Beginner WoodTurning Tools

So on our Woodturning Basics facebook group a new member had a question about what tools to buy. What should he get, he didn’t have a lot of money and wanted to be frugal.

So, I shared some of my experiences with him and gave him some ideas on what kind of woodturning tools to buy or consider buying.

Which Woodturning Tools Should I Get?

I don’t feel like working tonight so I think I will put a little thought into your question.

First I will assume you are either new to wood turning or you haven’t turned that much yet?

Let me tell you my story first.

My Start In Turning Wood

I don’t know why, but suddenly I had the urge to buy a lathe…maybe because I kept seeing it at Harbor Freight. So….I bought the 12×36 and the cheapest set of Chinese turning tools they had…..I think it was around $40 bucks.

Up until this point I hadn’t turned anything since high school, probably 45 years ago. I did not watch any YouTube videos, didn’t read anything online, didn’t attend a club and didn’t even read a book. This is not the approach I would recommend to anyone 🙂

I set up my lathe. Figured out there was a faceplate to use or to turn between centers.

My First Woodturning Project

I cut a piece of dead ash tree branch about 4″ wide and maybe 12″ long. Put that between centers and tried to figure out how to make it round by sticking each tool into the rotating piece. You can imagine some of the tools didn’t work so well. I did get it round, put a little design on it, coves and round overs. Then I sanded, finished and drilled a hole in the top for a candle. First project, gave it to my wife and she is so good…..encouraged me to do more ….the thing was pitiful 🙂

I share that story because I had to learn how to use traditional tools that were crap. They were unsharpened, I had no idea how to sharpen them when I started.

After a while I found YouTube and the wealth of info on all things related to woodturning.

Sharpening My First Woodturning Tools

After watching enough videos I decided to try and sharpen my tools by hand. It wasn’t pretty but they were sharper than when I purchased them. It was amazing what a difference it made.

So….my first suggestion is to get a cheap set of tools and a wolverine sharpening jig along with an eight inch grinder with white oxide stone wheels. Mind you, I’m telling you the cheapest way to go, others will say get daves, thompsons and get cbn wheels before you know it you spend $1000 and all you’ll do is grind those expensive tools away to nothing. My theory is to learn with the cheap stuff unless you have deep pockets. Once you know how to sharpen your woodturning tools, go ahead and buy some good stuff.

#1 Get a Cheap Set of Turning Tools to Practice Sharpening On

-I found this set of woodturning tools for $20 and its probably the worse set you can buy, but you should buy it so you can learn sharpening https://amzn.to/2LFvuMh
-As you grow in your knowledge of woodturning tools you can reshape these tools into specialty tools if you so desire, making tools is fun!

#2 Next you need to get a Wolverine Sharpening System.

This is important because you will learn how to properly get consistent angles and sharpening on your cheap tools, once you get that figured out you will be able to sharpen you new good tools and not waste metal. The wolverine sharpening system is the first of its kind and the one everyone is copying. This is the exact one I purchased https://amzn.to/2YfAAR5

#3 You can use it with just about any grinder

But …..you will want to set up a dedicated grinder. I did a lot of looking and found one at Harbor Freight, 8″ grinder with a lamp. If you use their 20% or 25% coupon I think I got it for under $40, you can order one online if you don’t have a store near by https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-bench-grinder-with-gooseneck-lamp-62501.html

#4 You should change out
the grinding wheels.

I got an 80 grit and 120 grit POWERTEC 15505 White Aluminum Oxide Grinding Wheel, 8-Inch by 1-Inch, 5/8-Inch Arbor, https://amzn.to/2LGaIfj Also look into a stone dresser, I went at least a year without properly dressing my grinding wheels, when I did, my sharpening was 100% or more better https://amzn.to/30TqnLN You can use the wheels that come with the harbor freight grinder…..they will be hard to keep true and will not do a very good job ….but better than nothing.

Now you have some new woodturning tools. Wolverine sharpening system and a grinder. You just need to practice. Watch some YouTube videos, the Wolverine system comes with a dvd that is pretty decent. It just takes time and it won’t matter if you grind those tools down the the wood….you will only have lost $20 🙂

#5 I pieced my tools together after I figured I needed some decent tools.

The first woodturning tool I got was a 1/2″ bowl gouge, then some scrapers, I made some tools [parting tool and carbide tool]  check them out here:

1. https://www.woodturningbasics.com/make-your-own-parting-tool-for-woodturning/
2. https://www.woodturningbasics.com/make-your-own-woodturning-tools/
3. https://www.woodturningbasics.com/diy-parting-tool-make-your-own-custom-parting-tool/
4. https://www.woodturningbasics.com/hollowing-problems-when-turning-wood/
5. https://www.woodturningbasics.com/making-a-wood-tool-handle-for-a-half-inch-sorby-spindle-gouge/

The most expensive wood turning tools I have are Robert Sorby’s and the difference in the sharpening and the steel is nothing short of amazing. I have yet to have any Thompson, Carter or D-way tools, they say those are just dream tools…..maybe some day. Until then I just have to sharpen my tools more.

#6 What type of turning will you do?

Depending on what type of turning you will want to do will determine what type of tools to buy. Lets say you want to turn bowls. Then you’ll need some good bowl gouges and a couple nice scrapers.

#7 Consider Getting Some Hurricane Woodturning Tools.

If you are unsure of what to get then you won’t go wrong with getting a set of Hurricane Tools. I did not buy the set but one or two tools at a time. This Hurricane set has just about anything you would need to start out. The steel is good and I’ve found I can get them almost as sharp as the Sorby tools. Hurricane Woodturning 8 Piece Starter Set – Bowl Gouge, Scraper, Roughing Gouge, Lathe Chisel Set https://amzn.to/2YiAacO

In my opinion this PSI set PSI Woodworking LCHSS8 HSS Wood Lathe Chisel Set, 8-Piece is a step below the Hurricane but it is half the price….around $70 but still, a good set to practice with and many turners use these as their all around turning tools, you get a nice selection and can always add to it latter https://amzn.to/2SDe9nA

#8 I found as I started turning that I had 100 catches a minute.

I thought of changing my name to “Catch” although I still get catches I have learned how to use the tools properly. But there are times when I am turning an odd shaped piece or difficult piece and I just can’t get my bowl gouge in correctly …or I’m just ripping up the fibers of the piece or I’m just uncomfortable using a gouge.

I discovered Hurricane’s big scrapers. They are 1-1/2″ wide and almost 1/2″ thick so they can take some abuse and you can control it. A scraper takes a bit to learn also, it all depends on how you hold the tool. If its 90 degrees or more to the work you are guaranteed a catch. But if you go 90 degrees to your work and pick up on your handle slightly you will get good cuts and you can easily spill any catches that might come up. I would highly recommend this set of scrapers if you are doing bowls. https://amzn.to/2JNQ9f2 you get a right side, left side and round nose scraper. They are easy to sharpen and they are pretty easy to learn how to use. The robo hippy (Reed Gray) https://www.robohippy.net/ does almost all his turning with scrapers and you can learn how to do shear scrapes and other cutting scrapes that make mirror finishes. Make sure you check out his YouTube channel 

I might add for you or anyone else if they wanted to get into the “best” quality of wood turning tools Robert Sorby Woodturning Tools has a great selection  and you’ll find Carter and Son with some of the best turning tools  there is also D-way Tools I heard the owner sold the business so I cannot confirm the quality and Thompson lathe tools  these are high end tools and the only ones I have experience with are the Robert Sorby turning tools. You can learn a lot from the other 2 sites, they have a lot of sharpening videos and how to use their tools.

#9 I would be remiss if I did
not mention carbide cutters.

I didn’t buy a complete carbide woodturning tool but made a couple for myself. I had no knowledge of how to do that, just followed some directions …YouTube again. You can buy a bar of steel, tap it and screw on a carbide cutter and of course turn a handle for it. It will service you well and you just might want to make a few for yourself. I purchased the carbide cutters in packs of 10 https://amzn.to/2yb4coa these round carbide cutters (inserts) are my go to for hollowing. I also picked up a pack of 10 square cutters (inserts) https://amzn.to/2LImmpV

The nice part of carbide cutters (inserts) is they take abuse and last forever. Also you can sharpen them with a diamond hone and they will be just like new.

When I get a little scared working a piece of wood that is odd shaped, I will go to my carbide tools ….the round cutter. It takes a beating and I’m comfortable with it. It basically is a scraper so the finish isn’t going to be great until you learn how to shear cut with it.

Also, the carbide tool (round insert) is one of the best for tough hollowing situations. The smaller the size the less you bite off and the easier it is to hollow and not gouge out, catch out the interior of whatever it is that you are hollowing.

I tried to hollow a cup with those Chinese tools I told you about. That pretty much scared the crap out of me and I almost walked away from wood turning. I had a small round edge scraper extended 4″ or more off the tool rest, the thing was catching every 10 seconds. I tried other tools to no avail, I got it done but then I had to try to sand it …..it was scary. A carbide tool with the round insert would have saved the day and gave me some confidence. I recommend anyone who is starting to turn wood to have a round and square carbide. That doesn’t mean you should not learn tradition tools! But in some cases, carbide tools keep a new woodturner turning wood ….and there is nothing wrong with that 🙂

So, if you don’t want to make your own carbide tools, pick one up. It will last you forever. Don’t go cheap, that is, don’t get the smaller size. If you are doing bowls, cups, vases and other bigger items you will want the large size carbide tool, of course if you are doing pens and small stuff the small carbides work fine. They are categorized as full size, mid size and small of mini size. Here’s a list of tools I would chose from:

Wood Turning tool Finisher YUFUTOL Carbide Tipped Wood Lathe Full Size Bar and Handle set With 18mm Round Carbide Insert，Screw，Star Key Wrench,for wood hobbyist or DIY or carpenter,Type R-18 https://amzn.to/2Yh040t

Here is about the cheapest set of carbide turning tools:
Simple Woodturning Tools – Pack of 3 Full Size Carbide Tools (Rougher, Detailer, Finisher) with Interchangeable Foam Grip Lathe Tool Handle, USA Made, Stainless Steel https://amzn.to/2LCNuqF

Understanding a Starter
Set of Lathe Chisels

This is a basic video on how to use basic woodturning tools for spindle turning. That is, a piece of wood between centers of the headstock and tailstock.

Basic Woodturning Tools
Needed for Spindle Turning

 

This is undoubtedly one of the best:
Easy Wood Tools Full Size Easy Finisher Replaceable Carbide Insert Cutter Lathe Wood Turning Tool Gouge Scraper with Maple Hardwood Easy Grip Handle Model #4200 https://amzn.to/2Yjn8eU

Well, I hope I haven’t confused you but you find this info helpful. Just remember to have fun with it, be safe, ask questions. There are many guys/gals in this group that know much more than I do and I would hope they would be willing to help you along the way ….so, never be afraid to ask 🙂

Good luck, let us know how things progress and what tools you get. I always get excited when someone posts pics of their new tools and equipment …I truly am happy for them ….and a little jealous 🙂