[OP]
Member
If you were working on a limited budget and were interested in both spindle and faceplate work what would be the 1st tools/sizes you would get as a beginner. If one could only buy one or two tools at a time which would you say are the 1st to get to get yourself busy with some exercises as a beginner to start building skills...and what brands are considered good to start with?
Member
I'm gonna go outside my usual box Rick...3/8 -1/2 spindle gouge and a 1/2-3/4 skew chisel. I made a pen per order yesterday from Amboyna Burl start to finish with a 3/8" skew and went right to 600 paper and CA finish. $100 later, all 3 of my skews are happy little tools. Learn to use 'em...it's not easy, but they should be indispensable.
Your Respiratory Therapist wears combat boots
Member
Turning tools are a bit like Lays potato chips... You can't have just one! With that said, it seems like there are several folks here who have bought starter sets such as the Benjamin's Best sets. They're pretty inexpensive, but most of them lack a bowl gouge. I'd get a 3/8 or 1/2 inch bowl gouge from Doug Thompson to supplement. That combo will get you by until the next tool purchase.
Member
Harbor Freight has a couple of different sets of hi speed steel gouges, 2 skews parting tool, and... for around 50-60 for the set. I went with that and it was good enouth to keep me interested, but keeping them sharp is important so budget that in too. Jim's right on the skews, but Im not talking to mine right now...it's an ugly story!
Good luck and happy turning!
mj
Contributor
Rick,
You have gotten some pretty sage advice so far.
Next recommendation I'd give is get yourself an 8" grinder. You'll hear arguments that you need a slow speed or a fast speed. The theory is when you first start learning to sharpen turning tools, you will waste a lot of steel. That is why they recommend cheap turning tool sets initially.
Get a Wolverine jig assembly to go with that grinder and get the vari-grind adapter. A lot of folks have bought the new Vari-grind 2 adapter. I have not used one so I can't vouch for it's performance.
Turning with dull tools is the pits! Trying to learn to turn and sharpen tools simulaneously would be a lesson in futility. It could be done but what a row to hoe!
The wolverine jig system will bring your sharpening skills up to speed faster and give you the ability to get consistant grinds on your tools which is important when you are learning.
Enjoy the ride!
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
[OP]
Member
Would the Veritas economy set be a good set to start with, since you say that beginners tend to use up a lot of steel in sharpening??.....
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...=1,330&p=56745
Member
If I was to do it over again, I'd likely start with this set of tools: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LXWM1007.html Overall, I like my Benjamin's Best tools and this will give you what you need for spindle and faceplate turning right from the start.
Member
A newbie friend brought his Harbor Freight set to my place to get some help with his turning. In looking at those tools, I think that Benjamin's Best might be a little more expensive (I just saw a set on sale someplace - no idea where), but they have a more "standard shape and grind from the HF set that he had. Since they look and work a lot more like tools you'll end up using if you stay with it, I recommend them. I have several that I go to because they're sharp... I use my favorites (Thompson) and get down to the end, then go sharpen them all at once... I have PLENTY of "potato chips" in my shop.
Another benefit to BB tools is; If you decide you don't care for turning, they will have some resale value. MOST HF merchandise has very narrow second hand market.
Change One Thing
Member
This looks like a great set to start with. I started with the HSS set from HF and still use some of the tools. I also have the 1/2" bowl gouge in this PSI set.... get this set. It will be a good starter set for you.Originally Posted by Nick Fournier
Jon
Contributor
I don't have that particular set of Benjamin's Best but I do have a few mid-sized hollowing tools from them. The quality was better than I expected. I WOULD'NT recommend spending the money on the Sorby set. I started out on that because I didn't know any better and only bought the name. If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought the Benjamin set and 1 of Doug Thompson's 3/8" gouge steels. I could use the BB set to turn a handle for the Thompson and be good to go.
By the way, you will likely have 20-30 tools within a few years so understand that this is just a gateway to the addiction!
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No, it's not thin enough yet.
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Guest
I have always made my own tools from spent files. I was taught this from an old man when I was young. You will learn what is best for you. I get my used files from cabinet shops, they will save them for you if they know you want them. Best tools to make them with is a bench grinder, small hand held grinder, and a 1x30 belt sander. You can make your own jigs, also. I also use a diamond file to fine hone them. I'm from the old school.
Member
I did buy the Benjamins Best set and I like them very much, now keep in mind I am very much a newbie myself here. And David is right, they only come with a spindle gouge not a bowl gouge, this is one thing I want to buy very soon. I will let everyone else give the recommendations as I am so new, but just wanted to let you know the Ben's best set is a very good buy. T
Member
I feel this may be a radical thought here but, as a new-lapsed turner that is 'sharpening challenged', I decided to try the Easy Wood Carbide tools. I can see they do not replace traditional chisels for all operations, but they do produce a lot of bang for the buck while learning. Not real cheap, but if one just wants to start turning without all the hoopla and angst, they are very good and forgiving.
I do have a set of BB on order along with a Worksharp to enable me to learn 'the proper ways of turning', but in the meantime, they are doing me fine and I am turning and having fun.
Just my .02
Greg A
Some people seem brighter after being set on fire
Member
PSI tools are great for the money. I have five or six Benjamin's. I could grind away to my heart's content, except that I have a set of used tools that came with the used lathe, so I learned sharpening on them. I have four identical Benjamin 1/2" bowl gouges ground to different angles/sweeps.
I don't buy sets. I got two sets with the used lathe--probably 16-20 tools and I used the bowl gouge, the spindle gouge, the parting tool and the skew. The others are lying in a drawer. (I worked my way through school as a mechanic at a shop that sold tools out in the parts department. I'd work as long as I could until I couldn't go any further, then go out and buy the ONE tool I needed to proceed. I could do a ton of work with only the tools I could carry in an old gym bag--really as much work as guys that couldn't get all their sets of tools in the bed of a pickup truck. If you have the money and enjoy having nice things, that's another matter. But the expensive tools won't make your work much better.)
Learning the fundamentals of heat treating of high-carbon steel is a good thing if you'd like to make some simple specialty tools. It's fun if you have the time. I made three good Christmas-ornament hollowing tools from 1/4" allen keys in about an hour. (Allen keys are high-carbon steel, not high-speed steel, so you can heat treat them with a Bernz-O-Matic and a cup of canola oil from the kitchen. As a practical matter, you can't heat treat high-speed steel in a home shop unless you have a very expensive computer-controlled oven.)
Rant over.
Art
Member
A few months in, and my Benjamin Best kit is working out just fine. The one I bought had a bowl gouge, 1/2" I think, and the fella I bought the lathe from gave me some small pen turning gouges/parting tool/skews so I could get started.
Its fun, but it all adds up quickly!!! haha ... I do enjoy it though.
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