Bare minimum in tools to get started?

[xraymtb]

Thanks to stevenw1963 I now own my very first lathe (and can I say he was a top guy to deal with).

Trouble is I have no tools to work with. I've read the stickies and the recommended six tools but at this time of year I cant really afford all six HSS tools in known brands.

I suppose my question is can I get away with less? If so where do I start? Are TCT or miniature tools worth considering?

I want to try pen turning and some small bowls (its an Axy AWSL Lathe so nothing bigger than 10"). Eventually I'll try more but for now those are my aims.

Any advice (or offers of cheap tools :wink: ) would be appreciated.

 

[nev]

Hi Mike
Unfortunately the different gouges are used at different stages in producing one item, so there is really no one tool that will do all.

a roughing gouge will get your square or non round stock round, but you do not use a roughing gouge for hollowing out bowls,(bad!)
I would say the minimum you will need is 3 or 4, a roughing gouge to prepare the stock, a bowl gouge for shaping in/outsides of bowls and skew for smooth planing cuts and pens.

and a parting tool for er.. parting off.
and a spindle gouge for anything other than bowls and pens.
and a round scraper will help immensely to get smooth curves in tight spots.
and a flat scraper will help with getting a flat surface and for rounding balls too.
I guess were back to 6 or 7 tools

unless you want to start with just pen turning which you can do start to finish with a skew,( but theres a steep learning curve with the skew and it may put you off turning for life :evil: ) .

... but then you'll need a mandrel.

Sorry Mike, didnt mean to put you off, but Now i see why they're called 'starter kits' #-o

Think you'll need to have a word with :ho2

 

[Paul Hannaby]

If you want to make bowls a bowl gouge will be needed. I would start with a 1/2" bowl gouge. If you want to make pens, the best tool would be a spindle gouge (a 1/2" spindle gouge is a good all rounder) so with these two tools alone, you could make bowls and pens. Third on the list might be a round scraper for refining the internal shape of a bowl.

If you want to expand in to more spindle work, then add a spindle roughing gouge a parting tool and possibly as skew chisel.

It's worth looking for second hand tools but if you do, go for high speed steel in preference to the older high carbon steel tools. Both work but the HSS tools hold their edge better.

 

[Calgach]

Dia duit,

As paul said the 1/2" gouge is great.
I originally bought the record power 7 piece set then later bought the 1/2" gouge after using one in a lesson.
I now find its easily my most used tool.
its good for roughing if the workpiece isn't two big, good for general spindle shaping, planing, and even some bowl work.
Good luck in getting started; if you can't afford a whole collection at the minute i'd say a 1/2" gouge is a good investment.

Ádh-mór,
ÁD

 

[woodyturner]

when I first started turning we used old files and ground them to the profile that was needed but today you can pick up a scrapper cheep and that will enable you to turn a bowl

 

[Andrewf]

Henry taylor turning tools come up on eBay regularly, and seem to go for cheaper prices than Sorby or Ashley iles. They are as good a quality as any other make around. In fact i prefer some of my henry taylor tools to the sorby ones. Several sets for sale at present and well worth a punt. I have loads of chisel but but seem to use just the following most of the time.
Roughing gouge
Bowl gouge
Skew chisel
Parting tool.

 

[chipmunk]

Well my suggestion would be to buy a spindle roughing gouge (3/4" probably because it's cheaper) and a parting tool (diamond 5 or 6mm) first, and concentrate on spindle turning. Crown tools are probably the best value good quality tools IMHO. Don't be tempted to use the roughing gouge on anything other than spindles like bowls though!

With practice you can then easily turn handles for future unhandled tool purchases, starting with a 3/8" bowl gouge (12 - 14" handle - sorry Paul ;-). Cheap ferrules can be made from half a 22mm end-feed Yorkshire copper pipe fitting. Then a 3/8" spindle gouge (~10" handle) - again unhandled - again sorry Paul ;-).

You may then want to try a 3/4" rolled edged skew for smoother handles without so much sanding and finally a 3/4" round ended scraper (you could use the skew in place of a square ended scraper until you can afford one).

Unhandled Crown tools are available although you may have to look and shop around to find them. You will find that unhandled Sorby tools cost about as much as handled Crown tools so it depends how tight money really is ;-)

My two-penn'th
Jon

 

[tekno.mage]

As you want to make bowls, you will definitely need a bowl gouge - and this can also be used as a spindle roughing gouge, so you could avoid buying that one to start with. You can also do some aspects of spinde turning with it (long slow curves, planing cuts and even truing up end grain if you are skilled), but if you want to cut small beads and coves the spindle gouge is needed. I'd also recommend a parting tool for parting off spindle work (and this can also be used for planing cuts and turning small beads). So you are down to 3 tools - bowl gouge, spindle gouge and parting tool.

I'd also recommend looking out on ebay - when I first started turning I found some bargains there - not by buying individual new tools, but bidding on groups of 3-5 tools being sold as a batch and getting lucky on some auctions (best bargain I had was 4 Asley Iles tools for £7.00 - a skew, 2 spindle gouges, & a parting tool)

 

[Neil Farrer]

And before you buy any tools you will need a sharpening wheel cos they dont come sharp unless you buy Ashley Isles.

 

[duncanh]

And before you buy any tools you will need a sharpening wheel cos they dont come sharp unless you buy Ashley Isles.

And they certainly don't stay sharp.

 

[DUNK_WALES]

Can I suggest one tool I find very versatile that is a sorby spindle master it's easier to master than a skew it can do many jobs plane bead cove and even use as a scraper if you want it too and good on end grain too. It's good on big stuff and great for pens and delicate work. It's so Simple to keep sharp no jigs or grinders needed just an oil or diamond stone to flatten off the back worth a look?!

Lee

 

[stoatyboy]

I've bumped into the same problem - they're expensive these turning tools and they don't turn up at boot fairs anywhere near as much as no4 planes!

I've got roughing gouge, parting tool, bowl gouge and some weird thing that looks like a scraper but with teeth down its left side (keep meaning to post a pic and ask)

so far I've turned:

tool handles (very pleased with)
skittles (not so pleased with)
rounders bat type things (pleased with)
lots of round blanks out of fire wood for when I've got some more tools to use to make them into some other stuff - all spindle stuff

and as said before you will need the sharpening kit - pointless even starting with out it

cheers

 

[KimG]

Look at any video on turning that is made in a turners workshop and you will see racks of tools, it isn't because we are avid collectors, turning really does require quite a range, especially when you want to turn a wide variety of items, you could in theory get away with a single half inch bowl gouge and just turn bowls, but at the beginner level you will find it very tricky to get a good enough finish to sand with just a gouge, so a round nosed scraper will also be needed, plus a parting tool or similar to form a tenon to hold the bowl, you see how it goes! Expect to be spending for quite some time.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't buy sets - there's always one or two you'll not use, and identical handles might look nice but in the real ,untidy world it's a advantage to have different handles. Don't buy things that other people and books tell you are indispensable, find out as you go. Don't ignore advice, but don't treat it as gospel, either.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Stoatyboy,
What you have sounds like a female thread chaser.

It requires quite a bit of practise and some boxwood to use it successfully (and without a male chaser you'll have to try to treat it like a Uni-chaser.) You may also want a Bill Jones style arm-rest and a recess cutting tool but these don't have to cost much and are easy to make yourself with a bit of ingenuity.

Some details of the Unichaser can be found here ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i73lWmUO9gQ

If you have an imperial thread guage you could establish the number of teeth per inch or just use a 1" rule as a guide. Normally they are in the range 16 - 22 TPI and these will be reasonably easy to use on wood. Some metal working thread chasers are also available outside this range.

Otherwise you could just grind the teeth off and create a small scraper ;-)
Jon

 

[xraymtb]

Thanks for the replies. I've picked up a 3/8" bowl gouge and 1/2" skew on ebay. I have a pen mandrel already so that should at least let me get going. Maybe after payday I can look for some scrapers and a spindle gouge.

As for sharpening is freehanding it worth learning? I have a bench grinder and a vertical belt grinder from a foray into knife making but no jigs

 

[speeder1987]

You've got to remember most turning tools are made of harder grade steel as they have to make many more cuts than a regular chisel and deal with much higher temperatures, hence why a grinding wheel is used.

Also you have to be very careful not to grind a secondary bevel on these tools!!

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

[chipmunk]

If money is really tight then freehand grinding is the only way to go. It's why I ended up freehand grinding and I still freehand grind all of my tools.

My advice would be to save up for a white AlOx wheel for your grinder though and make your own wooden platform. The AlOx wheels don't need to be expensive and Craft Supplies sell 6" 80 grit wheels for about £6 http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Sharpening-Tools/Wheels--Dressers/list.htm.

There's no best way to sharpen gouges but with a home made platform the method demo'd by Cindy Drozda is perhaps the easiest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KDSIDAtGc

This isn't the way I use though. I use a method demo'd by Gary Rance more like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn-xeFKJOMo

where the wings are sharpened by rubbing the bevels up the wheel on each side and the nose is sharpened lower on the wheel.

Good luck and don't worry about the nay-sayers who always claim you're wasting steel by free-hand grinding. It's rubbish IMHO. The cheapest jig will cost £60 and that's 2 bowl gouges which is a hell of a lot of HSS on the floor. I have yet to throw a gouge away that I've sharpened away.

HTH
Jon

 

[woodyturner]

Thanks for the replies. I've picked up a 3/8" bowl gouge and 1/2" skew on ebay. I have a pen mandrel already so that should at least let me get going. Maybe after payday I can look for some scrapers and a spindle gouge.

As for sharpening is freehanding it worth learning? I have a bench grinder and a vertical belt grinder from a foray into knife making but no jigs

To learn to sharpen freehand is a very good skill to learn I never use any jigs and it takes me just seconds to sharpen a tool with no set up at all I have one side of my grinder set up for scrappers and the other for gouges and a diamond stone for skews and small chisels as well as my bench chisels but you must have good quality white or pink wheels and a good quality grey aluminium oxide wheel for scrappers well for what its worth that is how I have been doing it for the last 50 or so years and it works for me the bonus point it is so very cheep with no jugs to buy LOL but its not for every body today and it takes time to master I started by making knife blades out of old industrial saw blades

 

[stevenw1963]

Mike,

Good to hear you've got a couple of gouges already.
I used to sharpen my gouges etc on a bench grinder, it worked but turned the steel blue, use what you have & make do until you can afford better, that's what I did & I don't use jigs.
To get everything you think you need or what everyone tells you you think you should have, would cost a fortune & you'd never get any turning done.
Take your time and build your collection up as & when you can.

Don't forget, if you're up our way again & fancy stopping off to do some turning, you're more than welcome, just give us a shout.
I'm still learning myself but other's on here have helped me progress & become good friends along the way.