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Thread: Two newbies with questions about tools

  1. #1
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    Two newbies with questions about tools

    Hello,

    My wife and I are going to purchase a new lathe and would like some recommendations about what tools to purchase.

    My guess is we will do some basic stuff for quite some time. Eventually we will want to get into bowl turning.

    What tools would you recommend for us to start with?

    Thanks,
    John

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Louis View Post
    Hello,
    My wife and I are going to purchase a new lathe and would like some recommendations about what tools to purchase.
    My guess is we will do some basic stuff for quite some time. Eventually we will want to get into bowl turning.
    What tools would you recommend for us to start with?
    Different people have different ideas of how to start. These are some of mine.

    I highly recommend starting by learning spindle turning - I start every beginner like that. Spindle turning will teach you the tool control which will let you turn anything! (A bunch of expert turners recommend this. Turners who are not adept at spindles and turn only bowls don't recommend this.)

    Some basic tools:
    (Be glad to provide specifics)

    Spindle roughing gouge
    Parting tool
    Skew chisel - 3/4 or 1"
    Spindle gouge - 3/8"
    Bowl gouge - 3/8"
    Round nose scraper - 3/4"
    Another one or two depending on budget.

    Useful:
    A "safety" drive center or Steb center

    Necessary:
    Bench grinder ("if you can't sharpen, you can't turn")
    Bright lighting
    Safety glasses and/or face shield (Bionic is popular)
    Respirator to preserve lungs when sanding

    Helpful:
    Sharpening jig such as the Oneway Wolverine, Varigrind to sharpen gouges
    Small diamond hone to touch up edges. I like the E-Z Lap extra fine (blue)
    AAW membership - publications, inspiration, basic instruction, vetted videos (MANY Youtube videos are bad)

    Very helpful after you learn the basics of spindle turning:
    Scroll chuck such as the Nova G3 or Supernova2 with insert to fit your lathe

    Extremely helpful:
    Attending a woodturning club
    Find a mentor (if you put your location in your profile a mentor might come out of the woodwork)
    Introductory turning lessons
    A good book or two. One is Richard Raffan's "Turning Wood"

    Calendar to schedule lathe times to preserve marriage.

    JKJ

  3. #3
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    John, Where do you live?

  4. #4
    I would have to agree with John's list and would say the one thing that helped me the most was to find local woodturning club. most members of a club are glad to help out new turners you can look on the AAW web site to find one that is close to you

  5. #5
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    Great information and thanks for the quick replies.

    We live in the Des Moines, Iowa area. There seems to be a fairly active club that meets at the local WoodSmith store. There is a meeting this Saturday, but we cannot make it due to family commitments. We do plan to join and attend a meeting as soon as we can get time too.

    We will start with turning some spindles. I agree that sounds like the place to start. I've used a lathe before, but it's been years. My wife will be completely new to the hobby.

    Some specifics on the basic tools would be good. Based on another thread we found a set of 8 HSS Lathe Chisels that look to cover the basics. I just don't want to run out and buy a bunch of tools that will sit and not be used.

    We will check out the AAW web site. We had not seen that recommendation before in our searches.

    thanks again,
    John

  6. #6
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    John gave you good advice. You don't say what the set of tools are. I find that many less expensive sets have poor shapes on the grinds and usually one or two tools you never uses. Purchasing tools from turning places like Woodcraft, Packard, and Craft Supplies you will get tools that are good quality and often have good grinds to start. The turning club will be invaluable. There is absolutely nothing better than haveing someone who can look at your tools and tell you what is wrong with the grinds and help point you in the right direction. I just taught a husband and wife who were brand new to turning. They were struggling with traditional tools and I only had one day to work with them. I loaned them my Hunter Hercules and they both made a nice handled mirror by the end of the day with few problems. It is an expensive tool but the tool itself lasts a lifetime. You just replace the carbide cutter every now and then. This tool is used like a scraping tool at first but can be used like traditional tools in a bevel rubbing mode later. You will learn more about cutting vs scraping as you learn about turning. Ideally you want to cut the wood instead of scrape but many people struggle with this. That's why the turning club is so important. Many people use scraping tools because they are easy and have a very short learning curve but they are cuts you can't do with them and you spend an awful lot of time sanding out the poor finish. The tools John Listed are exactly what I use for 90 percent of my turning and I turn a little bit of everything imaginable.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnC Lucas View Post
    John gave you good advice. You don't say what the set of tools are. I find that many less expensive sets have poor shapes on the grinds and usually one or two tools you never uses. Purchasing tools from turning places like Woodcraft, Packard, and Craft Supplies you will get tools that are good quality and often have good grinds to start. The turning club will be invaluable. There is absolutely nothing better than haveing someone who can look at your tools and tell you what is wrong with the grinds and help point you in the right direction. I just taught a husband and wife who were brand new to turning. They were struggling with traditional tools and I only had one day to work with them. I loaned them my Hunter Hercules and they both made a nice handled mirror by the end of the day with few problems. It is an expensive tool but the tool itself lasts a lifetime. You just replace the carbide cutter every now and then. This tool is used like a scraping tool at first but can be used like traditional tools in a bevel rubbing mode later. You will learn more about cutting vs scraping as you learn about turning. Ideally you want to cut the wood instead of scrape but many people struggle with this. That's why the turning club is so important. Many people use scraping tools because they are easy and have a very short learning curve but they are cuts you can't do with them and you spend an awful lot of time sanding out the poor finish. The tools John Listed are exactly what I use for 90 percent of my turning and I turn a little bit of everything imaginable.
    JohnC,

    Good point, the set of tools is at Penn State Industries. https://www.pennstateind.com/mm5/mer...mvc?#ltclicked

    Hopefully that link will work.

    I will do some more research on Hunter Hercules tonight.

    John

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnC Lucas View Post
    ...I just taught a husband and wife who were brand new to turning. They were struggling with traditional tools and I only had one day to work with them. I loaned them my Hunter Hercules and they both made a nice handled mirror by the end of the day with few problems. It is an expensive tool but the tool itself lasts a lifetime. You just replace the carbide cutter every now and then. This tool is used like a scraping tool at first but can be used like traditional tools in a bevel rubbing mode later. You will learn more about cutting vs scraping as you learn about turning. ...
    I agree with JohnL about the Hunter Hercules. If I had just one tool beyond the basics it would be the Hercules. I didn't list it since it is expensive (about $100) but as mentioned, it will last a life time. A new cutter is about $20 or so. Some of my cutters have lasted for years so far. No sharpening, ever - just rotate the cutter a bit on occasion and expose a new edge. You may see a lot of cheaper carbide tools out there, some with flat tops and all claiming miracles - I've tried several and there is no comparison to the Hunter cutter.

    Note that the Hercules is not a substitute for learning the basics with conventional tools, but an additional weapon in the arsenal that will let you do some things easier when beginning and some things better. It will make smooth cuts but not as good for tight detail. Several experienced turners have tried these in my shop and then bought one to add to their tool rack. This student learned spindle turning with conventional tools but took to the Hercules immediately when she wanted to make a present for her sister. (This was after just two other lessons). You can see the small Hercules in the 3rd and 4th pictures.

    Kristina_platter_working_comp.jpg Kristina_platter_finished_comp3.jpg

    There are two sizes of Hercules, a small one and a large one. I prefer the small one for what I do.

    The bit is angled downward in the front make it useful for both the scraping and bevel-rubbing modes JohnL mentioned. This shows the two Hercules at the top, an Osprey (similar but with round shaft) and a Clewes Mate, superseded by the new Hunter Viceroy.

    HUNTER4_side_IMG_20160803_1.jpg HUNTER4_top_IMG_20160803_10.jpg

    I have no financial connection to Mike Hunter so this is not a sales pitch! He is a wonderful person, though - call him with any questions.
    http://huntertoolsystems.com/product-category/hercules/

    If you lived nearby you could come to my shop and try all these and more (and get a day or two of lathe lessons!) The cost is some good conversation and at least one good story. Road trip!

    WVR_IMG_5458.jpg

    JKJ

  9. #9
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    The link didn't bring me to their tools. I looked up their sets and the aren't bad if some of the tips are reground. MY suggestion would be to look at some sets and them post a photo here so we can all look at them and give our opinion. that's not a bad price and probably would allow you to do things like spindles, candle sticks, lamps and other projects. Not sure I saw any with a bowl gouge for turning bowls. Many sets have what they call a roughing gouge. Be aware that we have changed the name to Spindle Roughing gouge because they should never be used to turn a bowl or platter. They are too dangerous for that purpose. A bowl gouge or possibly carbide scraper is much better for that.

  10. #10
    Some pastimes are amazing. If you take up shooting muzzle loaders and go to the store, the helpful clerk will be glad to sell you everything they have in stock, up to your last penny. The same is true in many other past times, including woodturning. You heard of the arms race, where two countries try to outs pend each other on bigger and badder weapons. Woodturners do it to themselves. With all the accessories, different knives, cutters, centers, dust collector, accessory tools like grinders, sharpeners, band saws, drill presses, drills, and lathes, it is easy to mortgage your house and still need that one more tool. I have been back into wood turning after 40 years away and the changes are..... well it truly is a brave new world. As technology changes so do the tools and accessories. And technology is changing at a record pace. The vogue tool today will be replaced in a year or two. What was posted above by others is very good. I would offer just a bit of advice. Woodturning was basically unchanged for thousands of years, until very recently that is. Stick to basics. Learn the basics. Do the basics, Oh sure venture forward here and there, but you won't progress very far until the basics become instinctual. Challenge yourself to do as much as possible with just one tool. Do not ignore the skew. Make it your friend. Many turners live in fear of their skew and hide it in a tool rack. It has been an amazing turning tool for thousands of years and folks who did not accomplish the basics fear the skew.
    It will twist and turn in your hand, it will scratch up your nearly perfect piece, but when mastered, it will leave a finish as smooth as a baby's bottom. you will use it for most of your spindle work.

    Patience is one of the most important tools in any shop. Use it well and happy turning.

  11. #11
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    The evil skew

    Quote Originally Posted by Perry Hilbert Jr View Post
    ...Do not ignore the skew. Make it your friend. Many turners live in fear of their skew and hide it in a tool rack. It has been an amazing turning tool for thousands of years and folks who did not accomplish the basics fear the skew. ...
    I am on a lifelong quest to quell the fear of the skew! I've had numerous success stories, some even with experienced turners who tried once and gave up. I think the method of teaching is the key.

    As I mentioned often, when I teach a beginner the first tool in her hand is the skew. As the simplest edge in the set it makes it easy to feel and understand the relationship between the edge, the bevel, and the hand position. I always start by rotating the lathe by hand. In just a few minutes the beginner is able to make planing cuts with the lathe spinning. I've never had one get a catch. Some of these students said later the skew was their favorite tool.

    Thin spindles for this girl, her third experience at a lathe:

    Naomi_wand.jpg

    JKJ

  12. #12
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    Lots of great information and things to consider.

    I was at the Woodsmith store today looking at Sorby tools.

    We have a lot more research and learning to do before we start buying.

    thanks for all the help.
    John

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Louis View Post
    We have a lot more research and learning to do before we start buying.
    Yikes, you must be one of those intelligent, thinking people I've heard about! Most of us run out on a whim and buy things then get rid of them and start over once we learn what's going on. I bought my first lathe like that and then gave it away not long after when I bought the right one.

    JKJ

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Yikes, you must be one of those intelligent, thinking people I've heard about! Most of us run out on a whim and buy things then get rid of them and start over once we learn what's going on. I bought my first lathe like that and then gave it away not long after when I bought the right one.

    JKJ
    LOL well usually that is my mode of operation as well.

    I almost forgot to say thanks for the offer of coming over and having folks teach us. I think it's great that you do that.

    John

  15. #15
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    Wood turners are that way. Anyone traveling through is always welcome at my shop as well.
    Perry, very well said and my thoughts exactly. If you just bought a bowl gouge and parting tool you could turn a ton of projects with just those two. Learning all the cuts is the challenge.

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