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Thread: new to turning, what accessories do I need.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    Western Maine
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    new to turning, what accessories do I need.

    Picked up the harbor freight 12x33 lathe today and a their cheapest set of tools, and the drill chuck.
    Have a face shield, eye pro, center gauge, micrometer respirator etc.

    Have a worksharp 2000.

    Will this suffice for sharpening for starting?

    based on threads here and elsewhere planning on ordering the
    PSI Woodworking LCHSS8 HSS Wood Lathe Chisel Set, 8-Piece

    and probably a supernova two chuck?

    what else should I order so I dont get annoyed when i need it and dont have it.


    Played with it with some oak, birch and cherry from the firewood pile this afternoon. Managed to get fairly used to the roughing gauge, and make some mostly roundish things (and a huge mess). The skew chisel mostly annoyed me, will take alot to get used to it.



  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    San Diego, Ca
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    1,647
    I suggest that you continue to play with it and gain some basic skills before you load up with tools. When you watch Youtube videos (Reed Gray/Robo Hippy, Wyomingwoodturner, Captain Eddie, Cindy Drozda, Carl Jacobson, Mike Waldt, etc.), you will see these masters making things look easy using things that you don't have. That's when you decide whether you want/can afford the next tool.

    I started on a $75 lathe. I picked up some faceplates (swap meet), made some tool rests, then I got a Grizzly wood chuck, some Forstner bits, a live center, sanding disks, etc. Before I knew it I was being sucked down into the wood turner's vortex. And "that has made all the difference."

  3. #3
    Brice pretty much nailed it. A set of chisels, a means to sharpen them, a sharpening jig such as the Wolverine will make sharpening easier. A drive spur, live center, face plate, chuck and lots od sandpaper in various grits will get you up and running.
    BTW my first lathe was one just like yours, I still have it in the shop but seldom use it any more. It is a good lathe for the money and I learned a lot using it. I turned a lot of bowls etc on it. The biggest fault I found with it was the slowest speed was too fast for turning a large out of balance bowl blank. Not so much a problem if you turn smaller bowls 10" or less and can get them round before putting them on the lathe. Also the Reeves drive can and will give problems if not cleaned and lubed frequently.
    Welcome to the vortex, have fun and be safe!!
    Last edited by daryl moses; 09-05-2016 at 8:55 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Fredericksburg, TX
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    Welcome to vortex. Your needs are endless, but learning how to sharpen and tool control should be high priority to start. I did notice that you have the offset tool holder mounted in the picture and that reduces the stability of the tool rest. Hopefully you can get in a turning club and find a mentor to help with some hands on. Lots of turners started on similar lathes.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Western Maine
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    hmm yeah i had the offset mounted as the shaft on the rest is of limited height.

    I got the really cheap $20 set of tools, assuming they would be junk, briefly free hand sharpened them with 600 grit on the worksharp.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Escondido, CA
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    For a chuck the Nova G3 would be good and a wee bit cheaper and lighter. I agree about the skews. They are tools that require their own set of skills and make for some very interesting messes without training. I have used them successfully a few times but I do not have the training and I do make messes.
    Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    TX, NM or on the road
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    Before you buy anything I suggest you find a local mentor, listing your location in your profile might help. Now for the questions, what the harbor freight model number is of the lathe? Do you know the threads on the headstock spindle. Does the spindle have a Morse taper? Does the tail stock have a Morse taper?

    Chucks screw on the spindle, and all chucks do not come with adapters to some of the weird threads that are out there.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Western Maine
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    Item #34706 12 x33 lathe

    1" 8 right chuck threads, tapers are #2 morse.

    The only non standard thing about it is the tool rest is slightly less than 1 inch, like 25mm, and the one that comes with it is has a short shaft.

    Located in western maine, there do appear to be two turners guilds an hour or so from me in different directions.
    Last edited by Alex Stace; 09-05-2016 at 11:08 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    TX, NM or on the road
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    You did buy one of the best lathes that HF sells, it is a clone of the Jet 1236. It's fit and finish are a little lacking but that doesn't effect it's turning abilities. Sharpening can be done on the Work Sharp, but as noted above, look for Captain Eddies lathe videos to get the basic of sharpening,

    Since you bought the lathe from HF I assume you are in a budget, I would look at the "stuff" from Penn State Industries. Their chucks etc., are cheaper than the name brands like Nova. The Barracuda series would be a good starter chuck, and you get 3 sets of jaws for the price. Look on Amazon, they have Prime shipping if you get it there. Before you are finished plan on spending as much as you spent on the lathe to get started, than a monthly amount every month forever.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Western Maine
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    yeah i did some research and the lathe looked good other then some common reports of tailstock slippage, which appears to be fairly easily addressable.

    not really on a budget, just have a bad habit of buy tools/ hobby items and then not using em much. I am looking at you dewalt scrollsaw.

    Looking at chucks on amazon, the nova seems to be cheaper then the barracuda, but there looks like there is a huge array of accessories so I am not sure how to compare really.
    From what I have read on chuck systems so far, the major differences appear to be keyed vs non keyed, and the number of tools necessary to tighten? looks like some models use one hex vs two at once?
    Last edited by Alex Stace; 09-06-2016 at 12:04 AM.

  11. #11
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    the extra jaw sets are anywhere from $25 to $30 each, you get all 4 sets of jaws with the PSI chuck. Keyed chucks are easier to work with, with the tommy bars you about 3 hands to get the job done.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Erie, PA
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    564
    The best advice has been given you, find a club. From someone that is down the rabbit hole with this vortex called woodturning I give this advice. There are three main choices for chucks; Nova, Vicmarc and Oneway. I believe that they all can come with 2" jaws which will cover 80% plus of what you will ever turn but have good resale value just in case. You said you bought the cheap set of tools, I hope that there is a spindle roughing gouge and a parting tool in that set. I suggest that your next purchase be a 1/2" bowl gouge from either Doug Thompson or Dave Schweitzer in a V shape. For me the V bowl gouge is the most versatile tool in woodturning and the two mentioned properly sharpened will stay sharp longer and give you great tool life. Now if bitten by this vortex as most people are make your next lathe your last lathe, don't half step. Woodturning is not a cheap date as there are so many neat things out there that can make your turning experience so much more fun, be warned!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Western Maine
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    yes I got this set
    The reviews indicated it is inferior steel, but it was what i could have in my hands yesterday.
    http://www.harborfreight.com/wood-la...-pc-62674.html
    I will probably order the penn state set today, or should I skip that, and get a superior grade bowl gauge ,

    Bill is the v shape the fingernail cut? or the bottom feeder.

    I appear to have three clubs all about an hour away. though one meets at a rockler. that one sounds dangerous for my wallet.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
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    I would stay with the tools you have now until you wear them down. You will probably find that half will get very little use; replace with better as your sharpening skills improve. I just can't see buying another "set" even at an improved quality.
    Both of the gouges Bill referenced are very good. Starting out you may also look at Hurricane for individual bowl gouges.

    Knowing what causes problems is a big step in correcting them. Here are links to videos by Richard Raffan and Brenden Stemp on problems with the skew.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOvF5f1phhY
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMIwqFDMIhA

    "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
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    1,647
    I initially started with a set of Craftsman turning tools. Probably about the same as HF's more expensive set. Worked fine. Needed resharpening perhaps a little more often that sets costing 5-10X as much/

    When I upgraded, I bought a set of 3 bowl gouges from Hurricane for about $65. They work fine (but they aren't the caliber of tools costing 3 or 4 X). I use my homemade (Eddie Castilin design) $2 Ellsworth-style grinding jig to keep the razor sharp and touch them up using a hand diamond file between sharpenings. I liked the larger one enough that I bought a second one and reground it to an 80 degree "bottom feeder" gouge. Then I bought a set of 3 round nose Hurricane scrapers and learned how to sharpen them and put on a burr. But, I did this over a period of a year of two, when I found that I had a specific need to advance to the next level.

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