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Thread: Buying First Turning Tools (set advice and/or individual)

  1. #31
    Penn State - Benjamins Best has a longer set of tools that you may want to consider. I have some and I like them. You do not have to worry about them to much, especially when sharpening, as you may with one tool that is $100+. You can try different grinds on the bowl gouge and see what you like.

    Also, watch a lot of you tube videos- there are thousands - some sawmillcreek members have them - best way to learn unless you have someone in person to show you.

  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Melvin Feng View Post
    So as far as the individual turning tool purchases, this is where I think it is really hard to get out of our own heads. Some turners specialize in finials, so their tooling is catered to that, while others do bowls with traditional gouges and have a good selection there, and others do bowls with scrapers, so they have multiples of those. Some try to be able to do a bit of everything, so have more generalized tools.

    I think this is where your own practice, experience, and preferences will come much more into play.

    So I think the biggest thing is for you to get comfortable with your lathe, and try out some different kinds of turnings, and then when you decide that you want to get more into a specific type of turning, buy the tools that are best suited for that. You will most likely also have preferences ebb and wane, so you may end up with a whole bunch of tools of every which kind after a decade of turning, and appreciate each and every one of them!

    As a quick personal example: I started with making pens [snip] I find it fun to try new types of turnings, and to make a whole bunch of mistakes, and then see my progress over time.
    Great advice. Get used to turning, develop your basic skills. Above all -- try out a wide range of types of turnings. There is more to turning than pens, bowls, hollow forms, and the other 'usual suspects'. If you see something which interests you -- TRY IT! You might find something you really love but had never thought of. See what you enjoy turning, then buy tools which will help. Your interests may well change / evolve. I started out making bowls (but not one in the last several years), boxes (none in years), hollow forms (started out the usual way but now only do 2-piece hollowing when I do any). I now primarily do multiaxis work of various kinds and multiple-spindle constructions (2D and 3D), and explore what traditional turning in various parts of the world has to offer. Figuring out how to do something is as interesting to me as the final product. For much of what I do, I like Thompson detail gouges.

  3. #33
    Good stuff!

    I'm developing a plan to acquire blanks. There are a lot of suppliers in my area because it seems there are A LOT of woodworkers in the Portland/Vancouver area. I picked up a few from Goby walnut yesterday, and they even had some cheaper ones at .75/lb, but I hope to both interact with the local community and develop some relationships with local people who have portable sawmills or small businesses that I may be able to get all kinds of blanks from. It's early in the process and I wouldn't mind twice-turning and trying both wet and dry. I'd also like to do some stabilization stuff, and resin. It's a vast world and I'm excited for all the variation. Sunday my first tools arrive along with a face shield so I'll get my feet wet soon. I imagine I can also make some of my own blanks by cutting some blocks off the walnut, mahogany, purple heart, etc and other woods I have on hand.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Mattsen View Post
    ... I hope to both interact with the local community and develop some relationships with local people who have portable sawmills or small businesses that I may be able to get all kinds of blanks from. ...
    I was able to justify buying a small Woodmizer when we bought this farm and it's been useful and a lot of fun. I don't saw for money but do saw wood for siding and slabs and square stock (e.g. 4x4s or 5x5s) to dry for turning, and sometimes cut bowl and platter blanks from chunks of logs friends bring.

    BTW, if you talk to some who has a mill and ask about milling short lengths some may not be set up for this - the minimum log I can clamp on my mill is about 4' long. However, I use lag screws to make a "L" shaped support from a couple of 2x12s or something. I put that on the mill then clamp the short pieces to it. The support is sacrificial since I often have to cut into it but I just keep moving further down as needed. I've posted these pictures before so sorry if you've already seen them:

    sawmill_gordon_jake_2_3_18.jpg sawmill_blanks.jpg sawmill_blocks_P2253156.jpg

    JKJ

  5. #35
    20210207_162043.jpg

    In all their glory, the starter set. Took the load of lacquer off them and let me say: I'm anxious for the sharpening tools I ordered to arrive. 😎

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
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    3,655
    I'd say start turning. Make a bunch of stuff, figure out what you like doing and what you don't. At some point you'll reach a point where you realize that a different tool will make what you are trying to do much easier, or allow you to do it at all. Then buy that tool.

    When you find yourself scratching your head saying "there's got to be a better way" then investigate whether there is. (When you find the magical sandpaper replacement, let me know.)

    You may well find that you'll want to invest in different kinds of holding systems before more cutting tools. Or sanding technology. Or lighting. Or drills. Or a really good push broom. Or gratuities for your friendly local tree trimmer. There's no end of things to spend money on.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    ...(When you find the magical sandpaper replacement, let me know.)...
    The magical COARSE sandpaper (and rotary sander) replacement, NRS and hand scrapers. I still use fine sandpaper for these, usually 320 or finer, often by hand with a soft sanding block.

    NRS_curved.jpg _scrapers_IMG_7818.jpg _scrapers_IMG_7827.jpg

    My soft sanding block.

    sanding_soft_block.jpg

  8. #38
    Oh I started all right, heh. Pretty sure I've worn out most edges in the set. Planing cuts w/ skew chisels are tricky. Had to watch some video to remember how to not catch that tool 😅. I'm having to learn posture & positioning, tool rest height, speeds, all kinds of stuff. All that said: I'm having a blast! I did run the skew on my coarse diamond stone briefly but am nervous about damaging them (they are pretty new!). I need a burnisher for my card scrapers and definitely some sanding tech. I moved one of my LED fixtures closer to the lathe area in my garage but probably want a fixture I can focus with other than a cordless light or flashlight 🔦. I also filed & sanded the edges of the skew(s) which tended to grab the tool rest and cleaned/waxed the lathe's cast iron. Picked up some fresh blanks from a local guy to see about some rough turning & the feel between kiln dried and not. Definitely need some larger Forstner Bits so I can hollow boxes and look into other tools and how to hollow things. Built a drawer for the missing one my stand after reinforcing it the other day.
    Kinda waiting on the chuck to arrive tomorrow now.
    20210208_175523.jpg

  9. #39
    That reminds me, any recommendations on a Jacob's chuck or whatever to hold bits in the tail stock?

  10. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Mattsen View Post
    That reminds me, any recommendations on a Jacob's chuck or whatever to hold bits in the tail stock?
    I have a keyed chuck and two keyless chucks for drills. I also have a single 3/4" taper drill which fits directly into the MT2 in the tailstock. The keyed chuck I think is a harbor freight unit, and the keyless chucks are ones from Amazon, I think around $30-40. I find that to be a sweet spot for them on amazon.

    To give you some insight into my system for drilling (this works for me, but may not fit your needs):
    1) keyed chuck has a carbide center drill in it permanently. When I need to do a long drilling operation of a fairly narrow bit, I start with this. I did this to reduce wandering and to be more likely to stay centered on the axis. This is how I drill for pens and the like, but it is handy for anything that I really want to be centered well.
    2) Keyless chuck #1 has a 2-1/8 forstner bit in it permamently. I use this to cut the mortise to fit the 2 inch jaws on my chuck. I found this to be a very easy, convenient, and consistent way to do this, and use it often for my bowls - I actually have a second one I keep for use in the drill to drill the initial mortise to mount the blank in the chuck initially. I hope this makes sense. It allows me to not have to turn between centers or use the worm screw.
    3) keyless chuck #2 is for all the other standard drills that I might need to use. I've even used it to tap threads in pieces of hex stainless bar to make tap handles for my beer (I'm an avid home brewer and have a walk-in cooler to serve from)

    4) 3/4" taper drill - I have a stop collar on this, and use this exclusively to set the depth when hollowing out the interior of a bowl. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of knowing how far to go. It also makes it so that I don't have to wrangle with cutting the center nib that always seems to like to stick out (this will make more sense when you turn some bowls).

    I hope this gives you some ideas!

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Mattsen View Post
    Oh I started all right, heh. Pretty sure I've worn out most edges in the set. Planing cuts w/ skew chisels are tricky. Had to watch some video to remember how to not catch that tool . I'm having to learn posture & positioning, tool rest height, speeds, all kinds of stuff. All that said: I'm having a blast! I did run the skew on my coarse diamond stone briefly but am nervous about damaging them (they are pretty new!). I need a burnisher for my card scrapers and definitely some sanding tech. I moved one of my LED fixtures closer to the lathe area in my garage but probably want a fixture I can focus with other than a cordless light or flashlight . I also filed & sanded the edges of the skew(s) which tended to grab the tool rest and cleaned/waxed the lathe's cast iron. Picked up some fresh blanks from a local guy to see about some rough turning & the feel between kiln dried and not. Definitely need some larger Forstner Bits so I can hollow boxes and look into other tools and how to hollow things. Built a drawer for the missing one my stand after reinforcing it the other day.
    Kinda waiting on the chuck to arrive tomorrow now.
    20210208_175523.jpg
    It is great that you are spending time getting to know your tools and your lathe. You'll soon have enough experience to know what you like and don't like, and then be ready to make your next purchase!

    For a burnisher, I'd recommend getting a carbide one. I originally bought a tool steel one, but later bought the carbide to make sure I didn't have to worry about it. I use it for my card scrapers, as well as setting a burr on my negative rake scrapers.

    For forstner bits, I'm partial to the 'wave' style, though I only have a few like that. If you use them a lot on the lathe, you'll also want to learn how to sharpen them. I use a small 1x30 belt sander for mine, and it works quite well with a 600 grit belt on it.

    If you want to do boxes, you'll definitely want to look into some scraper options. You can look more closely at that boxmaster that I linked in an earlier post. You can also look into some carbide insert tools that can also be handy for turning boxes. I have some easy wood tools that I've used for a long time, but I've become a much bigger fan of the Hunter Carbide options with their cup style insert. There are a number of Hunter tools that you could use for turning boxes on the lathe. You can also use a traditional scraper with more of a flat front, and a negative rake version would most likely be more pleasant to use.

  12. #42
    This all makes sense, thank you. I've seen the forstner Bits that hook or snap into a tailstock live center piece, what is that system called - appears to be without a chuck?

  13. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by Melvin Feng View Post
    For a burnisher, I'd recommend getting a carbide one. I originally bought a tool steel one, but later bought the carbide to make sure I didn't have to worry about it. I use it for my card scrapers, as well as setting a burr on my negative rake scrapers.
    I've only seen the standard 'chefs steel' style rod Burnishers for scrapers. Aren't they supposed to be just a hardened rod? Could use more info on this. I appreciate the positive encouragement, too. Thanks.

  14. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Mattsen View Post
    I've only seen the standard 'chefs steel' style rod Burnishers for scrapers. Aren't they supposed to be just a hardened rod? Could use more info on this. I appreciate the positive encouragement, too. Thanks.
    Yup, you can get a carbide burnisher in the chef's steel style. This is the one I bought: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B088C33L7P/

    The original burnisher I had bought for my card scrapers was rated for mid 60s Rockwell. I just looked up the hardness of my d-way tools, and also of Thompson tools, and they are just about the same. The burnisher only works if it is harder than what you are trying to burnish. When I was buying my D-way scrapers, I realized that I needed a harder burnisher, so I had to get the second one (the carbide is up into the 90's rockwell). Even though your tools right now are not likely to be that hard, you may decide to try out the 'premium' steel choices, which may be the same hardness as a traditional burnisher, which means you'll end up needing to get a carbide one later. I'm just trying to save you from making the same mistake I did. haha.

  15. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Mattsen View Post
    This all makes sense, thank you. I've seen the forstner Bits that hook or snap into a tailstock live center piece, what is that system called - appears to be without a chuck?
    Hmmmm, I don't think you mean live center - it would rotate with the piece, not allowing you to drill.

    There are two other methods for holding specific diameter shafts that I'm aware of. The first is an ER Collet system that goes into the MT2 on the tailstock, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Chuck-TBVECHI...dp/B07TKL7X61/

    The other is a direct MT2 collet system, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Shank-Round-C...dp/B06XBYJMR1/

    Those are just the first products I found when I searched amazon, so I can't comment on how good those specific products actually are. I haven't used either of those systems either, I just have researched them.

    Though they are very similar, there are a couple big differences that come to mind. The ER collet requires the wrench, and adds length, but should provide a firm stop to the tooling that is clamped.

    The MT2 collets reduce the overall length, but I'm not sure if tooling could slip more easily because it is more difficult to clamp with the MT2 before advancing it to drill. Looking at the MT2 collets, they can also be used in the headstock and fastened with a draw bar to clamp work if you are working with really small spindles like a finial using a small tenon, this would also make it easier to drill a small centered hole in a dowel that you can mount in the collet.

    If what you are thinking is different than either of those options, let me know, because I would be interested in learning about it too!

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