New to turning


Andy Faust

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Hey I'm new to turning I've turned alittle in my high school shop. But that's been a few years and I never really got good at it. Looking to purchase my own lath I don't have any tools looking at the easy wood tools and thinking of getting a jet lath to turn mostly bowls but able to do table legs. Any suggestions for a beginner would be great thanks 

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Check out this thread

I discussed some of the things you'll encounter deciding on a new lathe. 

 

Carbide tools are good if you don't have a good sharpening system for HSS tools.  Keep those tools sharp. 

Set yourself up with a simple DC system if you don't already have one.  Especially for sanding.  At the very least, a shop vac to keep the mess down. 

Face Shield!  Bowls can easily crack and get launched across the room.  Get a face shield and wear it.  

Same goes for a dust mask!

Read, ask, and watch.  There's a number of great books out there on beginning turning skills, "WoodTurning, A foundation Course" by Keith Rowley helped me out.  There a lot of great wood turners on Youtube, look around, watch some videos, get some ideas.   Mike Waldt is one I used to learn some techniques from.   And ask questions.

Oh, and expect to invest way more than you thought you would.  There's always that "Well dangit, now I need that tool" syndrome.    Chucks are notorious for this.   Get a chuck, and then realize you need another set of jaws. 

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If you're interested in pen turning along with everything else, check out some of the deals that Penn State Industries has for lathes and Kits.  I have one of their lathes and I'm pretty happy with it.  You can get some full kits that will have you turning that day, and producing good stuff. 

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Welcome to turning! I'm also new to turning, I've only been turning about 6 months. I got into turning through my son and FiL. My son bought himself a mini lathe recently for pen turning and I told him I would help him out by buying and learning how to run the supporting equipment, aka, a bench grinder. Bench grinder, chainsaw, shop-vac, table saw and 10 bowls later and I'm hooked. :D I agree with Marmotjr's advise (so listen to him not me) about equipment, expenses and youtube, but lots of woodworking shops have sells and you don't need to run out and get everything now. Set a budget and be on the lookout for sells, for example our local Rockler store currently has a mini square radius carbide turning tool for sell for 30 bucks. I picked it up for pen work but I've been using it for small bowl work. I've picked up several chisels and power tools on sell over the past few months. 

I like the Mike Waldt videos, I started with his. I've also found SG Art Turning and Carl Jacobson's channels helpful. For fun and something completely different check out the NZ WoodTurning color pencils and lego turning videos. lol

Anyway, welcome again and I hope you get lots of enjoyment from your lathe. You will probably see me around asking lots of questions and telling about stupid mistakes I've made. Cheers!

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Randy

I've only been turning for about 6 months. I love it. I also have a suggestion on tools based on my limited experience. I bought a smaller set of carbide tools from Rockler on sale, but soon realized that larger, full-size tools with longer handles are much better - easier to control, especially on bowls. I now own a detailer, rougher, and finisher from Easy Wood tools. I went with carbide since I didn't want to spend a lot of time learning about sharpening and buying another sharpening jig. So far, I haven't been sorry I went carbide. I would guess it requires more sanding at the end as steel tools (only sharp steel tools though) would provide a smoother finish. However, as I've gotten better at control, I can get the finish family smooth with the carbide tools.  Since I'm really only turning bowls, I bought a $40 snub-nosed drill from Harbor Freight, a firm and soft sponge 2" circle sanding attachment from Woodcraft. I have been sanding bowls with this and it especially helps get a smoother finish faster on the inside but works equally as well on the outside when compared to just using my hand and paper. I guess that's because with the rotating sandpaper, I'm sanding in more than one direction - sort of like a random orbit sander. Anyway, my main point was that, for turning bowls, I would go with full-size tools rather than a small set with shorter handles.

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5 hours ago, Randy said:

I bought a smaller set of carbide tools from Rockler on sale, but soon realized that larger, full-size tools with longer handles are much better - easier to control, especially on bowls. 

I have that same set and while they are nice and great for small tight places the full set carbide tools are so much easier to handle. If you're comfortable (or able) buying from ebay you can find lots of carbide tools and inserts there. I bought a diamond carbide chisel (no handle) and mounted it myself in a handle that I turned. I love making custom handles because I can make it to fit my hand with a grip and length that I want. The inserts I found on ebay are much cheaper than the stores around me and seem to be good quality. 

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I have a Rikon mini lathe, 70-050VS.  The model had been discontinued but there are others.  A fellow in our woodturning club uses a HF #37406, I believe, for turning and he makes some nice things.  If you use carbide tools, you can bypass the low speed grinder.  I prefer HSS tools.  Many turners will take them and regrind them to fit a particular type of cut or shear.

Yes to dust mask and face shield.  I turned some pens and had a lot of airborne dust.  Consequently, my asthma and allergies have been giving me fits for the last four days.  Now I will wear the dust mask anytime I'm working with wood. Also, I'm back to my DIY air filter- box fan with a furnace filter held in place with a bungee cord.  Believe it or not, it works!   I was surprised at the amount of dust it picked  up.  Get a dust collection system if the budget permits or a Shop Vac at the least.  The face shield can pay for itself with the first piece that comes apart or flies off the lathe.

Let me recommend a website- http://www.woodturner.org.  This is a great place to learn about turning.  I recommend looking for a local chapter and also getting a membership.  You get access to all kinds of information, videos, and a great magazine.

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8 hours ago, Andy Faust said:

Thanks everyone what lathes do you all have trying to only use 110 and not spend a fortion on a lath. 

We have the Rockler Excelsior mini-lathe.  My son bought it when he became interested in turning (thanks FiL lol).  It's a good starter lathe and several companies sell a similar one. I think Harbor Freight sells the exact same one but painted a different color. One of the things that has impressed me is Rockler's customer service. The tailstock broke (the threaded hole for the bolt to tighten dead center disintegrated) and Rockler sent me a whole new tailstock no questions asked no returns necessary by two day mail. 

I read that you want a bigger lathe for large bowl, that's one of the things I'm disappointed with on the mini lathe, I can only turn pieces that are about 6 - 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long anything bigger just doesn't fit or turn well. If I didn't have to eat or feed my kids I  would be one of the laguna ones, they're beautiful. https://lagunatools.com/laguna-machinery/lathes/ 

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The harbor freight lathe generally has gotten good reviews, relatively speaking of course.  If you have a store near you, it's worth looking at one, since it will be easy to exchange it, as it either works or it doesn't, from the reviews I've read.  

As long as your lathe runs straight and true, and the parts that do move all work, then it's a good lathe.  What makes or breaks your turning experience are all the accessories.   It's like owning a drill, but only owning a 5/16 twist drill bit.   Yeah you can make really good 5/16 holes, but what else do you want to do with it? 

But if you want guaranteed out of the box functionality, you'll have to spend more.   And then, aside from HF, I haven't seen many lathes at good prices that will do full length spindles nor larger bowls.  Usually it's one or the other, unless you want to spend even more.   There's always extension beds though.   

So what type of budget are you looking at?

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I've got the Grizzly G0766, of course it is 220v, but it is a great lathe for the price compared to the other major manufactures if you're looking for a full sized lathe.  I started out on the harbor freight lathe, it's actually a pretty good lathe especially for being less than $300 with a coupon.

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Guest Randy

One possible choice for a lathe is the Nova Comet II. If you look around you might be able to get it on sale. The price can be anywhere from around $450 - $550. For the $500 I paid I also got a Nova G3 chuck with it and that is probably a must for bowl turning (anyway very useful). It is considered a midi-lathe. You can get cheaper midi-lathes that would work, but not all have the max spindle length up to 16" or the max bowl diameter of 12". I was interested in turning only bowls, so the 12" diameter max seemed like probably about the max I would turn for quite some time. In the first 6 months I haven't even turned one over 8" so I'm still working up to the larger ones. I think it is a great lathe, at least it is for what I'm using it for. There actually is a sharpening attachment for the outside on the head stock side, but I don't have any idea whether that's a good option or not. I started with carbide insert tools and am satisfied so far without the added learning curve and equipment for sharpening.

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The HF #34706 does get good reviews.  As mentioned, we have a fellow in our club that has one and does great work with it.  Be aware of the warranty which, if I recall, is 90 days.  You can get an extended warranty for a few bucks.  I had one and the Reeves drive got stuck in the low speed.  Wound up scrapping it and getting the Rikon. 

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I'd hate to see some one buy a great lathe, and then realize it's just not their thing (right @thewoodwhisperer;) ).   As long as whatever lathe you get is a Morse Taper 2, then all the accessories you get will fit whatever lathe you upgrade too.  And the thread size may be different on your new lathe, but there are adapters for that, but as long as it's MT2, then any MT2 lathe will fit your stuff, and the accessories are where the cost really adds up. 

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