What are your top 5 turning tools?

[Chris Yarish]

I am a novice woodturner. I actually just bought my first lathe and haven't even made any sawdust with it....this is not for a lack of desire, but more for a lack of tools.
I have looked at some of the tool packages they offer, but I think with many package deals (like router bits and drill bits) you save on the overall cost, but you purchase tools you are unlikely to be using.

I will be doing a variety of projects, but think that bowls will be where I ultimately find my interest.

What are the top 5 turning tools I should try to have in my arsenal?
(I know what gouges, scrapers parting tools etc are, but recommended sizes would also be appreciated)



Chris

[Barry Stratton]

My top 5, can't turn without them, tools are:

1) PM 3520b lathe
2) 5/8 P/N bowl gouge
3) Wolverine grinder
4) 1" Crown scraper
5) Milwaukie close quarters drill

[Chris Yarish]

....mmmm, I was hoping to hear about the top 5 cutting tools....tools that touch the wood as you turn.
I want to begin my collection with 3 essentials to begin with, then build from there. Given my relative inexperience with turning, I would like some advice on what to spend my money on since I don't know what will be money wasted or money well spent.

Thanks

[Barry Stratton]

....mmmm, I was hoping to hear about the top 5 cutting tools....tools that touch the wood as you turn.
I want to begin my collection with 3 essentials to begin with, then build from there. Given my relative inexperience with turning, I would like some advice on what to spend my money on since I don't know what will be money wasted or money well spent.

Thanks

Well....there's 2 in my list. Add a 3/4 skew, 1/8" parting tool, 5/8" spindle gouge, and Monster HF captive rig and that's all I use...........course I'm not any good at this yet either.

[Bob Hallowell]

It all depends on what you are doing.

if pens then
1/2 skew
roughing gouge
1/2 sraper
3/8 spindle gouge
parting tool

larger spindles add a 1/2 spindle gouge
and a 1 in skew

Bowls take different tools

3/8 and 1/2 bowl gouge
big heavey duty scraper.

as you can see it varys in what you are planing to make

one of the purple handled Harbor frieghts sets are great for pens and spindles and are great to learn on. I still use mine.

then add a bowl gouge and a thick scraper and you can get by till you see what you like.

Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

1) Ellsworth bowl gouge
2) 3/8" spindle gouge
3) Skew 1 3/8"
4) Skew 5/8"
5) Monster HF tool

[Bill Noce]

The best advise I can give you is to find a Woodturning Club up there and join it. They can help you more and lead you in the right direction on what the best tools for you. The main thing is what do you want to turn that determines the tools which are the best five. Starting out you learn the basics if you have not turned before which spindle turning is.....than you go on to bowls , hollow forms , etc......... this is only my opinion.

[jack richington]

If I were you, I would look at the Packard Woodworks and the Craft Supplies catalogs. In them they show tool types and what they are used for. If you turn spindles, they show basic tools needed...bowls, same thing. When you outgrow these basic tools, then ask what 5 tools we like the best for turning, and you will understand the answers you have received today.

[David Walser]

Chris,

If I were starting out all over again, I'd get the following tools:

1) Set of tools from Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35444

2) 1/2" bowl gouge from either Penn State or the Artisan line at Craft Supplies USA. Here's a link to both:

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lx220.html
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Turning_Tools___Bowl_and_Spindle_Tools___Artisan__ _Artisan_Bowl_Gouge___art_bowl?Args=

3) A thin parting tool (there are lots of good ones, so no links).

In addition to these tools, you'll want a scroll chuck. There a lots of good ones on the market. I have the Vicmark, but I got it on sale and I could afford to splurge for a high-quality toy, err, tool. Here's what I would get if I were starting out and on a budget:
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/cmg3c.html

Here's my thoughts: The Harbor Freight tools are cheap but made from quality steel. You can afford to grind them down to nubs while learning how to sharpen and you can afford to experiment with different profiles. It's a set that will allow you to do just about anything for spindle work.

For turning bowls you need a good bowl gouge. A half-inch gouge seems like a good compromise as a starting point. For really large bowls, you might want a larger one. For fine finishing cuts on smaller bowls, you might want a smaller one. I find I use my 1/2 bowl gouge far more than any other size. It's a good place to start. The gouge from Penn State is made of good quality steel. The one from Craft Supplies is, too. The Craft Supplies gouge comes with a mammoth-sized handle. It makes roughing out an out of round bowl a lot easier.

The cheapie scroll chuck from Penn State will do the job. It uses tommy bars rather than a key, so it's not nearly as convenient as a keyed chuck, but it's do the job for less than half the money and comes with extra jaws. I have the predecessor version and think it's a good value -- not nearly as nice as my Vicmark -- but a good value. Make sure the chuck will fit your lathe's spindle. I bought mine for use with my smaller lathe (it has a 1" 8tpi spindle). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chuck, without an adapter, fit my larger lathe's 1.25" 8tpi spindle. Now I can use either chuck with either lathe. (The Vicmark is used about 90% of the time.)

Hope this helps.

[Reed Gray]

For bowls, I consider a 5/8 Thompson V gouge and a 1 1/2 inch wide 3/8 thick scraper (quarter round, and swept back to the left side, some times called an inside scraper) tools I can't do without. I like bigger and heavier tools. For spindles, a big roughing gouge and a 1 1/4 skew. Add a smaller 3/8 spindle gouge for detail work like beads and coves, and that would cover the basic turning tools. I could add several variations on all of these tools for doing boxes and hollow forms, but these are the basic ones.
robo hippy

[Jack Mincey]

For Bowls, Thompson 5/8" V-gouge,Thompson 1" scraper, 3/8" spindle gouge, Bedan tool for around the foot, and home made scraper for reaching hard to reach spots. For small work like game calls I use and old,old Delta 3/4" spindle gouge, 3/4" thompson skew, 1/2 thompson scraper, 3/8" spindle gouge, and an 3/8" round skew. I plan on replacing my round skew with one from Doug soon. His tools are Great!:)
Jack

[Raymond Overman]

I'd say my top 5 are:

1) 3/8 bowl gouge
2) 3/8 bowl gouge
3) 1/4 bowl gouge
4) 3/4 scraper
5) 1/16 parting tool

No, that wasn't a mistake with listing the 3/8 twice. I like having two of them sharpened and ready to go when turning a bowl. I usually ease the back edge of the bevel on one so when I get to the bottom I can make a cleaner cut at the transition.

The 1/4" gouge is great for shear scrapes and the last cuts at the edge of natural edge bowls.

The 3/4 scraper is great for cleaning up inside bowls.

The 1/16 parting tol is great for parting in tight places.

[Steve Schlumpf]

CHris - lots of good advice so far.

For bowls - which is what you asked about - pick up a couple of bowl gouges (3/8" & a 1/2") and it would make sense to buy quality. Lots of folks really swear by Doug Thompson tools and would suggest starting there.

Other must have tool is a round scraper. I have this model and it is very heavy, works great and is one of the cheapest scrapers I've found.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lx130.html

You should also have some sort of a parting tool. Lots of varied uses for them but when turning bowls you'll want to square up the corner area of the tenon before mounting to your chuck.

Other tool is some means of sanding. I use a cheap electric drill with a 2" sanding pad. Lots of options out there but if you start out sanding by hand you'll want to check into them fairly soon.

Lots of luck with your tool purchases! Looking forward to seeing some of your turnings real soon!

[robert hainstock]

In order,
1. homemade roughing gauge,
2,3,4, scrapers,
5 1/2 in bowl gauge
I also use spindle gauges from time to time, and a cuttoff tool.
I urge you to reconsider tool sets. My first tools were a Craftsman set which included three Skews, that after nearly forty years still fail to see the light of day. My advice is buy em as tou need em. happy spinnin.:D Bob

[Ben Gastfriend]

I really like my 1" ROUGHING GOUGE, 1/2" & 3/8" SIDE GRIND BOWL GOUGES, 1/8" PARTING TOOL, AND 1" HEAVY SCRAPER. They're about all I use on bowls. (Don't get a dinky scraper, and don't use the roughing gouge to hollow bowls. Snap! Cling! Ouch! Awww, I snapped my roughing gouge in half. Now I'm out 50 bucks!)

[Colin MacDiarmid]

1/2" bowl gouge, 3/8" bowl gouge, 3/4" spindle master, 1 1/4" roughing gouge, diamond parting tool, 3/8 spindle gouge, I know thats six but thats the ones I like, list is a lot longer though