first set of chisels required??

[xc-mtbr]

Hi all,

Right i collect my new lathe saturday and im very excited!! I also have someone local who is willing to teach me, thing is i have no chisels.

way i see it i have three options,
1 ebay set 20 quid or so
2 perform set from axminster 60
3 henry taylor set of 6 axminster 120

obviously difference in quality but im a complete novice and could use a screwdriver and not notice the difference??

Any help would be awesome. (ps, plan on turning everything known to man, nothing specialist )
Thanks Tony

 

[xc-mtbr]

is it me or is the just ridiculously cheap, could use them as door stops for the price!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/8pce-WOOD-TURNING ... 2eab8ee569

 

[big soft moose]

Dont buy a set - its best to buy the tools individually so you get just the ones you need.

I'd suggest you go to either toolpost at didcot or axminster at high wycome and get some hands on advice on whast to pick - but basically you want a roughing gouge, bowl gouge, spindle gouge, round ended scraper, parting tool, and maybe a skew.

whether you buy a set or not make sure you get HSS tools not carbon steel.

Also you will need to make some provision for sharpening them - you can make do with a cheap chiawnese grinder but you will get better result with something like an axminster wide wheel (circa 30 odd quid) - obviously you could choose to go with a more advanced sharpening system like a pro edge, or tormek but i'd suggest leaving that till you've more experience.

by the way if you want some green wood let me know as I work for the ridgeway national trail and am often passing aylesbury with a truck load of fallen tree (plus my old dear lives in wendover)

 

[big soft moose]

is it me or is the just ridiculously cheap, could use them as door stops for the price!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/8pce-WOOD-TURNING ... 2eab8ee569

yes they are ridiculously cheap - they are also crappy carbon steel and wont hold their edge for long, plus the handles are too short - describing those as "pro quality" would be a severe breach of trades descriptions if it covered ebay.

 

[Steve Jones]

Tony,

I've bought all my turning tools individually either new or second hand off ' the bay ', If you want to buy a set go for the Perform set from Axminster, I'd leave the set you've linked to on ebay well alone.

Steve

 

[xc-mtbr]

i'm going to speak to the pro who lives down the road and hopefully he will give me the info on what i should get first, i think small sets of 5 or 6 contain what you mentioned...noted hss, cheers.
as for grinders i have pruchased a twin wheel 6" x 20mm , im think im going to upgrade the grey wheel for a green / white / pink? again going to get some help, im pretty usless lol.
yeah timber would be ace ive got plenty of places to dry it so whatever you think suitable? pm for times addresses etc etc. Thanks

 

[xc-mtbr]

thought the ebay item would raise a laugh,
i like the idea of buying individually, what do you recommend make wise?
also i like uniformity of matching items and they appeal to me more than random makes models etc is this ideal for woodturning??
sorry for all the questions guys

 

[big soft moose]

i'm going to speak to the pro who lives down the road and hopefully he will give me the info on what i should get first, i think small sets of 5 or 6 contain what you mentioned...noted hss, cheers.
as for grinders i have pruchased a twin wheel 6" x 20mm , im think im going to upgrade the grey wheel for a green / white / pink? again going to get some help, im pretty usless lol.
yeah timber would be ace ive got plenty of places to dry it so whatever you think suitable? pm for times addresses etc etc. Thanks

it really depends on what you want to do - spindle (that is stuff like dibber, mallets, table legs etc - anything you turn between centres) will need a roughing gouge, spindle gouge, parting tool, maybe a beading tool and a skew

wheras faceplate work (ie bowls, vases, forms) needs a bowl gouge or two, a round nosed scraper and a parting tool

Whether you buy a set or not sooner or latter you are going to wind up adding to it (ive got about 25 tools IIRC)

WRT the wood if you let me know where you live by pm, and a mobile number and i'll see what i can do - it works best if theres just somewhere i can drop it off as and when i'm pasing as I obviously dont know ahead of time what we'll have where as it depends on what falls over. - but that said i'm sure i can sort you out a few bits from my stock to get you started.

 

[Steve Jones]

Tony

I have mainly Crown, Hamlet and Sorby, all the Sorby I've bought second hand off ebay and had quite a few bargains as well

Steve

 

[big soft moose]

thought the ebay item would raise a laugh,
i like the idea of buying individually, what do you recommend make wise?

hamlet, crown, robert sorby, and henry taylor are the usual suspects - the former two are cheaper but still okay quality.

If you go to toolpost they carry all four , and peter hemlsey is a good guy to consult with - hes an honest bloke and wont try to sell you stuff you dont need.

WRT matched sets - as you get better at turning you might prefer to make your own handles and rehandle all your tools in your own style - that has the advantage of also being able to add longer handles if you wish (for greater leaverage when turning large items - I have one bowl gouge mounted in a 4ft handle made frojm an old oar) and also making them to fit your hands.

One passing comment is that most tools come with shiny handles - this looks nice but isnt the best for grip , so many of us rough them up with a bit of 80G

which reminds me you also need to make provision for sanding - I like to use foam backed pads on an arbor in a drill - but there are numerous other systems

and lastly what are you arrangements re dust protection ? - IMO the minimum is a decent dust mask like the air ace and a face sheild - but many people prefer positive air helmets like the airsheild or powercap - these cost, but not as much as wrecking your health.

 

[xc-mtbr]

ok got some makes to watch out for then, excellent.
gonna look into toolpost and also keep an eye on ebay, thanks all.

sanding, not given it much though but certainly not purchased anything electrical to do the job?

I have a dust mask which will suffice for now, as always its about budgeting for the hobby.

 

[big soft moose]

ok got some makes to watch out for then, excellent.
gonna look into toolpost and also keep an eye on ebay, thanks all.

sanding, not given it much though but certainly not purchased anything electrical to do the job?

I have a dust mask which will suffice for now, as always its about budgeting for the hobby.

Have you got a facesheild too (if not I can find one of our now surplus strimmer visors for you) it wont be funny the first time a lump of wood comes off the lathe and hits you nin the nose otherwise

sanding wise - you can just sand with the lathe holdingh the sand paper in you hand (tho it will get bleddy hot)

or you can go for a hand herld abor like this http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... prod29701/

or a arbor mounted in a cheap power drill ( I say cheap because the sideways pressure will knacker the drill eventuaslly so theres no point in using a pricey one) - drill arbour looks like this http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-so ... prod22978/

using either of the latter two options will need velcro backed abrisives like this http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ve ... rod815764/

one way or another you are going to need something as sanding is the only practical way of removing tool marks and tormn grain, of which you'll probably have quite a bit initially

 

[cambournepete]

I started with an Ashley Iles set of tools:
Skew, parting tool, roughing gouge, small spindle gouge, bowl gouge and round-nosed scraper.
They gave me a great start, and I've added (lots) but still use all the tools in this set.

 

[xc-mtbr]

thanks big moose i do like that bowl sander would this be suitable for pretty much everything?

No face mask didn't think i would need one, seen a couple of demos and they didn't wear one, maybe something i should look into then??

Ashley iles , i'll have a look thank you all.

 

[SVB]

Another thing to consider is the Axminster 'own' brand turning tools (not the Perform).

They are made by a well known Sheffield company and represent a bit of a saving!


Regarding face shields, obviously you are a grown-up and can make up your own mind but I would only really say one was necessary if you start doing bowl work or using green timber / turning with bark on etc. While you are learning and using smallish diameter prepared spindles I think it is OTT but either way, a basic visor is only about £8 from APTC anyway so given the total outlay is propably worth it.

Regarding sanding, yes, either an arbour to go in your home drill or one of the self propelled jobbies does give easier results but I managed fine with pieces of abrasive folded and held by hand for quite a long while so if funds are limited I would tend to drop this one down the list.

S

 

[xc-mtbr]

just had a look at the individual chhisles from axminster online, how do you know what sizes to buy without any prior knowledge? very tricky one!!

Going to purchase the drill arbor as its peanuts and some sanding pads, actually off to axminster high wycombe this morning, so much excitment lol

 

[Deejay]

Morning Tony

Welcome to the slope.

I would recommend this book ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Woodturning-Fou ... 1861081146

Lots of useful stuff in it, including advice on gouges.

Cheers

Dave

 

[skeetoids]

Hi,

As a novice turner myself I recently bought the following set:

http://snaintonwoodworking.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=21_65&products_id=341

I think they are fantastic in every way. The set has everything you need as a beginner and they are very good quality too.

Cheers,

Lee.

 

[NikNak]

Tony,

I've got a few bits & bobs you can have when you come on Saturday..... looks like you're halfway down the slope and you ain't even got your lathe yet.... :lol:




Nick

 

[xc-mtbr]

I knw its crazy, thing is i know what i'm like and won't be able to see it all set up and not use it hence the chisel hunt.

Really appreciate your help Nick and look forward to meeting you tomorrow.

Everyone on here is extremely helpful thanks again.

The perform chisels on axminster are HSS and approx £10 per chisel, would it be worth getting a few of these to get started???