Best lathe tool for beginner

[Jay Barker]

Hello all!
I am an experienced woodworker but have never turned wood before. I have a sneaking suspicion that Santa Claus is going to bring my nine-year-old a lathe for Christmas. I understand that 9 is rather young to start a child on a lathe and that the proper age to start turning could be a debate and a topic all unto itself. Take it as a given that he is strong and mature for his age.Also please take it as a given that I have done extensive reading on safety and that will be our foremost priority. We will keep the projects small. I will make sure he is starting with blanks that are already round and free of defects. Face shield/ goggles of course a must....Etc. Additionally, a neighbor is a very experienced wood turner and will be getting us started.
But the question I have is which lathe tools would be most suitable for a beginner. Specifically, high-speed steel versus carbide tools and also full length handles versus short handles. Everything I read suggests that although carbide cutters can limit an amateur or expert wood turner, it seems that they are less prone to catching and have an easier learning curve. So I am leaning towards getting carbide tools. If the learning curve is shorter, I think he is more likely to take to it and want to pursue it further as a hobby. If it were just for myself, I would prefer to get high speed steel tools but the priority is that my son is safe and has fun.
So to summarize, I would love your opinion on carbide tooling versus high-speed steel tools for a child beginner. And second: short tools versus a full length handles for a child beginner. Thanks in advance for any advice!
-Jay

[David Bassett]

Most serious turners advise against the carbide scraper, (ala Easy Wood Tools), tools, but....

The best argument I've heard for them was from an instructor who uses them in his beginning classes. His reasoning (paraphrased in my words) is that you want your beginners to have a successful start and this is the best way to get OK results on the first try. He continues to acknowledge the limitations of these tools and to say about 90% (IIRC) of his students continue turning and about 90% (IIRC) of those move on to more traditional skews and gouges for more control and better results eventually.

[Gary Hern]

who is going to be the teacher? Throwing a piece of wood on a spinning lathe can be a recipe for disaster if you don't understand some of the finer points. A short course with someone that has experience, if you can find someone in your area, will provide your son with some of the basics and precautions to watch for and be the best investments a parent can make. I'm only saying that because if you yourself don't understand the potentials of some of the dangerous situations, it will be worth looking into.

[Paul Williams]

Teaching the next generation is a wonderful thing to do and a very enjoyable way to spend time with your son. I started my grandsons at 7 and 8 years old because they were in the shop asking questions. I started the 7 year old on a small metal lathe so he was never too close to a sharp tool. They both learned quickly and while at 10 and 12 I don't let them turn without close supervision, but they turn pretty well without much interference from me. I don't own any carbide tools so can not advise you from experience, but I don't see any problem either way. Smaller tools and smaller projects will be easier for them to handle, but bigger tools or at least longer handles give you something to hold onto while you are helping them make a cut. I don't think I ever let go of the tool the first year.

A great activity this time of year has become a tradition for my grandsons. Each year we make gifts for their teachers. Grandma takes lots of pictures and makes a card showing how the present was made. I think the first year it was very simple bird houses where all they needed to do was drill out a branch and make a small hole and perch. The younger one really liked to drill by turning the tailstock wheel. Then turn a simple roof. Snow men came next and were very popular. Now they turn small bowls or select from one of the previous year's gifts. There have been lots of snowmen.

I can't recommend helping them turn gifts for teachers enough, or gifts for anyone.

[John K Jordan]

Excellent! I started introducing my own grandson to the lathe when he was 7.

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As for carbide, I recommend against the flat-top carbide tools. I bought some, tried them, and gave them away.

On the other hand the Hunter carbide tools cut far cleaner. The cupped cutter is small and round and extremely sharp. I think the best to start with is either the Hunter Viceroy or Hercules which can be used both as simple but effective scrapers and in the bevel-floating mode as you would use a gouge. The Hercules is my favorite - I use it fairly often on spindles, bowls, and everything in between. http://huntertoolsystems.com/product/1-hercules-tool/
It doesn't replace gouges, skews and negative rake scrapers in the long run but complements them nicely and is a great way to get started. I used one today as a gouge to cut the outside profile from one of my handbell ornaments and again as a scraper to smooth the inside. (It's dogwood, about 1/64" thick at the rim. I don't have pictures of what I made today but it is similar to these:

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I think John Lucas told me he's taught classes of beginners using nothing but the Hunter tools. These are an easy way to give a beginner a good 1st experience and make something to take home from the class. I always start beginners with the skew chisel then a spindle gouge, but I have handed them a Hercules just to show them another useful and easy way to cut curves and coves. One big advantage of these for a beginner is they don't need sharpened so you don't have to start out buying the sharpening equipment and learning to sharpen. My grandson is using a Hunter Hercules in the first picture above.

If at all possible, find an instructor, especially one with experience with working with kids. A class is ok if you can find one that will take kids but if you can spring for a few private lessons it will be worth it. A private instructor will have a variety of tools to try before you buy.

BTW, I strongly recommend starting a beginner with spindle turning to develop skill with tool control, then go to making bowls later. Many recognized experts recommend this progression. Once you master spindle turning, you can turn anything. I know expert bowl and hollow-form turners who couldn't turn a spindle if they had to. Turning spindles can be a LOT safer too! If a bowl comes off the lathe it can be launched across the room or into your face.

Spindle turning tools typically don't have or need long handles, 8-16". You need a long handle for some types of turning, such as large bowls and vessels, primarily since the forces involved can be much greater, not the type of turning a new, young turner should be starting with.

If you can, take the 9-year-old to some woodturning club meetings. There he will see lots of examples and meet people who will share their knowledge. Clubs typically offer mentors who love helping people get started and advance. You might meet someone there who likes to work with kids. (One of my favorite things!)

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Our turning club in Knoxville teaches kids at a local ranch and they love it! Some are younger than 9. The love to make pens (extremely easy and quick), rolling pins, honey dippers, and lots of other spindle projects. You can turn pens with almost any tool. (the little girl on the right was a little sister, not a lathe student! )

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The AAW also has a set of educational publications guaranteed to turn a beginner into an expert. The club uses these at the ranch. I can put you in touch with the guy from our club who knows the most about this; if interested send me an email.

JKJ

[Michael Mills]

JMO but for tools I would go with conventional and "standard" size. Some of the small sets are next to worthless.
You can always cut off some of the handle if you wish and with some tools even shorten the blade (parting tool, SRG, skew). I do think the shorter length will give better fine control and there will still be years of use. My favorite SRG and skew are both about 4" long from years of use but I like them much better that way.

If carbide I would make my own. Bits are about $4 - 12 from AZcarbide and you can make your own handles. Not a problem tapping some 1/2" square stock for the shaft.

One thing I ran into with my G-son last year (age 9 also) was the lathe height. He had no problem with a top but with a longer item, such as a wand, he would have since he had to sit on a stool to reach safely. I would look at mounting the lathe on something like a workmate (with wheels) at the proper height and you can roll the whole thing to your neighbors. He can then be taught proper stance which should happen from the git go.

[Thomas Canfield]

How will tools be sharpened? What type of turning will be done? Pens? Bowls? A good sharpening system is required for HS tools while the Hunter type carbide tools can be "sharpened" with turning the carbide to get a fresh surface. I am not a proponent of carbide tools but think this might be an instance that I would suggest going carbide as start. A good teacher is definitely needed to get him started in a safe manner.

[John K Jordan]

...
One thing I ran into with my G-son last year (age 9 also) was the lathe height.

I built a platform for the younger/shorter turners. I think I used plywood on top of 4" construction lumber.

A girl visiting from Italy this summer, 18 but not tall, used it too. The platform was the perfect height! Her first time at the lathe:

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JKJ

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

For an adult, I would recommend a skew chisel but not for a child that young. I just had a 2 inch x 5 inch chunk of maple go flying across the shop the other day. I am still not sure how that happened since it was held between a chuck and tail stock and was already rounded off. I was just finishing with the roughing gouge. Unexpected crap happens. use all the usual safety precautions and then some. . .

[Jay Barker]

Thank you so much for all the thoughtful replies! You have given me much food for thought. I’m sure I will be back with many questions in the future.
-Jay

[JohnC Lucas]

I would recommend the Hunter Hercules. It will do most anything. Never needs sharpening and is very user friendly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzrLN8SQ8ms&t=389s