Thread: First time post and some questions from a novice.

Sore hands? Maybe just gripping a bit toooooo hard. Maybe if you don't usually work with your hands you do have topbuild up strength. I forget, 'cause I work with my hands. There are efficient ways to hold tools and minimize the load that your hands have to ....uuuum.....handle. My advice? Get thee to a Canberra turning group, of which I'm sure I've seen talk of on here somewhere. Look like you've made some nice things anyway.

BTW, Welcome to the forum.

Nice looking work there Gazza .
You're doing something right mate

Cheap tools have a place , for practising sharpening and turning .
Also they come in handy for turning handles for themselves , and for better tools too .
Plus , you now know that you want longer and thicker timber to hold on to

Post a few pics of the lathe and the tools , someone may have advice for improving it a bit .

My first one was pressed steel , light steel at that , and alloy head and tail stocks , and a dead center it was fun too .

Jock

Originally Posted by badgaz

I am a new member to this forum and a recent convert to woodturning. I think I have more questions than space permits in this forum so I appologise for the length of this post

Welcome to the madhouse. Long post? Nar... not compared to some!

It’s actually quite solid in its performance but then again I don’t have a lot of experience (read none whatsoever) so I am yet to experience a pro or semi pro lathe. In the end, it can spin a lump of wood pretty steadily and has yielded encouraging results so far despite it’s less than elegant appointments.

It's a bit underpowered but so long as it spins the wood and the tool rest is fairly solid, then it will probably be a while before your skills will exceed the lathe's abilities. And underpowered means you need to practice good tool skills.

Apart from a flat floor, the right height and stable construction are there any other elements to a lathe bench I should consider before I start making one; such as choice of timber; method of construction eg. glued, screwed, dovetailed etc, additional handy fittings?

Like anything, lathe stands are very personal things. The important thing is that it's solid. It's no good bolting it to the floor if the whole thing wobbles like a jelly. personally I'd use coach bolts to hold it together, for a couple of reasons.

The bench sees a lot of strain & vibration, so glue joints tend to seperate, as do nails. With coach bolts you can always give them a bit of a tighten should things seem to come loose, plus you can possibly strip the bench down to more easily relocate it to a more appropriate position. (This happens as your workshop evolves. And it will.)

A shelf on the bottom is a handy feature, but be warned that anything built in below the lathe will quickly end up full of shavings. I stack small logs under there to weigh mine down, as it's not bolted to the floor, but rarely put anything else there.

Secondly, I already have a pretty fair idea after my third turning session the tools that were thrown in with the lathe are cheap, nasty and the wrong size for my hands (I have guitar players hands …long fingers) is it worth re-handling these cheapies as a project and how would I go about removing the old handles (chopping them off and burning them comes to mind

Got a bench vice? Clamp the metal in the vice, rest a piece of wood against the end of the ferrule and hit it with a mallet to drive the handle off the end. The reason for the block of wood isn't to prevent damage to the old handle, but to give you a larger area to whack without hitting something else....

Someone with experience told me to practice with the cheapies as it’s far better to make a mistake (read: ruin) these as a novice than to destroy expensive ones…are there better alternatives e.g. the basic carbatec set for a little over 100 bucks …at least the handles are broad and long?

The CT ones may not be better quality, but at least you'll know that the profiles they're sharpened in are pretty much "correct."

One of the problems with inheriting someone else's old tools is that you get all the sharpening mistakes made by that person. Until the tools are reground "properly" they're not ideal. And as a novice, I bet you have little or no idea what the right profiles & bevel angles are!

Apart from that, cheap tools are great for learning sharpening on (once you do know what to sharpen them to) and for regrinding into rarely used tools for special jobs. eg. ring tools, etc.

Thirdly, after turning the mattock handle on the weekend (reduced from 2” square cedar stock) my right hand became quite numb. This affliction lasted the best part of a day, is this due to the small tool handles, the set up of the lathe (I turned at 850 rpm and admit the lathe is set a little too high in its current position), a condition experienced by novice wood turners due to lack of match practice with a lathe, or do I need to see a doctor?

I'd say Tea Lady has a major part of it. You're gripping too tightly. Almost all beginners do, until the adrenaline levels begin to drop. The fact that you find the tool handles uncomfortable will certainly exacerbate this.


Go on! Replace the tool handles. It'll be good spindle turning practice and I'm sure that by the time you've finished rehandling 'em all you'll have loosened up a bit.

The height of the lathe could also be a factor; most of us like turning axis of the lathe to be about elbow level, while others like it higher or lower... although not by much. Using the lathe should be a pleasure, not an endurance trial.

Hope this helps! And enjoy! (I like your mattock handle, BTW. )

Welcome Gazza
I do not think I can add any more but just reconfirm some points

I am still a beginner (I think so anyway) and I still find myself every now and then gripping the handles to hard. as Skew said it is normally when I first start a session.

Also I am still using and buying cheap tools because I am still not confidant in my regrinds to waste on good tools so a $30 tool is good enough for me for now.

For your first attempt and turning you have done very well

I appreciate your sage advice.
My other hobby is scale modelling so time, patience and attention to detail are no stranger to me.

Skew, rum pig and tea lady, I think you summed up the problem with adrenaline and an overzealous grip. I guess the problem is confidence, as I don't have the feel for stripping larger amounts of material off the stock with the roughing gouge just yet. I go slow and this leads to more time on the tool.

Skew, I will take your advice on the bench and will employ a bolted construction, thanks for that! Some of the profiles on the cheap tools are okay but the roughing gouge is shallow and even though I've tried to put a keen bevel on it, the shape seems wrong and it consequently couldn't rip the skin off a rice custard. I hate the skew (perhaps it's just the fact that this tool has a steep learning curve associated with it) I do like the idea of an oval skew which this set does not have. The parting tool is okay and so is the round scraper so they will get re-handled. Maybe I'm better off buying the tools I actually think I need individually rather than doubling up on some of the tools that are still quite serviceable in a freshman's hands.

Jock, I intend on making more sawdust this weekend in the form of handles, I can only hope my fourth turning session is as successful as the first three. I've included a pic of my humble set-up and a few of the tools. You can see the difficult size of the tools (obviously not meant for grown ups). I left the tool rest off as it would only entice giggles from the gallery.

Rum Pig, I doubt the whole set I have is worth 30 bucks, but they do sharpen and I haven't broken one yet..touch wood (I have belt sander...a new grinder is coming as my dad somehow inherited my Abbot and Ashby bench grinder and wild horses won't drag that bit of kit off him now). The tool rest is very short as well and it looks hand made out of round steel bar and is great for pens but on bigger sections like the mattock handle is a bugger...any ideas on where I can source something bigger, better, not neccessarily newer?

To all thanks very much for the encouragement and taking an interest.

Regards
Gazza

Welcome aboard, Gazza.

Nothing but good advice and assessment already given. The only thing I'd reinforce is finding a WT club. Google ["woodturning club" canberra] found 10 hits. Your work colleague, or folks at Carbatec, could give you another steer if you need it. As you've already found (I hope), woodturners are some of the friendliest folks you'll ever meet; seems to be something about the shared terror, I guess.

Joe

Gazza ,
is it possible to either reinforce the alloy bed of the lathe by telescoping a length of hardwood ,
or , replacing the alloy with a steel box section .

And , is that a light mounted onto the tailstock ?

Wow! You guys are fast on the reply button... It is feesible to firm up the tube alloy that way. Someone suggested filling it with concrete. Either way it is something I will do...maybe even fill it with sand?
The light is fixed to the table well behind the lathe, the pic is a little off putting in that respect, the only thing that gets mounted to the tailstock is wood.

G'day Joe,

You got the terror bit right for sure...in time I'll become imune to it, but I'm sure none of the old hands take the physics for granted. Once I have my confidence up I would dearly like to learn from the experts and eventually contribute.

All the best Gazza

The handles are about the right length for spindle tools.

As you know with model making: Patience and practise will win in the end.

Gazza...have nothing more to add to the advice already given by the experts.

Glad to see your using a most important tool....the face shield

Numb hands can also be caused by lots of vibration which might be fixed to some extent by filling the aluminum bed with sand/cement. You could also try damping vibration by putting some rubber (about 8-10mm) thick under the wood.
As the others have said, maybe a bit tight on the grip. I'm sure Woodwork Wally would want you to check if you are "white knuckle" turning!!

Welcome!!

When I first started turning I used to hold on to the tools so tight thatly I got tired hands too. What I've found that makes turning much easier on the hands is to make sure the tools are sharp and let them do the cutting, not your arms. If I feel that I am gripping a tool too tightly, it reminds me that it must be time for a touch up on the grinder.

Originally Posted by badgaz

I appreciate your sage advice.
My other hobby is scale modelling so time, patience and attention to detail are no stranger to me.

Skew, rum pig and tea lady, I think you summed up the problem with adrenaline and an overzealous grip. I guess the problem is confidence, as I don't have the feel for stripping larger amounts of material off the stock with the roughing gouge just yet. I go slow and this leads to more time on the tool.

Skew, I will take your advice on the bench and will employ a bolted construction, thanks for that! Some of the profiles on the cheap tools are okay but the roughing gouge is shallow and even though I've tried to put a keen bevel on it, the shape seems wrong and it consequently couldn't rip the skin off a rice custard. I hate the skew (perhaps it's just the fact that this tool has a steep learning curve associated with it) I do like the idea of an oval skew which this set does not have. The parting tool is okay and so is the round scraper so they will get re-handled. Maybe I'm better off buying the tools I actually think I need individually rather than doubling up on some of the tools that are still quite serviceable in a freshman's hands.

Jock, I intend on making more sawdust this weekend in the form of handles, I can only hope my fourth turning session is as successful as the first three. I've included a pic of my humble set-up and a few of the tools. You can see the difficult size of the tools (obviously not meant for grown ups). I left the tool rest off as it would only entice giggles from the gallery.

Rum Pig, I doubt the whole set I have is worth 30 bucks, but they do sharpen and I haven't broken one yet..touch wood (I have belt sander...a new grinder is coming as my dad somehow inherited my Abbot and Ashby bench grinder and wild horses won't drag that bit of kit off him now). The tool rest is very short as well and it looks hand made out of round steel bar and is great for pens but on bigger sections like the mattock handle is a bugger...any ideas on where I can source something bigger, better, not neccessarily newer?

To all thanks very much for the encouragement and taking an interest.

Regards
Gazza

While you can never have too many lathe tools, and many turners seem to spend more time buying tools than turning, the basics are easily filled.

Shown is my whole set, after some 12 years of turning, and completing the 3 year TAFE woodturning diploma. I actually don't use all of them that often.

In fact, for the first 5 years, all I had was:

Roughing (1")
Spindle (1/2") (also used for bowl turning, but not recommended)
Skew (1")
Parting
Scraper (1")

Of the set shown below, the tools are: (from left):the frequently used tools are marked (*)

30mm Roughing gouge. (Chinese, ex McJing) (*) (#)
12mm spindle gouge (RECORD) (*) (#)
8mm detail gouge (P&N) (*)
25mm Skew (P&N) (*) (#)
10mm square skew (homemade) (*)
16mm bowl gouge (P&N) (*) (#)
8mm bowl gouge (h'made) (never)
1" skew scraper (ex mortising chisel) (chuck recesses only)
30mm scraper (P&N) (occasionally) (#?)
10mm square parting/sizing (h'made) (*)
3 x 20mm parting (h'made) (*) (#)
Endgrain hollower (h'made) (seldom, boxes only)
Experiment! (never)
Swan neck hollower (h'made) (seldom)


I would say that the minimum essentials are (#)

regards

Alastair
That list is a good baseline to work from and a nice selection of tools. I noticed in your pic the variety of handle sizes and shapes (they're all about twice as long as the handles on my cheapies, so I'm determined to right this wrong) are they held up in the cabinet with magnets?
I found a good length of white ash today and I will start re-handling some of the tools that are worth keeping. I'll source the rest as and when the opportunity arrises starting with a decent roughing gouge, spindle gouge and an oval skew.
I'm currently building a lathe bench out of aussie hardwood, it will probably weigh a ton by the time it's bolted together. Then it's back to the "whiteknuckle" turning.

All the best and thanks again for everyone's input.
Gazza