Looking For Tool Input

[Mike Hollis]

So I haven’t turned since wood shop in junior high, but I bought my first lathe today. I mainly want to get in to bowl turning, so I purchased a Laguna 18-36 as I believe in “buy once, cry once.”

I am wondering if the Sorby 8-tool kit at Woodcraft is worth the money, or is there a better way to go? What else do I need besides face shield/respirator?

Thanks.

[John K Jordan]

Hi Mike. The Sorby tools are good and that set looks good but it has some tools you might not use IF you want to stick to bowl turning. (To be candid, I'm a strong believer in learning to spindle turn first, then go to bowls/platters/hollow forms and such. This is not my idea but a strong suggestion from a number of expert and professional turners and authors: spindle turning will teach you the fine tool control that will let you turn anything.)

One way to start is slowly. (Another way is to buy one of everything!) Something often recommended is to find and attend some meetings at a local turning club. There are usually generous people you might meet who would be willing to mentor, discuss alternatives, and even possibly loan some basic tools to help you get started. (I keep a box of old tools just for that) Taking a class is also a good way to get started. You also might put your approximate location in your profile - someone here may even live close.

There is a nearly unlimited number of tool options. Besides the health/safety protection, a few basic things that will help to the point of being almost necessary:

A good scroll chuck
Oneway wolverine with varigrind jig for sharpening gouges and such

As a woodworker you may already have calipers and such and a bench grinder for sharpening. A CBN wheel is the cat's meow for sharpening lathe tools.

Hey, it sounds like you nicely avoided something many of us did, that is buy a cheap junky lathe then replace it a short time later!

JKJ

[Mike Hollis]

Thanks for the tips John. I am signed up to take a turning class at my local Woodcraft so I can learn as much as I can.

[William C Rogers]

I bought the HF (Windsor Design) red handle set of tools to learn on. The red handle set is suppose to be better than the whit handle set. All I know is they cost $10 more than the white handle set. There are those that will advise against a set and say buy quality individual tools. Each has its merits. I learned to turn spindles and how to sharpen with that set. Sorby is no doubt a better class of tools, but like John said there will be those in the set you will not use. Once I got comfortable with sharpening and turning I started buying premium individual tools. The HF set does not have a bowl gouge. I make my own tool handles and buy Thompson and Dway tools.

[John K Jordan]

I bought the HF (Windsor Design) red handle set of tools to learn on. The red handle set is suppose to be better than the whit handle set. All I know is they cost $10 more than the white handle set. There are those that will advise against a set and say buy quality individual tools. Each has its merits. I learned to turn spindles and how to sharpen with that set. Sorby is no doubt a better class of tools, but like John said there will be those in the set you will not use. Once I got comfortable with sharpening and turning I started buying premium individual tools. The HF set does not have a bowl gouge. I make my own tool handles and buy Thompson and Dway tools.

I forgot to mention that I also started with a cheap set of HSS tools from Sears, also without a bowl gouge. As I learned to sharpen I shortened these tools instead of expensive, high quality tools. From then on I did as you mentioned and bought individual high quality tools.

I haven't tried Dway but I hear they are good. I mostly use Thompson - they have better steel than the Sorby tools bought years ago. I buy them without handles and make handles with inserts so one handle fits many tools.

One think to watch out for with very cheap tools - sometimes the steel is not hardened properly or only hardened for an inch or so at the tip. Once you grind through that the tool is not very useful. I test the hardness using the file method of all cheap and old used tools I accumulate.

JKJ

[Eric Danstrom]

Clearly OP has means, in his position I'd buy that nice Sorby set. I started with a lower cost Freud set back in the eighties and all of the chisel styles remain relevant three decades later.

Next it's time for OP to start thinking about how he's going to sharpen.....

[Richard Coers]

I'm no fan of tool sets. You'll end up using about 3 of the 8. Call Thompson Tools and talk to them about what you want to do. They'll send you some to get started and you'll have a far superior tool.

[Mike Hollis]

Thanks for all the input folks, I really appreciate it. What do you all recommend for a grinder? Not looking to spend the money for a Tormek, as much as I’d like to.

[tom lucas]

Sorby tools are good, and a good place to start. Thompson and Carter and Son are better.

[Mike Hollis]

So after doing a bunch of reading, I ended up ordering the following from D-Way:

1/2” bowl gouge
1/2 x 3/4 roughing gouge
3/8” spindle gouge
3/4” skew

And a 1” bowl scraper from Carter & Son.

That should be a decent start, anything else I should get?

[Timothy Thorpe Allen]

You are going to need at least one handle....

[Mike Hollis]

You are going to need at least one handle....

I ordered a couple handles.

[Eric Danstrom]

That should be a decent start, anything else I should get?

Parting tool.

[Eric Danstrom]

Thanks for all the input folks, I really appreciate it. What do you all recommend for a grinder? Not looking to spend the money for a Tormek, as much as I’d like to.

I went with the Rikon 8" slow speed grinder on a Harbor Freight cast iron stand. Added Veritas guides. After I wear down the Rikon grinding wheels I'll upgrade to CBN wheels. Tired of throwing away perfectly good stuff for esoteric upgrades.

[Thomas Wilson80]

So after doing a bunch of reading, I ended up ordering the following from D-Way:

1/2” bowl gouge
1/2 x 3/4 roughing gouge
3/8” spindle gouge
3/4” skew

And a 1” bowl scraper from Carter & Son.

That should be a decent start, anything else I should get?

That should be plenty - I started with a 1/2 bowl gouge and a thin parting tool, then a few months later added 1/2 and 1 1/4 skews then a year later added a 1/2 spindle gouge and a scraper. You can use the skews in place of spindle roughing gouge, though I recently added one and love it.
Sounds like you are set for now. Good luck and congrats!

Tom