Suggestions for lathe and turning tools

Casey,

Big topic with lots of info.  Here is the Reader's Digest version.

1. Find and join a "local" turning club.  Best source for information and mentoring you can get.

2. Avoid YouTube for education.  There is lots of excellent content on YouTube, but there is lots of dangerous content too.  Just because a person has a camera at their lathe does not automatically make them qualified to mentor turning.  Go back to Item #1.  Having said that, here is an abbreviated list:
   

   1. Richard Raffan

   2. Mike Peace

   3. Sam Angelo

   4. Tomislav Tomasic

   5. John Lucas

3. Read some books:
   

   1. Woodturning: A Foundation Course; Keith Rowley

   2. Getting Started in Woodturning; American Association of Woodturners

   3. Turning Wood; Richard Raffan

4. Basic Tools.  Don't buy junk.  NOTE:  I am not a fan of carbide scraping tools.  I prefer cutting tools.  Make sure you get tool handles if they are sold separately.
   

   1. 1/8" parting tool

   2. 3/4" skew

   3. 3/8" spindle gouge

   4. 3/4" spindle roughing gouge

   5. 1/2" bowl gouge with elliptical flute (Bar diameter is 1/2".  English bowl gouges are typically measured across the flute so a 3/8" Robert Sorby bowl gouge is really a 1/2" tool)

   6. 3/4" radius scraper

5. Tool brands I recommend for basic tools:
   

   1. Thompson

   2. Robust

   3. D-Way

   4. Sorby

   5. Hamlet

   6. Henry Taylor

   7. Carter and Son

6. Where to shop for tools, accessories and lathes (I am assuming you are in the United States)
   

   1. Directly from these makers

   2. Craft Supplies USA (woodturnerscatalog.com)

   3. Packard Woodworks (packardwoodworks.com)

   4. The Woodturning Tool Store (woodturningtoolstore.com)

   5. Rockler Woodworking

   6. Woodcraft

7. Needed accessories:
   

   1. Safety
      

      1. Face shield

      2. safety glasses

      3. dust collection

      4. dust mask (N95)

   2. Shop accessories
      

      1. grinder with type I, J or K wheels (white wheels; not gray wheels)  Rikon has a half-speed grinder set up for woodturners

      2. sharpening jig; Oneway's Wolverine is the industry benchmark

      3. assorted sanding discs and paper
         

         1. I use 2" sanding disks; 3" sanding disks and 3" fabric-backed rolls; grits from 80 to 600

      4. broom

      5. task lighting

      6. outside calipers like Veritas

      7. There are dozens of other items that turners use.  Learn those as you go)

8. Wood
   

   1. You can buy ready-to-go turning blanks (easy way to get started, but can be expensive)

   2. You can harvest/gather your own wood (most woodturners gravitate here, but this requires some tools to process the wood:  bandsaw and chainsaw are typical)

   3. Stick with domestic species as you get going

9. Lathe:  lots of choices and price points.  Tomislav did a video recently with a lot of good tips and recommendations
   

   1. Youtube:  "All You Need To Know When Buying A Wood Lathe"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga2K7eR58LI

10. Lathe accessories
    

    1. 4" Chuck (Vicmarc, Oneway, Sorby, Record Power, Axminster)

    2. 3" faceplate (probably comes with the lathe)

    3. drive center

    4. live center

    5. lots more that you will accumulate over time

11. Finishing supplies (a topic for another day.)  
    

    1. Maybe some wiping oil to start.  I recommend Mahoney Oil.  It is food safe, drying Walnut oil.

I'm out of gas..

Joe