) the turner, the more often that rest gets moved. Of course you have to rotate the piece by hand to check for clearance, unlike nitwit here who bruised the edge of a birch platter today because he didn't. Time for spit to raise and sandpaper to smooth, I guess.