# Hello Advice on chisels required Please



## Bean (7 Feb 2005)

Hello all  
In fear of repeating various post in this part of the forum I must ask which chisels should i buy the ones I have with my lathe seem quite short. Which will be the best types Gouges, Scrapers ????
All help will be welcomed.

Bean


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## Anonymous (7 Feb 2005)

Hi bean
Check out the thread: Bowl turning advice for Complete Novice please?
Keith Rowley's book contains invaluable advice on both tools and their use.

If you've a woodturning club near you, go join it... u'll benefit from their experiences with various gouges/scrapers/chisels.

If u can make it to Ally Pally take the opportunity to talk to folks on the AWGB and RPT stands... and anyone else weilding a tool! ...but try and avoid the shiny tool syndrome it can seriously damage your wealth... :wink:


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## trevtheturner (8 Feb 2005)

Hi Bean,

Wot Graham said.

You really need just five tools for starters and any of the standard high speed steel well known branded tools are fine, e.g. Henry Taylor, Crown, Ashley Isles, Robert Sorby, Hamlet, etc.

I would suggest:

3/4" or 1" roughing gouge
1/4" beading/parting tool
1" oval skew chisel
3/8" bowl gouge (H/Taylor 'long & strong' is good)
1/4" spindle gouge

If you intend to turn bowls you could add a 1" square scraper and a 3/4" round scraper.

You can do most turning with these tools, thereby avoiding, as Graham says, damage to your wealth. My advice then would be to add to this basic set only when you find you actually really need any additional tool/s. Yep, do avoid the shiny tool syndrome - it would be very easy to end up with racks of lovely looking turning tools which never get used (much the same as a lot of planes and chisels, I suspect :twisted: ). IMO, can't see any point in spending loadsa money on tools just to look at :roll: . Oh, and, as with most things, cheap, unbranded turning tools will invariably be a waste of money. You can sometimes pick up decent tools at car boot sale/market/auction and the like, but you do need to know what to look for.

Worth getting hold of a copy of Woodturning Mag. with an advert by Benmail of Weston-super Mare. They carry a good stock of turning tools, particularly Henry Taylor, and had the best (lowest) prices I could find when I bought my first ones. I can give you their 'phone no. but you really need to look at their advert. so you can compare prices with others. An old-fashioned firm with no website/credit card facility (to keep costs down they say) - discovered this when I 'phoned them to check they had what I wanted. Send a cheque, sez they. "We normally wait for the cheque to clear, but you sound honest enough, so we'll put them in the post as soon as your cheque arrives." And they did - I like being treated like that!

Getting to the shows to see the demos. and talk to the pros. really can be time well spent - I gained much good advice from doing that when I started turning and they're a very friendly lot.

Oh, and by the way, do you have a decent grinder?

Please ask away, or PM me, if I can help further.

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Alf (8 Feb 2005)

trevtheturner":15siuotp said:


> "We normally wait for the cheque to clear, but you sound honest enough, so we'll put them in the post as soon as your cheque arrives." And they did - I like being treated like that!


No wonder they went into receivership a couple of years ago... :roll: 

Cheers, Alf


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## Bean (8 Feb 2005)

Trev I'm fortunate not to suffer with shiny tool syndrome and tend to be quite austere with the things, If I dont use them I dont buy them. Its called being skint :roll: 

Thanks for you reply I will look at the chisels and see which I can pick up, I do not have a grinder as yet but I am working on it.

I had a turn last night on some scan redwood I had knocking around, its almost addictive 8) 


Bean


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## trevtheturner (8 Feb 2005)

Careful, Alf. Dunno where you got that from but, knowing that Benmail still advertise, I have just telephoned them (on 01934-510497 at 3 p.m.) - the firm is alive and well and has never gone into receivership!

Hope you don't get a follow up on this but, just to leave no doubt - Benmail is, and has been, trading as normal.

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Taffy Turner (8 Feb 2005)

I bought a Crown Pro PM Elsworth signature bowl gouge from them a few months back, and judging by the speedy delivery, they must have shipped £55 worth of tool without clearing the cheque first.

Excellent service, and very trusting (naive???).

Highly recommended, and very competitive on price too.

Gary


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## Alf (8 Feb 2005)

trevtheturner":rekepvy8 said:


> Careful, Alf. Dunno where you got that from but, knowing that Benmail still advertise, I have just telephoned them (on 01934-510497 at 3 p.m.) - the firm is alive and well and has never gone into receivership!


Ah well, I was mis-informed. 'Pologies. Not suggesting they're in strife now naturally. They lost out on a sale then, although that was some years ago now. Still, seems an odd way to do business - "You sound honest"? :? 

Cheers, Alf


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## Anonymous (8 Feb 2005)

Hi again Bean
I've always had good service from Benmail... the downside is their £40 min order value... but you can save a few bob buying unhandled and making your own handles...

I make my own miniature tools... if you'd like more info mail me off forum

Check my demo/links page ...there's an open day at a local wood supplier... there should be a guy there who sells s/h tools at 3 for £20...


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## trevtheturner (8 Feb 2005)

Hi, Alf,

But I am honest, honest guv! :wink: :wink: 

Gary,

I'd be interested to know what you think of the Pro PM gouge - much better than ordinary HSS? Worth me extolling its virtues to LOML so she might feel sorry for me and buy me one? :roll: 

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Anonymous (8 Feb 2005)

HI Bean

I do nearly all my turning with 2 chisels. Both Record 

a 1" gouge which I use for most of my turning (and the one you saw)
a bowl gouge

I find I can do anything I want to with these two

Might go for a scraper sometime :wink:


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## Taffy Turner (9 Feb 2005)

trevtheturner":1n5fbxk4 said:


> I'd be interested to know what you think of the Pro PM gouge - much better than ordinary HSS? Worth me extolling its virtues to LOML so she might feel sorry for me and buy me one? :roll:
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Trev.



Trev,

I am well impressed with the Pro Pm Tools. I have a 1/2" rolled edge skew and the Ellsworth Bowl gouge. Both hold their edge much longer than normal HSS tools. It is difficult to say definatively how much longer, but I would estimate at least twice as long. 

I love the gouge to bits - I have now changed all my bowl gouges to that profile. The only drawback from my point of view is the handle - it is very chunky, and I have small hands, which meant that it took a bit of getting used too, but I am coming to terms with it.

Since getting this gouge, I hardly use my others at all - I sometimes use the 3/8" one if I need a smaller tool for fine work.

All in all - I would heartily recomend getting one - you won't regret it!

Regards

Gary


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## Taffy Turner (9 Feb 2005)

Bean":1andwc10 said:


> Hello all
> In fear of repeating various post in this part of the forum I must ask which chisels should i buy the ones I have with my lathe seem quite short. Which will be the best types Gouges, Scrapers ????
> All help will be welcomed.
> 
> Bean



Bean,

Get yourself a copy of this months Woodturning magazine. There is an article in there reviewing just about all the sets of turning tools available at the moment. It should tell you all you need to know.

Regards

Gary


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## trevtheturner (9 Feb 2005)

Thanks, Gary. I'll give one a try. The chunky handle will probably suit me, too, as I have large hands. I do now buy unhandled tools now, where possible, so that I can make my own handles a bit chunkier and longer than the norm.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers,

Trev.


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## mudman (9 Feb 2005)

Taffy Turner":aok0ihsc said:


> I love the gouge to bits - I have now changed all my bowl gouges to that profile. The only drawback from my point of view is the handle - it is very chunky, and I have small hands, which meant that it took a bit of getting used too, but I am coming to terms with it.



Made me wonder how you could go about adjusting the handle without removing it.
Not sure if I would try this, but how about mounting a chuck onto the lathe, pass the shaft of the tool through the hole in the chuck and out through the lathe spindle. If it is like my Supernova, the insides of the jaws could then be tightened onto the ferule (I think they will expand enough). Maybe a bit of support from the tailstock and then you can turn the handle to a shape more to your liking.

Like I said, not sure if I would try this, especially with an expensive tool. Also a bit restricted on the tool size that can be passed through the spindle.


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## Bean (9 Feb 2005)

Taffy Turner
Thanks for the advice, my cycic powers must be returning as I picked one up on the way home, interesting review.

I have found some stability problems with the motor at high speeds...... I feel some 3/8 steel plate comming on



Bean


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