Thread: Is this any good?

Thanks for all the assistance and advice, there are many here that really love the sport. I feel very comfortable with purchase now.

It would be rude to name any one person as there are quite a few, but I do feel a special thanks to he actually rang me to talk it over.... more than that, I missed his first 2 calls and he rang AGAIN. Persistence plus.

Now, I have two problems!

First, what to buy to accessories the beast and which tools to get first.

Second, I have to wait for my finger to heal. I absolutely smashed it to hell fixing my bandsaw. The drive belt let go and it jammed the bird flip finger between the wheel and the drive. Puffed, blackened nail and inflamed. Man o man is it painful. Might be a bit before I can use my tools again!!!!

I normally do not recommend sets but if you have no turning tools buy the Sorby set.

All the right tools at the right price. CWS Store - Robert Sorby 67HS Starter Set | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies

The descent starts.

Good lathe pick mate
Id say the same as the Sorby starter set is the way to go Sorby tools are a good start point.

If you can afford the Sorby set, that will do fine. If that strains the budget something like this: Set of 6 Benjamin's Best WOOD Magazine "Best Value" HSS Lathe Chisels at Penn State Industries
will do very well.

They are from Asia and I am sure someone in AU sells the same set or close with a different name.

I have a PSI 1/2 inch bowl gouge and 1 1/2 inch bowl scraper and they are the equivalent of my Crown, Thompson, and Henry Taylor chisels.

I would not go this far down the food chain, unless someone had them for $20:

8 Piece High Speed Steel Wood Lathe Chisel Set

Maybe they are HSS, maybe they have not been heat treated correctly and may snap off, or dull very quickly.

One or two days at a turning workshop or being around turners at a men's shed will save you 6 months of trial and error.

Do a search in this forum and on Google about grinders, chucks, and beginning turning. All subjects have been thoroughly covered.

Originally Posted by

I normally do not recommend sets but if you have no turning tools buy the Sorby set.

All the right tools at the right price. CWS Store - Robert Sorby 67HS Starter Set | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies

The descent starts.

Woodfast midi and Robert Sorby starter kit ordered. Many thanks to for another fine suggestions. Thanks to all others for the very useful and helpful comments and alternatives.

I'm itching to get going now!

No doubt I'll be spending a small fortune on more chisels, chucks and "doo dads" in the coming months.... What is it that i feel a bit doomed now ?????

Men's sheds, mates and clubs will give you the chance to "try before you buy" there's lots of

unnecessary stuff out there for the turner, most of us have embarrassing impulse buys hidden

in a draw somewhere and never used. Phil

Originally Posted by pommyphil

Men's sheds, mates and clubs will give you the chance to "try before you buy" there's lots of

unnecessary stuff out there for the turner, most of us have embarrassing impulse buys hidden

in a draw somewhere and never used. Phil

I absolutely agree. My recent Packard catalog has 22 pages of chisels, many with 'Famous Turner" endorsements. They at least imply that if you buy one of these tools you will be as good as "Famous Turner".

After you have spent 100 hours in front of the lathe and have exhausted all the possibilities of the starter set, you may find you need a special tool or two.

At the start, the basic kit is all you need. Gaining proficiency with gouges (Bowl, Spindle, Spindle Roughing), scrapers and the Skew will serve you longer than the latest toy. Every tool has it's learning challenges. Grab a boot load of Pinus Crapiatus and play. Once you can get a good "off the Tool" finish with Pine you can turn nearly anything. Start small and spindle and work your way up in size and complexity. Dibbers, Foot Massagers and Fish Knockers are good starting projects.

I wanted to mention one of my heroes, Bob Stocksdale in my post 23 above but his name would not come to mind.

He is reputed to use only a 1/2 inch bowl gouge, a scraper, and sandpaper to do the below:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...mg.EOZ17m2l8IA