Basic tool question?

[mike marconi]

I used to do little turning. Sold the lathe some years back, but kept the turning tools just incase I wanted to pick it back up in the future. Well when Woodcraft put the Nova lathes on sale I decided now is the time, went out and bought one.

What has really caught my interest is segmented turning. I for-see myself mostly doing platters and bowls, maybe hollow forms but not for a while. I have the following tool, all Henry Taylor or Sorby;

3/8 spindle gouge
3/8 bowl gouge, Irish grind
1/2 traditional bowl gouge
3/4 roughing gouge
parting tool
1/2 skew

Since I would like to do segmented platters and bowls my thinking is that some scrapers might be helpful. I was thinking of buying a left hand and right hand bowl scraper and possibly a 1/2" round scraper.

My questions;

1. Are these scrapers neccessary/helpful for the type of turning I want to do?

2. Are there other tools that you think would be more effective/neccessary than the scrapers?

3. Could these scrapers be replaced by 1 tool like an Easy Wood Tools (Easy Finisher) or a Hunter like tool?.

Thanks for the advise

Mike

[Jim Burr]

Forget the scraper Mike...go turn something!! I use 2 scrapers...the bigger the better so as to reduce vibration. 1 1/4 Thompson is my go to and a smaller 1/2 for little stuff. Your gonna get a lot more input...just MHO

[Scott Hackler]

Scrapers are nice to have and something that I use quite a bit, but not a tool that you "have" to have. I agree, for you to just start turning. Get a scraper or two sometime later. You have to spend "time with the tool" and learn to use each one that you already own. You have enough tools now that this process with keep you busy for a bit. Have fun and be safe!

[Robert McGowen]

Well, here is the second opinion! I mostly do segmented work. I use a scraper on most every piece. I mainly use a freshly sharpened scraper on the outside to get a smooth finish and for final shaping. I find that I can turn the scraper at a 45 degree angle and get a very fine finishing cut, especially since you are not turning any end-grain on a segmented piece. They are also very helpful in doing the inside bottom section.

As an aside, I would not worry too much about doing platters until you get the segmenting down pat. All of the joints will be very visible and a lot of pieces have issues with staying together due to the very wide and long pieces needed for the sides and also the cross grain joints on the bottom. I am sure that you will hear from people that have pieces from forever ago still going strong, but it should be a consideration. Bowls or vases are where segmenting really works well. Just my $.02 worth!

[Vince Welch]

Hi Mike,

Good and subjective question. I do not turn segmented work but no bother. If you continue to turn good chance you will have many of the tools you mentioned and then some. More importly is the idea that some people use scrapers and some don't... there is nothing wrong with using a scraper. Raffen and Ray Key use them all the time and it is good to know how to use correctly just like any other tool. The Hunter tools are very nice and I highly recommend them as well. I hope this helps.

Vince

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I think a scraper is a necessary tool for turning bowls and platters, maybe not so much for the bodies of these pieces but certainly for the recess or tenon, as you need clean and square cuts on these.
Also if you have tearout with some wood, a scraper might be the right tool to get a better surface.
A good heavy HSS scraper is a tool I would not like to be without, even if you can do without, it is better to have options