New to woodturning

[Bill Jobe]

I went with the suggestion to start with a skew. After a time I found it to be very useful and it's still one of my favorite tools.
A guy once told me when I bought my first bike about 25 years ago: there are only two kinds of riders. The ones that are going to go down and the ones that have gone down and will go down again.
I good face shield is a must. If your venture is anything like mine your lathe will toss a piece.

[Don Jarvie]

You said you took some classes so practice what you learned. The class most likely showed you how to chuck up wood and showed some basics. You don't need a big lathe. A good Midi will get you going and go from there. I started with a Craftsman, Thea Jet Midi and now a PM 3520.

[Kristin Forbes]

Kristen if I were you I would take another lesson or two until September when you join the club in your area. If you decide turning is what you want to do there hopefully will be folks in the club that will gladly show you the ropes and show you their shops and equipment. They do not call woodturning a vortex for no reason, it sucks you in. A little advice is to buy the best lathe you can afford (even if you have to spend a couple hundred more than you initially plan). Do not buy a set of tools, get a good 1/2" bowl gouge and learn how to use it. A sharpening system and a decent grinder are a requirement as is a decent chuck (there are a lot of good chucks out there). There will usually be a face plate with the lathe and that is a good starting point to hold your pieces to start. After you join the club take advantage of every opportunity they offer to learn. The Central Ohio Woodturners in your area have 7 mentors listed on their website and I would try calling one or all and see about getting together with one or two before the first meeting in September (second Tuesday of the month). Wish you luck as this woodturning thing is really great!

I'm definitely continuing to take classes. I really enjoy it. Thank you everyone who replied. Everyone's opinions are very helpful and I look forward to posting tons of questions in the future

[Steve Moss]

Hi Kristin,

I'm reading this all with great interest. I just started wood working in January, and like you took a class. I really enjoyed the training. I did buy a Jet 1221 and some carbide tools and a parting tool. It's just too far from me to class to wait a week before doing more. There're a couple of good turning clubs in my area but they are both an hour away and all their classes for the year are full up. So I've been watching every video on turning I can, and asking question in a chat room on another site.

Best of luck learning and turning.

Steve

[John K Jordan]

Hi Kristin,
I'm reading this all with great interest. I just started wood working in January, and like you took a class. I really enjoyed the training. I did buy a Jet 1221 and some carbide tools and a parting tool. It's just too far from me to class to wait a week before doing more. There're a couple of good turning clubs in my area but they are both an hour away and all their classes for the year are full up. So I've been watching every video on turning I can, and asking question in a chat room on another site.

Steve,

Before I found a club, took a class, or even watched a video I learned the basics of woodturning from some good books, as I mentioned. These taught me all about wood as related to woodturning, what tools to get and how to use them, and different ways to do things (so valuable). They have good photos, diagrams, and suggested lessons. I think books can better teach the "why" of turning than a video or even a class. I used several books at first and tried each author's suggestions to compare. Specifically:

Turning Wood by Richard Raffan. https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Wood-.../dp/B00Y1COH2K This is an excellent book by a non-nonsense expert. (Richard is a long-time production turner.) I met Richard much later and his demo was as practical as his writing. Very clear instructions. He has other excellent books on more specific things such as turning lidded boxes, bowls, etc.

Fundamentals of Woodturning by Mike Darlow. https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-.../dp/1558217193 Mike has some amazing photography. He is much more technical than most authors and a couple of his charts and diagrams intimidate some people. I found them fascinating but they can be skipped without missing much. Mike is extremely well organized and has clear instructions and well thought out exercises. This book will teach as much as you want to know about basic things like the dynamics of the cutting edge - understanding the basics can translate directly into the fine tool control that will let you turn anything. Some people think Mike is a little goofy but that doesn't get in the way of his genius. I think I have and read every book Darlow has written!

Woodturning: A Foundation Course by Keith Rowley. https://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-F.../dp/1784940631 This is an older book and not as slick as the others. However, Keith is quite thorough and I consider this at minimum an excellent supplement to all other kinds of instruction - other books, in personal instructor, or by video.

One more book I am SO glad I read at the beginning. This book has helped me more than anything else to understand wood, the structure, and how it behaves with the change in moisture. To this day I meet people, even instructors, who obviously do not understand these basics. I once attended a demo by an "expert" on turning green wood - his ignorance of wood was, frankly, embarrassing. There are many ways to learn about wood but this is the best I've found:

Understanding Wood by R. Bruce Hoadley. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding...ide-Technology Hoadley is not only a wood expert but a craftsman - he knows wood both from the technical perspective and from personal experience of working with it. I highly recommend reading it, even if borrowed. I refer to my copy a lot. His companion book, Identifying Wood is probably my most-used reference book. I've used it so much the pages are falling out!

One more useful book if you like to turn green wood: Turning Green Wood by Michael O'Donnell. https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Green.../dp/1861080891

I see you mentioned starting with some carbide tools. The next step is a good spindle gouge and maybe a bowl gouge. I also recommend a skew chisel but some people disagree! (Depends on your long-term goals)

Also, the drive to a club might be worth it occasionally. There are turners who drive an hour and a half to our club. I and several others also drive about two hours to another club every month - a bit easier since we can carpool. To me it is well worth it to get to know the people and see the creative things they are doing, watch a demo on something I may not have even considered turning, and ask questions.

JKJ

[Randy Heinemann]

I have only been turning for about 8 months and learn best by doing. However, I luckily found a 4-hour class which was taught by someone who was a great teacher and really just taught me basics; of course, some of it safety related. After the first class, I actually took the same class a second time to help me correct anything I was doing wrong since I didn't always get results that satisfied me. While I haven't turned any complicated bowls, I feel I have enough from these two relatively short classes to develop on my own as time allows. The same guy who ran the class also has a woodturners group that meets once a month and the people that attend are always very helpful and patient when I ask questions. For me, it helped to take a class (small is best) to get basics and then take those basics and just turn bowls. I feel I've been able to take these basics and refine my technique. The problem is finding someone who knows the basics and is also a great teacher. Most of the long-time turners on this forum seem to be like that. At least they have always answered my questions in a helpful and patient way.