looking for tools etc

[redturner]

hi folks i have been woodturning for about 12 months now and have been caught up with mainly pen turning because of a lack funds, can any one sugest where to buy cheap used tools and a chuck for bowl turning in victoria/ melbourne etc, their is not much on ebay or any thing like it. thanks steve

[NeilS]

Steve - If you have been turning for 12 months and are ready to extend yourself I would suggest that the bug has bitten you and that you are going to continue woodturning for many years. My suggestion is that you don't muck around with cheap (in the sense of inferior) tools but rather beg, borrow or (no .... buy) some good tools now as you are going to be using them for a long time. Better to borrow some good tools, see how you go with them and then buy your own, one at time if you can't manage more than that, and slowly build up your kit that way.

There are some good deals going on used tools over in the THE MARKET PLACE from time to time, but you have to know what you are after before you start parting with your hard earned cash. I have bought and sold (I don't keep it if I'm no longer using it) many items over in the Market Place and it is a great way to add to and clean out your kit. You also build up your relationship with other forum members through those transactions. Try putting a Wanted add and see how you go (eg Wanted: 100mm chuck). If you are prepared to pay for return postage, I'm sure many of us would be happy to let you try before you buy.

A number of good quality tools have sold over there over in last month.

[Mulgabill]

G'day Redturner!
I know you were enquiring about used tools, but you can check Carroll's Woodcraft at Drysdale. They have different ranges of tools to suit most type of turners.

[Christos]

I was in a similar situation to you as I started turning pens. I am now just starting to turn some shallow bowls. The choice of tools is vast and can be a little daunting to decide the brand, type and size.

What I had been doing is building up slowly. I am a long way from doing an actually hollow form but not so far away from doing a deeper bowl.

I managed to meet up with one of the forum members who allowed me to turn using his tools. This gave me some ideas on using the tools and what to purchase next. The main thing that I got from this instruction was to make a bowl with minimal tools needed.

I might suggest to keep your eye out for a chuck as your next purchase.

[Ueee]

Just to add to what has been said already, i would aim to buy good quality tools, but really you don't need many to branch out into larger turning. A chuck will be your biggest purchase, then you really only need 2 or 3 chisels to do a lot of work. I messed about with a small bowl in camphor laurel this arvo, the first item i have turned in a long time. I used a grand total of 3 (ok 4 but i could have used the scraper to clean up the spigot to put in the chuck but i used a parting tool....) I could have even got away without the roughing gouge if i had cut a circle out first rather than just cutting the corners off the timber. All the shaping and facing was done with a 12mm fingernail ground gouge and finished with a scraper.

[RETIRED]

Don't use a SPINDLE roughing gouge on bowls. Why you don't use a Spindle Roughing Gouge on bowls. - YouTube

[Ueee]

Sorry , at 4 min and no ADSL ATM there is no way i can watch that vid......but you will be pleased to know i am not dead and had no catches. And also YELLING at people is not very polite.

[Ueee]

Ok, so i did have a look, at least for 30 sec......What, pardon my language, moron, would not rough cut the blank first? Also, did you know a roughing gouge can be used, like nearly all other turning tools, in a manner to get a shear cut?.......I am no novice turner , i like you, used to make a living out of making items from timber, this included many pieces with anything from production turned legs to one off turned pieces.

This is not helping the OP at all. I was just trying to show that much can be done without a huge array of tools.

[Paul39]

I am with on the above. An experienced turner will try things that are "forbidden" out of curiosity. If it comes to blood on the floor and a trip to be sewn up, that is part of the experience.

If a newish turner is advised by an "expert" that a risky procedure is perfectly OK, they may come to grief because of overconfidence and not knowing the forces that may be experienced.

Someone who has been turning pens and spindles and goes to bowls of unspecified size on a lathe of unspecified power has enough of a learning curve without any situations that would cause the blank to come out of the lathe or break a roughing gouge at the tang and get a mouth full of same.

I am one of those morons who will split a 20 inch diameter log in half, cut the corners off with a chain saw and put it on the lathe. I knock the dirt and bark off with a 30 inch lawn mower blade ground to a scraper, and then finish with a 5/8 inch bowl gouge & scraper.

As I am so used to turning out of balance not round blanks with the bigger ones, I may cut the corners off the smaller ones with a chop saw. I mostly just stick the blank of whatever shape in the lathe and make it round with a bowl gouge or bedan.

[Ueee]

Sorry Paul but you are not one of those morons. You said it yourself, you knock the corners off the blank. The risk is greatest when taking the corners off on the lathe. A big catch with any tool used correctly or incorrectly can easily send the work flying.
Apologies , I just think your post could have been a little more tactful. My meathods and skills have nothing to do with the point I was making.

[jimbur]

Don't use a SPINDLE roughing gouge on bowls. Why you don't use a Spindle Roughing Gouge on bowls. - YouTube

I notice it took him six hours before he made it catch, but it was worth the wait. Very dramatic, pity we didn't hear the language.
Cheers,
Jim

[RETIRED]

I notice it took him six hours before he made it catch, but it was worth the wait. Very dramatic, pity we didn't hear the language.
Cheers,
Jim

There was no language.

[jimbur]

So saints do exist.
Cheers,
Jim

[NeilS]

I am one of those morons who will split a 20 inch diameter log in half, cut the corners off (or not) with a chain saw and put it on the lathe...... I mostly just stick the blank of whatever shape in the lathe and make it round with a bowl gouge

Me, too, particularly with green blanks. BUT, extra care is needed:

• I turn outboard, so I'm not standing in the path of any projectiles when roughing down (when using push stokes). I would be less inclined to do this inboard, particularly if you tend to use pull strokes, as that would place you in the firing line.
• Don't rough down starting from the high points to round (like you do in spindle turning - which is the correct way there, i.e. working downhill with the grain), but start with the foot in the centre and work out (i.e. downhill with the grain) removing the 'wings tips' (the corners) last. Yes, this will leave the blank out of balance and the knuckle-killing wing tips in place to the very end of the roughing down process, but it does reduce the chances of a split/detachment/projectile. IMO, it's also less severe on your lathe than the thumping interrupt cuts required if you remove the tips first.
• With some woods that are more prone to splitting I will reverse the blank to remove the final inch width of the wing tips. Not an extra step if just green turning ready for drying. Not worth the extra step if turning through to a finish.
• I NEVER rough down blanks with wings while there is anyone else in the workshop

Ueee - My greatest concern about the spindle roughing gouge you have used is its very fragile tang. They are prone to bending and snapping and as a result ending up in unwanted places. The forged type also have a very thin profile and don't provide much of a bevel for rubbing (not a very long fulcrum). That is why experienced bowl turners don't recommend novice bowl turners use spindle roughing gouges for roughing down bowl blanks, because we know from experience that there are better/safer tools for that in the hands of a novice.... like a bowl gouge.

[soundman]

Back to the original poster and having the right tools for the job.

I know plenty of people will push the high quality tools line, sorry for the me and most mere mortal turners it does not cut any ice.

For the price of a single name brand roughing gouge, you can go and buy an enrty level box of tools, and they will do perfectly well till you can tell the difference, in fact there are some pretty decent lathe tools comming ot of china these days...well good enough for mere mortals.

AND this means the beginner will not be trying to do things with the incorrect tool because they only have 3 to select from.

The standard 6 piece too set all the usual suspects sell, will give you a 24mm roughing gouge, a 12mm bowl gouge, a 9mm spindle gouge a 24mm skew a scraper and a parting tool and all for arround $100.
And realy those are the 6 tools you need to start with.
Yeh they are cheap tools, but the beginner wont be burning expensive high quality steel learning to sharpen them and they are perfectly serviceble tools.


As for the chuck, there is plenty you can do with a couple of facplates if you cant afford a chuck.......check the Richard Raffin video if you don't believe me.

cheers