# Buying a lathe is more than lathe + chisels = off we go!



## nathanegriffin (Apr 20, 2015)

So I'm ready to add a lathe to my workshop and I think I've decided on one. So now I need some chisels, right? But while researching chisels I discovered that MOST turning tools don't come pre-sharpened? So now I need a bench grinder. And, as I know nothing about sharpening turning tools, I probably need a book or two. And a protective face shield so I don't end up with metal (or wood) in my face.

Is there anything else I'm missing beyond a willingness to learn?


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

Much depends on the type of turning you want to do. Here are a few items:

Live centers, dead centers, spur centers, faceplate, Nova check, steady rest, collect chuck, turning tool holder.

You mentioned the grinder probably an 8" slow speed (1700 rpm) and the wolverine one-way (Peachtree has a clone works well).

For beginning turning I like the Ron Brown series of DVDs. He is not extremely technical, but explains things well for beginners.

For a face shield I have tried many different ones. I also have sinus / allergies. The best I have found is the Trend Powered AIR/PRO model.


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## nathanegriffin (Apr 20, 2015)

> Much depends on the type of turning you want to do.
> 
> - WoodNSawdust


I have a few ideas in mind but my main reason for adding a lathe to my workshop is to turn lamps. Initially, they will be very basic, short 8" bases with inset sockets and exposed bulbs. Also, I'd like to try some wooden mallets.

Thanks for the great info on face shields as I have recently discovered I am allergic to fine sawdust (great).


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## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

Wow. Imagine that. Turning tools don't come sharpened. That's funny. ha ha

The reason for that is most turners settle on their own grind, rather than stick to the one that might be on the tools when first purchased. If you're looking for better quality or custom gouges, then they might have the grind already set.

You will find that without a grinder, you won't be doing any turnings… In a 5 minute period, I've had to sharpen some of my tools at least 3 times. It's because of the woods I like to turn, but a grinder is as important as the lathe. Without one, you won't be doing too much on your lathe.
Keep reading and watching vids on youtube, and you'll be learning a lot in a short period. Hope your finances hold out as wood turning can get very expensive as I'm sure you have already found out. Welcome to the vortex. ...... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

> Thanks for the great info on face shields as I have recently discovered I am allergic to fine sawdust (great).


You are welcome.

For a lamp I would think a spur center in the headstock, a lathe chuck (like the Nova), a live center for the tailstock would work.

Use the spur center and live center to initially turn the blank round (a bandsaw if you have it would be faster and easier) and to turn a tenon on one end. Then replace the live center with a chuck holding the tenon. If you plan to drill the center hole for the electric cord the chuck will be necessary as well as a drill chuck for the tailstock. Here a set of 12" long drill bits.

Good luck and post pictures of the results.


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## LeeMills (Nov 2, 2014)

A bench grinder by itself may be fine but most folks have a jig for gouges; the Wolverine seems most popular.

I don't have allergies but use a fine dust mask. 3M makes disposables (rated for up to 160 hours of use) with the same, or better, rating than most $300 plus systems. I typically only use mine when sanding and toss them after about 50 hours or so. They run about $7.50. Filters down to 0.3 microns at 99.97% efficiency.
For a face shield the Bionic with the + rating is very popular and runs about $30 on Amazon.

I would suggest videos rather than books. Keith Rowley's "Woodturning, A Foundation Course" is very good.

There are tons of very good videos on the wed (and tons of very bad ones). Just ask and we may be able to direct you to a good one on a specific topic.

Here is one by Mike Peace that covers almost every holding/chucking method to let you know what is possible.
It is about 1.5 hours long as there are a lot of different methods.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Keep in mind that for centuries, people turned wood on foot powered lathes using home made tools sharpened on foot powered grinding stones.. and they turned out some really fantastic stuff despite their lack of all the modern conveniences we have today!

There are a lot of people who will tell you all sorts of stuff you 'need', but you can easily get by without. For sharpening, a belt sander works well if you have one. Hand sharpening is not out of the question but time consuming. But since either can usually be found dirt cheap on CL or garage sales, they are good to have and useful for all sorts of other tasks.

Fancy store bought turning tools are nice, but a basic set of turning tools can be made rather easily for a fraction of the cost and you can make them specifically for tasks you want to do.

A face shield or other protective eye wear can be had for a few bucks at HF.

Live centers are nice, but not absolutely required. The dead center that will come on your lathe will be sufficient for most turnings.

Chucks are also nice, but again, not absolutely required. If you get a tap the correct size for your lathe spindle, you can make your own faceplates, jam chucks, screw drives, etc… and in many cases, they can be much more useful (and safer) than a chuck.

Having said all that, yes, most are really nice to have - but not a requirement by any means.

Cheers,
Brad


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Woodworking chisels in general, turning or bench, don't come sharpened. They come with a ground edge but usually require some honing or touch up. My Hurricanes came with a fairly sharp edge, sharp enough to cut, but they still needed a touch up.

Turning is a whole subset of woodworking and requires a specialized set of tools and accessories. You should be able to turn lamps with just a faceplate and centers. Every lamp I've seen has felt or similar on the bottom which would hide screw holes and faceplates are more secure and safer than chucks.

Here is a rough overview about woodturning. It isn't a how-to, it's more for someone who is thinking about it but it does lightly cover things. In truth I don't think this video is very good but it just posted and I don't have a better one handy. Others I found were broken down into segments and hours long.


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## buck_cpa (Mar 26, 2013)

If you go this route, you don't have to sharpen:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Wood-Tools-Detailer-Wood-Turning/dp/B00FKY7P1S/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1430326099&sr=1-2&keywords=easy+wood+tools

Just replace the carbides.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

There's no free lunch. Time saved in sharpening will be spent on sanding.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

Sharpening, in my opinion, is as important as your turning skills. I must say, it is an acquired talent. I would recommend buying some HF or Steelex lathe tools and learn to sharpen on those. While they are not the greatest, they are not bad, and you won't take a chance on damaging a 100.00 skew or gouge.

As Buck-cpa mentioned easy wood are a good way to go and don't require sharpening. I got disgusted at first with my lack of sharpening skill and went that way…I even learned to make some carbide insert tools. They are great, but in many cases the traditional tools are a little easier to use and some specialty tools are not available in carbide replacement tools. It is however a great way to turn while you are learning to sharpen.

I love my lathes and have had a great many hours of enjoyment. Have a good time with it and just know going in, that you are going to break and ruin some stuff. Don't stress over as I did at first. I made a few bowls where the inside got bigger than the outside, and they got some flying lessons. Vent your frustrations and then let it go…....and oh….if you think you are done buying after the lathe and tools, think again…..bust out another thousand!!!
LOL…just my .02
Mike


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## ic3ss (Oct 19, 2010)

Nathan, after I bought my first lathe almost two years ago I was in your spot. The topic of woodworking is divided ito two categories: lathe turning, and everything else.

If you're a woodworker and want to get into turning, it's like you have to buy a whole new shop for the activity. But I warn you, it's addictive.


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## LeeMills (Nov 2, 2014)

HF may have good safety glasses and faceshieldS for a few buck, I haven't looked.
Almost all show the Z87 rating. The big difference is the +.
Here is a link, scroll down about 1/2 -2/3 for faceshield rating requirements.

http://www.elvex.com/facts-what-changes-in-ansi-z87.1-2010.htm

The standard Z87 rating must pass the "Dropped ball" test. A one inch steel ball (2.4 ounces) dropped from 50 inches. This is the Non-impact rated test.

The Z87+ must pass a High Mass Impact and a High Velocity Impact test. 
High mass similar to the "dropped ball" but with a pointed object at 17.6 ounces. (about 7X better).
High velocity test is a 1/4" steel ball at close to 100 mph.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

The HF face shield is better than nothing, but not much better. And not just protection-wise but it's uncomfortable, droopy, unbalanced, and scratches easily.


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## Bmezz (Aug 12, 2014)

The best advice would be to find a woodturning club in your area. Most offer short courses or mentoring. This will allow you to try different lathes, tools and sharpening equipment. That and the techniques learned will not only save you blood, sweat and tears but will pay for itself by avoiding purchasing tools and equipment that you don't need or doesn't work. Books and videos are great to reinforce what you have learned and to refine various techniques. Woodturning is great fun but can be hazardous to the uninitiated. Cheers, Bob


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Bmezz - +100 !


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## LeeMills (Nov 2, 2014)

Sometime clubs can be hard to find.
Here is a link to AAW where you can search for an affiliated club in your area.

http://aaw.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=1509

Even a few hours with an experienced turner will open you eyes more than many many hours of trial and error.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

AAW has recently incorporated an interactive map into their website to help locate local chapters … check it out:

http://www.woodturner.org/?page=AAWConnectsMap


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

AAW is not cheap. Here it's $55 for AAW + $45 for the local chapter.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

Local chapter dues vary … this year, we reduced ours from $35 to $25. Ours is a 'Star Chapter', so we do require that every member also be a member of AAW.

And though $55 may sound high, you have to consider the benefits, not the least of which is the bi-monthly American Woodturner. It is arguably one of the finest and most useful magazines/journals I have ever seen.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Sounds like a bargain considering all the help one would receive.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

I have to say up front that joining a local club or even taking some vo-tech classes at the local CC or Uni would be a good thing.

But… I guess everybody is different, so it kind of depends on the individual. When I got my first lathe, I had zero experience - nada, none, had never even seen one up close. After I got it, I watched a few videos online and browsed a few web sites, but that was about it. I had no turning tools either, so I made my own out of old screwdrivers, chisels and whatever else I had. For me, the learning curve was very short and within a couple of days of practice, I was making bowls (including some live edge ones), cups, goblets, tool and file handles and more. All with nothing more than the lathe and some homemade tools.

Probably not the norm or very common though. But it does illustrate that you can do quite a bit with very little.

Cheers,
Brad


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

+1 on the turning club. I have had several mentors through our club and settled in on just one. We have a good friendship now, and he stops over to see any new toys I might have gotten and to help with any set-up.
I can certainly see how they could save you from buying stuff that really doesn't work, but I have just ended up buying stuff he was using and so I think it may have cost me some extra. ( but I have some new cool stuff)

I have gotten into segmenting pens in the last several years and he had never segmented pens at all. We have segmented several pens for him now. I have tried to pay him for his time and he would never take it, so I have semented some blanks for him. It is great to have a mentor to bounce ideas off. 
I highly recommend joining a group.
Mike


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

If you have to sand with easy wood tools your being too aggressive always finish with a gentle slow feed sanding is a nasty job do everything to avoid it. I have all kinds of turning tools but found that I liked the Benjamen's best to learn on and then Robert Sorby to use after learning how to sharpen. I love my Easy wood tools and use them for almost everything. You can buy them from Craig direct or soon from my new store. I am sure you will pick well and learn a lot as you evolve. oh Ya I do Sell Nova Lathes If you are into them I wont be undersold .


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

The wood turning industry and tool manufacturers IMHO deliberately makes jigs upon jigs for every little simple to do job.It is all to make money.I have to say if Like dovetails you practice sharpening you will soon find it is not to be compared with brain surgery.When you get a little help from a friend, or book, or video or dvd, You will find that there are some rules that crop up frequently,but are in no way designed to frighten those learning the craft.
In fact sharpening is really simple .with a few basic common sense rules and a few good tips to throw into the pot.Once learned you will be really surprised how easy it all is.Now please don't show this reply to the expensive jig manufacturers they would be furious they don't want you to find this out before spending many hard earned dollars. In short please don't buy all that expensive junk till you find out what it is all about.I did it the hard way owning a tormek wet wheel system and all the toys.I was also duped into thinking I could not achieve a good cutting edge without spending a large wad of tenners .It took forever and a day to sharpen tools,and I eventually donated it to a club set up to help slightly wayward youngsters.I do all mine in a few seconds these days on an eight inch grinder and also on a twelve inch disc sander.have fun .Alistair


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## Clouseau (Feb 4, 2010)

Make Capt Eddie's jig or something like it for sharpening. Don't worry if you can't weld. A metal tube (1" x 1") and some bolts, nuts, washers and screws with the remainder scrap wood will get you started with a 6" or 8" grinder. No grinder? Use your belt sander after cleaning out the saw dust and disconnecting it from the dust collector.
Dan Coleman


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