• Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details)
  • Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Paul May for "Checkerboard (ver 3.0)" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 25, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Chisel Set For My Jet JWL-1236

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
It mostly depends on what you are interested in making.

If you don't have any specific plans currently it might be a good idea to get a good quality set of beginners tools that contains commonly used tools such as a spindle roughing gouge, parting tool, skew chisel, spindle gouge, bowl gouge, and scraper. Crown and Sorby both make quality tools.

You also need to get a good slow speed grinder to sharpen the tools. Woodcraft frequently has the Rikon 8" grinder on sale for around $100. Additionally, you will need fixtures and jigs for holding the tools when sharpening. The Oneway Wolverine fixture is an essential accessory along with a Vari-Grind jig for sharpening your gouges.

The best investment that you can make is to get some hands-on tutoring. You're not very close to a city that has a turning club ... It looks like Pueblo and Montrose are the ones nearest to you. If you could attend meetings at either of those it would be an option for getting free tutoring. You could also consider attending a formal woodturning class for beginners at Anderson Ranch. Another option is to search for a woodturner who lives closer to you. If you are an AAW member then you can use the member directory to do a search by entering your zip code. If that doesn't return any results you can try using the first four or three digits to cover a wider area.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
125
Likes
93
Location
Buena Vista, Colorado
Last edited:

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
Either of those are good choices. For turning the top of the tool it would be good to have a half inch bowl gouge, but that's a bit advanced at this point. Before using a bowl gouge it would be a good idea to have some hands-on instruction on using the bowl gouge or else you might have a lot of frustration with catches. A lot of us learned the right way by repeatedly doing things the wrong way. I finally figured out that no matter how many times I did something the wrong way it still didn't work.

Does the wood stove sit on the stool ... or do you sit on the stool while next to the wood stove? :D
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
125
Likes
93
Location
Buena Vista, Colorado
Thanks Bill.

A lot of us learned the right way by repeatedly doing things the wrong way. I finally figured out that no matter how many times I did something the wrong way it still didn't work.

I'm guilty of that too. I've watched a lot of videos.. problem is... some of those videos are by folks that are about a half a bubble off plumb.

Does the wood stove sit on the stool ... or do you sit on the stool while next to the wood stove? :D

The later... I build everything "Hell For Stout".

@nd Fire.jpg
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
2,959
Likes
1,906
Location
Brandon, MS
I will go against Bill on one thing. I suggest buying three tools to start. Bowl gouge 3/8 inch , Spindle gouge 3/8 inch and either a spindle roughing gouge or skew . Keep in mind that using a skew will take lots of practice. I have found that on most projects I will use 3 and maybe 4 tools with 2 being doable but use more just because I have them.
 
Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
2,432
Likes
1,850
Location
Bozeman, MT
John,
It's been a very long time since I worked 6 weeks in Saguache, so I can't recall, but if there is aspen that far south in Colorado, it's also a nice turning wood. Aspen is a little soft, but very smooth turning and pretty when finished with a film finish. The only problem is that the wood comes off so easily, you can 'overshoot' where you were heading pretty easily. (And it makes other woods seem too hard and maybe too much bother)

There was a fellow in your neck of the woods who was collecting and I believe reselling fruitwoods, and maybe other hardwoods. I came across him when I was looking for some peach wood, which I ultimately bought from an orchard at Palisade. He might have been from closer to Pueblo, but it was some place around there.

As Bill Mentioned, Keith Gottschall is a really nice guy, and a professional turner who has started teaching in his shop in Salida. Highly recommended. Allyn's offer is also a helluva deal.
 

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
I will go against Bill on one thing. I suggest buying three tools to start. Bowl gouge 3/8 inch , Spindle gouge 3/8 inch and either a spindle roughing gouge or skew . Keep in mind that using a skew will take lots of practice. I have found that on most projects I will use 3 and maybe 4 tools with 2 being doable but use more just because I have them.

Being a non-recovering tool junkie I'm probably not the right person to answer the question of which tools to get when first starting out. I suspect if you ask ten turners which tools to get when starting you'll probably get eleven "right" answers. :D It is a frequently asked question and I never feel completely comfortable with any answer that I give. If you're in woodturning long enough the odds are that you'll eventually own just about every tool out there. :eek:
 

hockenbery

Forum MVP
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
8,590
Likes
4,885
Location
Lakeland, Florida
Website
www.hockenberywoodturning.com
Necessary tools depend on the type of work you want to do and how you wish to accomplish it.

For bowl turning I always use a ⅝" diameter bowl gouge with an Ellsworth grind and a ⅜” spindle gouge.
On some bowls I use a 1¼" round nose scraper, ⅜" diameter bowl gouge with Michelson grind.

For spindles and finials I usually use an SRG, diamond parting tool, ⅜” spindle gouge, ½” skew, ¼” round skew

For spheres I use the ⅝" diameter bowl gouge and parting tool.

Tools I would want in the basic kit
⅝" diameter bowl gouge, ⅜" spindle gouge, parting tool, ½” skew, ¼" round skew, round nose scraper.

SRG if I’m doing lots of spindle work a bowl gouge can rough spindles to round quite nicely if it is just a few.

A square nose scraper, #4 hunter, ½" spindle gouge, and pyramid tool( point tool) are all tools I use when I do things like boxes or split hollow forms.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
125
Likes
93
Location
Buena Vista, Colorado
...

For spindles and finials I usually use an SRG, diamond parting tool, ⅜” spindle gouge, ½” skew, ¼” round skew

For spheres I use the ⅝" diameter bowl gouge and parting tool.

Tools I would want in the basic kit
⅝" diameter bowl gouge, ⅜" spindle gouge, parting tool, ½” skew, ¼" round skew, round nose scraper.

SRG if I’m doing lots of spindle work a bowl gouge can rough spindles to round quite nicely if it is just a few.

SRG... is that a spindle roughing gouge?
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
Messages
2,326
Likes
1,105
Location
Nebraska
If you plan on turning a fair amount of wood having a few extra tools is a good thing, if you pick up some used tools you won't feel too bad about modifying the profile of the tool into a custom shape when needed. I like to have several sharp tools of the same design available for turning so I can reduce the number of trips to the grinder to re-sharpen tools. It only takes several seconds to sharpen my negative rake scrapers with the platform setup for that angle so I sharpen a handful of these tools each time, same way with my skews and roughing gouges. I do some production pieces so I will rough a number of pieces at one time before moving to the next stage of the process, if you are only turning one piece at a time your strategy may be different.
 
Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
2,432
Likes
1,850
Location
Bozeman, MT
That Robert Sorby set is a real good choice, John. It will allow you to do the vast majority of things you'll want to try your first year or two.

Al, with due respect, I would submit that a 1/2" skew is probably not the best choice for a beginner. In shear cut mode, the long point is the troublesome part and it's just too close to the short point on a 1/2" skew. It's also too easy to rotate/roll that narrow tool, which in wobbly beginner hands might not work as well as a wider tool. My personal recommendation would be at least a 3/4" skew, with 1" being ideal. I would also suggest that a radiused edge skew is just a wee bit easier in shear cut mode and maybe less catchy than a straight edge.

BTW, tools made from flat steel are chisels, while tools made from round steel blanks are gouges. (The spindle roughing gouge defies that rule)
 

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
Once upon a time almost all woodturning tools were made from flat stock. When I got into woodturning in 2004 most gouges were being made from round bar stock, but you could still find the older style made from flat stock ... they were being called "continental" gouges. They were similar in construction to the SRG except they were more shallow.
 
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
84
Likes
59
Location
Edmonton,AB,Canada
I would say buy the singles and save yourself some money but I'm with most of the other guys I am sure I have over 50 gouges and various hollowing bars so who am I kidding.That does look like a good set but a 1/2" bowl gouge might be nice too.:) I really like your stool design and would like to see the finished piece.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
125
Likes
93
Location
Buena Vista, Colorado
Once upon a time almost all woodturning tools were made from flat stock. When I got into woodturning in 2004 most gouges were being made from round bar stock, but you could still find the older style made from flat stock ... they were being called "continental" gouges. They were similar in construction to the SRG except they were more shallow.

Thanks for stating this. I didn't remember using any round stock tools back in the 70's when I was using Dad's lathe.

..... :) I really like your stool design and would like to see the finished piece.

I'll post up some photo's.
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
101
Likes
47
Location
Pueblo West, CO
John, my offer is a serious one. Call ahead, agree on a date. A two hour drive. We can spend most of a day making wood chips, teach some sharpening, and have some fun. Allyn
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
125
Likes
93
Location
Buena Vista, Colorado
I really like your stool design and would like to see the finished piece.

Here ya go Stan. I changed a few things on the fly... made spindle legs, didn't add the handle, and didn't make the legs go all the way through the seat. I still need to add some spar urethane...

I'm learning.. having fun.. and making useful stuff. Life is good. :)

004.JPG

001.JPG 003.JPG 004.JPG 006.JPG 007.JPG 008.JPG
 
Back
Top