Other things

[seht]

After seeing all the cool things people make I am very excited to get started and add to my abilities.

For now, I want to be able to turn small bowls, lidded boxes, goblets, this may grow as my skill set does, but those hold the most interest for me right now in addition to my pens and wine stoppers.


Could you by chance share your opinions on must have tools and equipment? Your recommendation on brands/models would be very helpful.


Here is what I have already.

Rikon 70-100 lathe

a small set of tools that came with the lathe when I got it years ago. (Skew, Spindle gouge, parting tool)

Couple pen mandrels, assorted pushing sets for pens,

Nova 2 chuck and an additional set of jaws for pen blank turning, and a drill chuck for the tail stock.

I have a Wolverine sharpening system

A beat up Skill Table saw

A beat up Craftsman drill press

A harbor freight power miter saw. I like the hand miter better for quality of cuts, but the power saw is much quicker and more convenient.



I have been very interested in getting a set of the carbide tools. (what's your opinion on them?)

I think I need a band saw, but maybe that is just a want.

Thanks for any suggestions

Scott

 

[plantman]

Scott; Looks like you have most of the tools you will need to start new projects. With the sharpening system you have, you don't really need carbide tools, just practice sharpening what you have. I would think a band saw would be a good addition to your shop be it table top or stand up. You will get more use out of an upright and be able to re-saw your lumber for segmenting. Spend a little time on making sure that your tools square and level. Jim S

 

[TellicoTurning]

I kinda agree with Jim, personally, I'm not much of a fan of the carbide tools...although I do have a couple that I use mostly as scrapers.... I do most of my turning with a 5/8" bowl gouge...it doubles as a roughing tool, bowl gouge, bottle stopper gouge, some times as a shear scraper/skew and what ever.

I have two tools not mentioned in your list that I find very handy and useful... 1- a 14" upright band saw... I cut bowl blanks, cut down logs and some limited re-sawing on it... much more so than the little table saw I have... 2- I have a table top joiner that I use to flatten boards for use in my pepper mill glue ups... when the table saw has a good sharp blade on it, I can get nice flat boards, but prefer the results of the joiner.

A couple of small things not mentioned are, a 60 degree live center for doing pens and such, a collet system that I can put a pin jaw in for turning my bottle stoppers. I turn between centers and not on a mandrel for pens.

One tool I find very helpful is my ring tool.. a Termite tool.. that I use in cleaning up the insides of my goblets and the ends of my wood stems for the wine glasses I make.

 

[jttheclockman]

I will not comment on your other tools. You have a group that can lots of projects done if well tuned and you know how to use them. many how to books out there.

The one thing I will comment on is the turning tools. When you say small set I will assume it means not many and not the physical size. The reason I bring it up is many people buy these small turning tools thinking that pen turning is all they are going to do. Maybe so and then those tools will get the job done. But as you, many people want to expand into bowl turning and open air vessels and such. Full size tools are a better choice when doing this. The stability and control is 10 times better with full size tools. So my suggestion in all this is if you are buying more turning tools, buy the best you can afford and buy full size tools. As far as carbide goes, ask 100 people and you will get 200 answers. They have their place and value. But you can do just nicely with a good set of HSS tools and a good sharpening system. Have worked for many many years before carbide was ever invented.

Good luck and happy turning.

 

[seht]

The set is both small in quantity and size.
Skew, gouge and parting tool. Certainly not long enough to anchor against my body.

I will not comment on your other tools. You have a group that can lots of projects done if well tuned and you know how to use them. many how to books out there.

The one thing I will comment on is the turning tools. When you say small set I will assume it means not many and not the physical size. The reason I bring it up is many people buy these small turning tools thinking that pen turning is all they are going to do. Maybe so and then those tools will get the job done. But as you, many people want to expand into bowl turning and open air vessels and such. Full size tools are a better choice when doing this. The stability and control is 10 times better with full size tools. So my suggestion in all this is if you are buying more turning tools, buy the best you can afford and buy full size tools. As far as carbide goes, ask 100 people and you will get 200 answers. They have their place and value. But you can do just nicely with a good set of HSS tools and a good sharpening system. Have worked for many many years before carbide was ever invented.

Good luck and happy turning.

 

[JimB]

If you are going to do bowls you need a bowl gouge. You do not want to use your roughing gouge or skew on a bowl. You will get some very dangerous catches and risk getting hurt and you can even break the tool.