I need tools... little help?

[Ziffy]

As you may have gathered from my earlier thread, I'm new to turning... I picked up a cheap 10" Taiwanese lathe for free, but I need some tools. Lee Valley has a starter set made by Henry Taylor for about $85. It has three tools, a 1/2" skew, a 1/2 " spindle gouge and an 1/8" parting tool. They also have another 'basic' kit which is five tools, also by Henry Taylor, that has three gouges, the largest being about 3/8" (these are metic measurements...) about a 1/2" skew and a 1/8" parting tool. About $90. Any suggestions? Money's tight... too tight, but for an extra $4 the second set seems better, maybe because it's 5 tools rather than 3. Do I need a 1/2" gouge, or will a 3/8ths suffice.

Thanks again, I suspct i'll be asking a lot of questions for a while.

ziffy

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Depends on what kind of turning you are going to do.

If you are new to the forum, don't be afraid to use the search button and look for a topic which has already been explored.

I turn bowls and vases almost exclusively. So I use a large bowl gouge for 95% of my work. It is a versatile tool. To hollow the vases hollowing tools are used. The larger the gouge, the less the vibration, so you can go a bit further off the toolrest. Smaller gouges are good for detail work, or if you have to cut into a tight area.

Initially I bought a cheap starter set of tools. Now most of them sit on the side of the shop and some never get used at all. Both Lee Valley and Henry Taylor are reputable brands. Make sure you are getting high speed steel, usually denoted as M2 steel.

 

[dkulze]

Also make sure you get a bowl gouge, generally 3/8" or larger. You'll find that this will serve you well on spindle work, wheras the spindle gouge doesn't work to hot for bowls.

Dietrich