Turning tools

Re: Turning tools

Darryl Hansen

>Boy are you going to get a lot of opinions on this one. I use a 5/8ths " "gouge with the "Ellsworth" type grind for everything from pens to 16" bowls. It does not do too well on hollow forms :>) But for everything else it is a one fits all tools for me...

Re: Turning tools

Joe Fleming

>Anthony,

If you are a new turner, the best tool to buy first is Keith Rowley's book called: Woodturning: A Foundation Course.

As far as a basic set of tools, a really good starting set includes:

- 1/8" parting tool

- 3/4" or 1-1/4" roughing gouge

- 3/4" or 1" skew (not oval cross section)

- 3/8" spindle gouge (bar diameter)

- 1/2" bowl gouge (bar diameter)

With these, a competent turner can do most anything but hollow forms including pens, legs, boxes, bowls, plates, platters, candle sticks, etc.

Some people would add the following:

- 1" to 1-1/2" radius bowl scraper

- 3/4" radius scraper for boxes

- 3/4" square scraper for boxes

- 3/8" beading and parting tool for rolling beads

Of course, the list of tools is quite endless.

If you are new, I also recommend a face shield, a dust mask, a grinder with a jig for sharpening, a diamond hone, an assortment of sanding paper/cloth, and a selection of finishes. Again, these are only the beginning.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Golly...

Tony - Memphis

>That tool list is almost exactly what I have built up to over the last year or so. I'm not really a "turner" as I turn mostly furniture parts. But that list is what I have ended up with on an as needed basis. I just got the bowl gouge to do a pedestal type thing. I've gotten all Sorby brand and been happy with them.

Tony - still not even quite a rookie yet!

Re: Turning tools

Richard Allen

>Hi Anthony

I like sharp tools.

A friend of mine and I did a little test. We wondered what shape flute ("V" or "U") we preferred. I have several different 1/2" (made from 5/8" steel) bowl gouges with various flutes. We put a hunk of wood on the lathe and tried each of the tools (Sorby, Crown, Henry Taylor, Craft Supplies store brand, Serious Lathe, Hamlet ASP 2060 and Glaser). We finished that hunk of wood and put on another. Eliminated tools that were less than a pleasure to use making careful note of the flute shape. In the end my friend preferred two tools and I found I liked three of the tools. His preference, one had a "U" shaped flute and the other had a "V" shaped flute. My preference was one "U" and two "V" shaped flutes. Since our "study" was to determine which shaped flute we preferred we were puzzled that we had agreed on two tools with different shaped flutes.

We continued the "study" with 3/8" bowl gouges (as that is what I had readily available), a Sorby, Hamlet and Crown. Again our "study" failed to find a preference for one flute shape over another.

We noticed that we approached cutting with the tools differently. My friend would present the tool in nearly the same manner every time he used the tool. I would, unknown to me at the time, adjust my presentation almost every time I used the tool.

We decided that it all came down to sharpness. The tools he preferred were sharp in the narrow part of the tool where his presentation would contact the spinning wood. I would "hunt" for a sharp part of the cutting edge. So more important than steel, handle, flute shape or size of the tool was the sharpness of the tool. He tended to prefer the 3/8" bowl gouge and I tended to prefer the 1/2" bowl gouge. We attributed that to his precise presentation of the cutting edge and my "hunting" style of finding some sharpness left on the larger gouge.

Good Luck

Richard