Midi Gloat and beginners question

[Greg Cuetara]

I picked up a midi lathe as a christmas / birthday / passing another Professional Engineering Exam present to myself. It was $199 with a $100 giftcard...a deal I couldn't pass up. This is my first step into the vortex.

79940

I have dabbled into some 'flatwork' and want to try my hand at turning pens and bottle stoppers. We'll see where it goes from there.

I have started by picking up a mandrel and some basic supplies. Trying to do a lot of reading and research then I will probably just jump right in. I have a lot of scrap wood (cherry, maple, walnut, mahogany) which I plan to use to practice and to make some first pens with.

I do have a question. I am really not sure what type of tool or tools I should start off with. I was given a set of mini tools but I think they may be too mini. I was thinking I need a good spindle gouge or a round nose scraper but not sure what would be best for pens and bottle stoppers. (Also not sure what size of each I should be using) Eventually I will work my way up the ladder to a full set of tools but need something to start with. Are the 3-piece pen starter sets worth while? Should I just buck up and get a 3/8" sorby gouge and 1/2" skew or can I just get away with a gouge to start with. Are the 5 piece sets worth while? Not sure that I would get use of more than 2 or 3 of the tools but maybe I am wrong.

Basically I am limited to rockler and woodcraft right now. I could do mailorder if I could get a lot more bang for the buck but I would rather just give the local guys my business.

Ok so I will stop rambling right now and wait for the advice. Thanks a bunch.
Greg

[Bill Stevener]

I picked up a midi lathe as a christmas / birthday / passing another Professional Engineering Exam present to myself. It was $199 with a $100 giftcard...a deal I couldn't pass up. This is my first step into the vortex.

79940

I have dabbled into some 'flatwork' and want to try my hand at turning pens and bottle stoppers. We'll see where it goes from there.

I have started by picking up a mandrel and some basic supplies. Trying to do a lot of reading and research then I will probably just jump right in. I have a lot of scrap wood (cherry, maple, walnut, mahogany) which I plan to use to practice and to make some first pens with.

I do have a question. I am really not sure what type of tool or tools I should start off with. I was given a set of mini tools but I think they may be too mini. I was thinking I need a good spindle gouge or a round nose scraper but not sure what would be best for pens and bottle stoppers. (Also not sure what size of each I should be using) Eventually I will work my way up the ladder to a full set of tools but need something to start with. Are the 3-piece pen starter sets worth while? Should I just buck up and get a 3/8" sorby gouge and 1/2" skew or can I just get away with a gouge to start with. Are the 5 piece sets worth while? Not sure that I would get use of more than 2 or 3 of the tools but maybe I am wrong.

Basically I am limited to rockler and woodcraft right now. I could do mailorder if I could get a lot more bang for the buck but I would rather just give the local guys my business.

Ok so I will stop rambling right now and wait for the advice. Thanks a bunch.
Greg

And just what's wrong with mini???? :confused:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m109/nicebill/TinyOne.jpg

[Greg Cuetara]

Bill nothing at all is wrong with the mini tools. I am just looking for something easy for me to use as a beginner. I hope to someday be able to turn at your ability.

[Tom Sherman]

Greg, welcome to the vortex, the three piece set you mentioned would be ok for starting with pens. That set comes with a 1/2" skew, a 3/8" spindle gouge and a 1/8" parting tool IIRC. First thing would be to practice wasting wood to get used to your tools and how each one works best. Find a club in your area and get into a mentoring program makes the learning curve much easier. Get a good sharpening system like the wolverine sharp tools can make a job much easier too. The tools will NOT be sharp enough to use straight out of the box. Practice Practice practice and have fun.

[Bill Stevener]

Greg, just some fun, I am sure you will get some great ideas from others, Tom has given you a good start.;)

[Mike Peace]

Your best bet for an inexpensive set of turning tools is Harbor Freight. Don't think they have a store in your area but you can order on line. Get the red handled ones item number 35444. They are on sale for under $40 and a real deal. This set is usually available only in their retail stores and not on line and is better than the white handled ones number 47066. I have both sets. You will still need a bowl gouge as neither set has one. Find a local turning group and you will climb the learning curve a lot faster.

[robert hainstock]

He has given you good advice. also stay tuned to the sawmill, there is a lot of teaching going on here. although you will have to "winnow it" a bit:confused::confused:
Bob

[Ben Gastfriend]

Congrats! Nice gloat. You've been sucked into the vortex!:D

[Brad Hammond]

greg, i was in sort of the same situation you're in. got a mini to turn pens and small spindle work.
i bought a sorby 5pc set. i use the spindle gouge and skew constantly for pens. i think i could make 99% of the styles i get orders for with these two, but the americana flat top styles need some kind of parting tool, although i made them for a while with the skew. kinda tricky though. i hardly use my scrapers since i've gotten a little better at scooping out bowls. if i had it to do over, i'd probably concentrate on those tools and DEFINETLY a wolverine and grinder. i was grinding by hand for 7-8yrs. some grinds were good, some were really bad. but every every grind with a wolverine are consistant.
hope this helps!

[Steve Kubien]

Hi Greg,

The 3 pc set mentioned with a spindle gouge, skew and parting tool will be all you need for the projects you are talking about. Contrary to most, I would encourage you to use the skew right away. It's a tricky thing to master (so I am told, I'm not there yet) but well worth the effort.

Have fun!
Steve Kubien

[Brad Hammond]

yeah that skew is tricky..... oddly enough i learned how to use my skew on acrylics.

[Greg Cuetara]

Thanks for all the advice. I am thinking I just want to go with a 3 piece midi set or a 3 piece pen turners set.

I did find a carbide tipped 3 piece pen turners set from Penn State Ind. It says you don't need to sharpen...yadda yadda yadda... I don't have a bench grinder right now so not sure if I should get just an HSS set of tools and pick up a bench grinder or get the carbide tipped set and hone them with the stones that I have. Even if I get the HSS set can I sharpen and hone them by hand or do I really have to get a grinder?

[Tom Sherman]

Greg, a grinder and a system like the Wolverine will make life much simpler, unless you are very good at freehand sharpening. Sharp tools are a must for turning, and your new tools will most likely not be sharp enough to turn with straight out of the box.

[Dean Thomas]

Greg, welcome to the vortex, the three piece set you mentioned would be ok for starting with pens. That set comes with a 1/2" skew, a 3/8" spindle gouge and a 1/8" parting tool IIRC. First thing would be to practice wasting wood to get used to your tools and how each one works best. Find a club in your area and get into a mentoring program makes the learning curve much easier. Get a good sharpening system like the wolverine sharp tools can make a job much easier too. The tools will NOT be sharp enough to use straight out of the box. Practice Practice practice and have fun.
I so often agree with Tom that I almost wince having to disagree here, and am thankful that it's only about the tools. The Wolverine system is the bee's knees IMO. Know, though, that the pen set tools won't work with the Wolverine. Sorry.

Almost all of the "pen tool sets" that I've seen have little bitty pieces of steel hanging out in front of a light weight wooden handle. Because the steel is SO short, they are hard as blazes to sharpen! NOT a fun way to start things out, wrestling with your grinder or relegated to stones or sandpaper.

Yes, bite the bullet and buy at least those three tools in real size tools. Or consider the $40 set from Harbor Freight, even though they are not Sorby quality tools. HF's less expensive HSS tools are really good to learn how to sharpen and how NOT to sharpen on. At about $5 apiece, the guilt factor is way low for using them on the sharpening learning curve. The Wolverine learning curve is about 10% of the hand-held learning curve, IMO.

Once you have some basic tools, even at modest quality like the HF stuff, you can at least turn your own tool handles and then buy Doug Thompson's really GREAT quality stuff!!! They are SUPERB quality V10 steel tools at almost half the cost of pretty darned good quality Sorby M2 steel tools. Add your own handles and you've got a monster set of great, nearly life-long tools! Unless you turn 40 hours a day and grind the heck out of 'em! :rolleyes:

[Tom Sherman]

Dean, I have to agree I don't use the pen turning tools much any more my wife does most of the pen turning and when I do I use the big boy tools. Sharpening the "Pen tools" on the wolverine is a challenge due to the lack of length. I have considered making a versa tool like holder for the gouge, but have not done it yet. Thanks for pointing out my oops there Dean.