Turning DVD

[Dave Stoler]

After my problem with my Nova G3 (unresolved so far) someone suggested I get a turning dvd and learn something .. Well I did..I got "Bowl Turning by Del Stubbs". WHAT A EYE OPENER!
I had not ever been taught how to use my tools or how to reduce snags.. It willl take me a while to get the technique but at least I kno now that I didn,t have a clue.It,s a wonder I got my first bowl out of the chuck in on peice!! I,d recomend this video to any beginner.

[Jim Becker]

The Stubbs video, although very old at this point, is very nicely done. I suggest you also get a copy of Bill Grumbine's two videos, or at least the first one. He shows some more contemporary techniques that come from his experience as well as some things that David Ellsworth teaches. Very good and VERY entertaining.

[Dave Stoler]

I,m just thirsting for knowledge at this point..The pro,s make it look so easy!! Heck...I still need to fiquire out a simple way to get the tennon of the bottom of my bowls!!!.. I,m up to two
There very basic but i,m learning !!
I,ll be sure to get these 2 dvd,s.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dave.....I had to learn from books and DVDs. The nearest turning club is 110 snowy miles away....one way distance......

One book I'd recommend...."Woodturning - A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley.....it's my "go to - lathe side" reference. It is written for the beginner and gives good explanations on "how" and "why".


DVDs......"Turned Bowls Made Easy" by Bill Grumbine. Look him up in the membership here.....You can go to his website and order directly from him. He's good about getting things out expediently.

Any of the Richard Raffan dvds.....excellent....turning wood....turning boxes......excellent......


If I was to give you one piece of advice......learn to "Ride the Bevel" on any tool except scrapers.........gouges....ride the bevel.....skew...ride the bevel.....

I've been turning about 2 years now. Closest thing I've found to instant gratification.....but it's a constant learning experience.

Good luck!

[Dave Stoler]

In school all the tests we took and safety course,s never was the bevel brought up...That was the one thing that has stuck in my head from the Stubbs video the most.. "RIDE THE BEVEL !! "
No wonder I was fighting my gouges.. Now learning how and mastering the motion will take some time I,m sure..But now I,m aware !

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dave.....the other thing to try. Don't start out and try to make a project. Go to the lumber yard.....get some cheap wood.....2x2s....2x4s..rip them to 2x2s and practice turning spindles.....turn beads..turn coves.......turn flat cylinders......get some saddle time riding the bevel. Learn how to use those tools.


The 2nd most important thing......SHARP TOOLS. Dull tools don't cut cleanly....they will cause catches.....get a sharpening jig system of some sort if you can afflord it. A lot of folks, including myself, use the Oneway Wolverine system and a slow speed grinder. There are other sharpening jigs out there. It allows you to get a consistantly sharp grind and form on the tool. As a beginning turner it's tough enough to learn to turn but if you have to learn to sharpen, you are learning two things simultaneously which can be a Mother Bear! Learning to use the tool is highly dependent on the sharpeness and the shape of the grind.

Hang on Bro! It's an exciting ride and a never ending learning process! The inmates here decided I need to learn to turn....they took up a collection and sent me a Jet VS Mini, a SN2 chuck and tools....and videos.....I've been broke since the day it arrived......But I smile a lot these days........I've found a new passion!

In the Christmas ornament exchange I just turned the first finished project off my new PM3520B lathe.....cha-ching.....I bought a slightly bigger bandsaw than I was planning....yeah it'll resaw 16" but it'll round out bowl blanks too!....cha-ching.....Now I've got dust collecton to install.....cha-ching.......and I have a Jamieson captured hollowing rig....by now you are seeing the trend! All I did was come down into the basement and tease the turners.....and the inmates here shoved me into the Vortex!.......I'm so grateful they did!

Good luck!

[Greg Just]

Another suggestion is the PBS series on woodturning hosted by Tim Yoder. It was on here in the Minneapolis area earlier this year and I think there were 22 episodes. A lot of really good and basic information. I highly recommend the series. I saved the entire series on my DVR.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg....One of our local PBS stations broadcast Tim Yoder's program for 1 season. It was great. Then they decided to not broadcast it anymore. As you said....he is good and he can teach!

[Bob Hamilton]

I just recently watched my Del Stubbs video again, after a friend I had loaned it to put it on to DVD for me. I had forgotten a lot of the information it contains. It does look dated now, although the information is still valid.

The Raffan videos are good as well, although I kind of questioned whether it was really neccessary to show him mounting a bowl blank onto a screw chuck with the lathe running. If he wants to do that in his own shop, fine and dandy, but why put a rather (IMO) questionable technique in terms of safety on to an instructional video?

I would also highly recommend the first Bill Grumbine video to anyone just starting out or who is largely self taught. I think I learned more from it than any other video I have seen and it changed the way I do a lot of things.

Another video I really enjoyed was the "Turn it On" set by Jimmy Clewes. It is extremely well done and he turns a lot of different projects during the 6 hours of video. It doesn't have a lot of the basics which I assume were covered in some of his earlier videos which I have not seen but would like to.

Take care
Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

One other piece of advise to add is keep your tools tucked into your turning muscle as Bill G. puts it and move your body while turning. Don't use your arms or hands to move the gouge, skew, etc. If you get Bill Grumbine DVD he shows this several times. So when moving during a cut your whole body moves. I was getting catches all the time and when I did what Bill said about moving the body the bevel is so much easier to ride. I am like Ken. The nearest turning club to take shop lessons is 196 miles one way so had to learn on my own. There are a lot of good video's and DVD's out there but I will say Bill Grumbine's "Turned Bowls Made Easy" taught me a lot. Have fun.

[Dave Stoler]

I,ll order Bill Grumbines video.But to see what was out there I did a google search and found quite a bit on "You Tube".. Not great..But wet my apetite while I wait for my dvd,s.

[David Fried]

Dave,

I started out with the book Ken recommends and it was great for spindle turning but I needed more for face plate turning. I too got the Del Stubbs video and loved it. At the time it was the only dvd my local woodcraft had in stock.

Bill contributes so much here and through his web site I've been meaning to get his video but haven't gotten to it. Now it appears Woodcraft is carrying it! When it appears locally here I will be sure to snag a copy.

Just my subtle way of mentioning you might be able to get it from Woodcraft.

[Jason Christenson]

...mounting a bowl blank onto a screw chuck with the lathe running...

I think that's the only way I've ever seen it done. Works like a charm, too.

[Dave Stoler]

Saw one with a guy wiping down the bowl with naptha..Man...I,d be wasted smelling those fumes.(at least in my enclosed shop)..

[Jim Becker]

The Raffan videos are good as well, although I kind of questioned whether it was really neccessary to show him mounting a bowl blank onto a screw chuck with the lathe running.

There are a lot of things like this in videos that one must question a little. The method is certainly effective, but I'd really want a VS machine that you can slow down to almost nothing before I'd actually do it. (I have such a machine, but many don't)