Turning Tools - Suggestions

[Leviblue]

I purchased a mini lathe and wanted your input on what turning tools would be the best, ie... best value, best brand, etc...
I saw where there are full length long steel and handle tools. Then there are mini tools. I'm looking to do pens and bowls. I don't want to buy something that I will regret and not be of good quality and stay sharp.


Thanks for the great assistance and patience in advance.

 

[eyekode]

I started turning last year so take my opinions with a grain of salt .

I bought the "Windsor Design" set from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-high-speed-steel-wood-lathe-chisel-set-47066.html

They are only 50$ (40$ with a 20% off coupon). I use most every one of them still (although the detail/spindle gouge was quite crappy and I have replaced it). I think these are worth more than they cost. They should be enough to do pens (minus the mandrel and drilling jig I am sure you will need).

Bowls are a different matter. But I think you only really need one gouge to get started with bowls. I bought a Doug Thompson 1/2" gouge. These are not cheap but most say they are worth it. An alternate would be to buy from pennstateindustries. These are cheaper but many people really like them. You could buy a whole set that includes a bowl gouge(s) and still keep it easily under 100$.

And don't forget a grinder! You need an 8" grinder with frillable wheels. Most recommend a slowspeed (or variable speed) grinder to start out.

I am in Apex so not too far from you. You could swing by sometime if you like.
Good luck!
Salem

 

[NC_Horn]

The answer depends on how much money you want to spend. If you are just getting started, I would suggest a Benjamin's Best pen turning set from PSI for pen turning, then look at the Benjamin's Best bowl turning sets for that end. You might add a roughing gouge to one of those. I started on a Craftsman's lathe in the late 70s purchasing a 7pc set of tools from Sears also. In the late 90s I started pen turning and picked up a cheap 3pc pen turning set that I use for most all my pens. A couple of years ago I picked up a Benjamin's Best bowl set and scrapers. Sure I would love to have a Sorby or one of the other names but for now I am happy with the Benjamin's Best. I think they provide a bang for the buck. Now you are also going to have to think about a chuck. Do you go Nova or go with a Wood River from Wood Craft and take the money saved and get additional jaws. The list is never ending. Good Luck.

Duane

 

[woodArtz]

I have found that some of the economy tools require sharpening more often. I have a wide variety of turning tools ranging from "way too expensive" to "I should have known better". I get some service out of all of them at one time or another. The better rated tools usually do twice the amount of turning between sharpening.

Our own Tom Hintz has a short review on his site...

Good luck!

 

[Splinter]

All the above is good advise. No tool will stay sharp if you use it, so you will have to buy a some type of sharpening system. Personally I would recommend a cheaper set of tools (Harbor Freight or Penn State) until you learn how to sharpen them. Using an expensive tool to learn how to sharpen them is not the way to go. IMHO

I have Harbor Freight, Penn State (Benjamin's Best), Robert Sorby, and Doug Thompson. And that is the order I would rate them. Doug Thompson tools hold the edge the best of any I have and are also the most expensive. But you do save some with his tools by making your own handles.

Good luck and welcome to the vortex. It is a steep slope. But what a ride. :banana:

 

[Sandy Rose]

I would take a serious look at Penn State Inds, the tools they make are inexpensive, but are really good quality. I tried them out with a bowl gouge just to see if they were any good ($20 compared to a $100 Robert Sorby) and after using that for a month or so, I ordered a few more. I originally bought a set from Harbor Freight, and I know a lot of people use them, however, for about the same price the PSI tools are much better and hold an edge a lot longer. The HF chisels that I bought were fine for pen turning, but are terrible for bowls and plates.

 

[eyekode]

Sandy I agree the HF set is useless for face grain work. But none of the tools in the set are meant to do this work. They are all spindle tools (although you could use the scraper(s) on bowls).

I have not owned any of the penn state tools yet. Do you have any overlap between the HF set and the penn state set for a direct comparison? That would be very interesting to me. For example I like the roughing gouge but if I want the best edge I need to touch it up very often. But this is so easy with a roughing gouge that it has not bothered me enough to replace it either...

Salem

 

[CaptnA]

I use full sized tools, mostly a 1" wide skew for 90%+ of my pen turning. I had some mini tools and they were uselss to me, even for tiny turnings - your results may vary.
Buy the best quality you can afford is my usual tool advice. What that means to me, is good quality steel. Tricky I know. It seems many of the $ steel tools may, MAY, hold their edge longer, but are harder to sharpen, if doable for the average user. Carbide is a good option, but again once dull what are your options.
Lathe tool sets are one option - I hate them. I always find tools I never use, or have no idea what to do with safely. I finally 'redisgned' a few of them.
If I ranked my tools by use the 1" skew, 1/2" skew, 5/8 bowl gouge, roughing gouge, and Oland tool are the ones I couldn't do without (not necessarily in that order).

 

[Sandy Rose]

Sandy I agree the HF set is useless for face grain work. But none of the tools in the set are meant to do this work. They are all spindle tools (although you could use the scraper(s) on bowls).

I have not owned any of the penn state tools yet. Do you have any overlap between the HF set and the penn state set for a direct comparison? That would be very interesting to me. For example I like the roughing gouge but if I want the best edge I need to touch it up very often. But this is so easy with a roughing gouge that it has not bothered me enough to replace it either...

Salem

I replaced my HF skew, roughing gouge, spindle gouge and parting tool with PSI's Benjamin's Best tools - the quality in both feel and usage was much better - don't get me wrong, I know the more you pay, the better the quality - I have one Sorby fingernail gouge and that one is better than the PSI one, but it also costs a lot more - for what I turn, I just don't see the benefit in going up to that price range at this point.

 

[klfelkins]

Hi Kevin,
I have a cheap set of turning tools that work well but it seems I have to constantly sharpen them, VS my Sorbys (bowl gouges) I have had for a month now and even with fairly constant use I am just getting to where I feel they need to be sharpened.
I agree with splinter that buying a cheep set to start with and learn how to sharpen is the way to go. It also gives you a feel for the tools you like and which ones you dont want to have to constantly sharpen and which ones you may want in a different size etc...
I have only been turning for about 2 months and boy it sure sucks you in, but it is so much fun!
I cant wait to see some pictures of your pens
Enjoy!
Kristy

 

[aplpickr]

I have Crowns, Packards, Sorbys, Thompsons, HFs, Hunters, Woodrivers, and BBs. All of us have different amounts of money to drop in the vortex. However we have only so much time. If you spend a minute sharpening a cheaper tool, twice or thrice as often, have you lost an hour at the end of the day? Spend your limited time turning, not sharpening. After the initial learning curve, buy the best that you can afford. Pens can be turned with large tools and a smaller skew. You can't turn reasonable sized bowls with small tools. I took an Arrowmont class where we turned bowls for three days. I had a Crown 3/8" BG and a Woodcraft 1/2" BG. I could turn for 4 to 5 times longer with the Crown as the larger Woodcraft! I eventually got tired of sharpening, even though the projects were sized for a 1/2" tool.

 

[Leviblue]

Thank you all for the input. I've ordered a set of the BB from Penn as they had an 8 pc HSS full size set on sale. The BB brand seemed to get fair reviews and as my budget is limited starting back the Sorby was a little out of reach. I'm just getting anxious to get started making some shavings on the floor! I'm planning a trip up into Raleigh to visit a few WW stores. Who says Christmas only comes once a year?

Thanks again and I'm sure I will be back with more questions and PHOTOS!