Tool rec's

I am the proud owner of a used Jet VS lathe. Couldn't pass it up for $500.

But I have no tools!!

So I'm looking for practical advice on 1) what is a good basic set and 2) some brand recommendations.

I will be doing just basic turning for a while.
I'm willing to pay for good quality tools.

Thompson tools are the best without being the most expensive. Harbor Freight tools are best for learning how to sharpen. That won;t take long but you will always be turning with the best without learning how to sharpen on them. Sharpening is learning a light touch and body English.

Be selective on the Harbor Freight tools, they have two sets on that's bad and one thats sort of ok. I believe that these are the sort of ok ones:
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-high-speed-steel-wood-lathe-chisel-set-69723.html
The Penn State "Benjamins Best" are in roughly the same class without the uncertainty and allow you to buy onsies instead of a set so can actually be a bit cheaper.

I probably wouldn't bother with the thompsons to start - you burn up a lot of steel on the sharpening learning curve. Consider that a 2" diameter piece of wood spinning at 2000 rpm is presenting roughly 1050 feet per minute of surface or about a mile of surface every 5 minutes to the chisel and you can see how you can quickly use up a lot of chisel time compared to flat work I do have one thompson gouge and it is indeed very nice - but I burned up about 1/2 of a BB gouge before I bought it (and at this point I'd but more thompson but I don't regret any of the BB purchases either since they're still earning their keep).

Do get an 8" low speed (1750 rpm) grinder with white wheels as well it makes the sharpening a bit less tool hungry. The current value buy is the $100-140 rikon low speed.

As far as chisels it'll be hard to get three turners to agree on a starter set so take this for what its worth. My choices would be (based on what I use):

• 3/4" rouging gouge
• 3/8" spindle detail gouge
• 3/4" or 1" skew
• 5/8" bowl gouge
• 3/8" bowl gouge (this is also nice for detail spindle work as its very forgiving, hence two bowl gouges, I use both of them on bowls and spindle work - especially things like turned spoons)
• you'll eventually want a couple of scrapers - I use these a fair bit on the difficult parts of bowls: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCSIDE2.html
• If you're doing pens or really small stuff a smaller detail gouge or another detail gouge you can grind to a sharper point might be useful (I've ground some "skew gouges" out of allen wrenches that would quite nicely for tiny detial work as well) but I mostly use the skew for that.

I would also add to that list:

• a set of calipers
• a steb center drive center (more forgiving to start) I actually have a larger (1") and a small (1/2")
• if you don't have a face plate you'll want a face plate. something in the 3" range should handle pretty much most of what you want to do.
• You'll eventually want a chuck. Pick a chuck system because you'll want different jaw sizes/types and its nice to have a couple of chuck bodies you can use for all of the jaws. I've been pretty happy with the supernova2 from http://www.teknatool.com/ - they often have sales on refurbs http://www.novatoolsusa.com/Reconditioned-Products_c10.htm - my one SN2 is a refurb and looks just the same as the full priced one.

There's more of course But that would get you started.

Ryan Mooney said:

I probably wouldn't bother with the thompsons to start - you burn up a lot of steel on the sharpening learning curve.

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I beg to differ. As I pointed out, use the inferior tools to learn to sharpen. Use the good tools to learn to turn. Doug's tools come awesomely sharp to begin with. At least you will know what a good sharp tool looks like and how it cuts wood. Then work on your sharpening until you can get close to that. Ever pro turners take years and years to wear out a turning tool.

The inferior tools may frustrate you, so don't go there. Especially since you indicated you thought well enough to consider good tools to begin in your original post.

I'm gonna side with Carol on this one. Why wait for the good tools? I may be a rarity, but I never ended up losing a lot of steel on any of my turning tools when I learned to sharpen. With a sharpening jig like a Wolverine, there's no reason to expect to eat up a lot of metal if you're paying attention. I went the standard route of buying cheap tools to learn to sharpen, then mid-grade tools, then eventually Thompsons. My cheap tools still have the vast majority of their original steel, and the money spent on mid-grade stuff was sort of wasted.

Another vote for the Harbor Freight set to start with. I picked up a set a few years ago when two top-notch turners I knew in Florida bought them on sale. There are other brands out there that have great reputations and you could grow into them as you learn and develop your skill. Others mention sharpening and I can attest that the main talent I've developed in turning is how to sharpen my tools. I have the Wolverine system but there are other systems and techniques that work well also.

Ryan Mooney said:

The Penn State "Benjamins Best" are in roughly the same class without the uncertainty and allow you to buy onsies instead of a set so can actually be a bit cheaper.

As far as chisels it'll be hard to get three turners to agree on a starter set so take this for what its worth. My choices would be (based on what I use):

• 3/4" rouging gouge
• 3/8" spindle detail gouge
• 3/4" or 1" skew
• 5/8" bowl gouge
• 3/8" bowl gouge (this is also nice for detail spindle work as its very forgiving, hence two bowl gouges, I use both of them on bowls and spindle work - especially things like turned spoons)
• you'll eventually want a couple of scrapers - I use these a fair bit on the difficult parts of bowls: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCSIDE2.html
• If you're doing pens or really small stuff a smaller detail gouge or another detail gouge you can grind to a sharper point might be useful (I've ground some "skew gouges" out of allen wrenches that would quite nicely for tiny detial work as well) but I mostly use the skew for that.

I would also add to that list:

• a set of calipers
• a steb center drive center (more forgiving to start) I actually have a larger (1") and a small (1/2")
• if you don't have a face plate you'll want a face plate. something in the 3" range should handle pretty much most of what you want to do.
• You'll eventually want a chuck. Pick a chuck system because you'll want different jaw sizes/types and its nice to have a couple of chuck bodies you can use for all of the jaws. I've been pretty happy with the supernova2 from http://www.teknatool.com/ - they often have sales on refurbs http://www.novatoolsusa.com/Reconditioned-Products_c10.htm - my one SN2 is a refurb and looks just the same as the full priced one.

There's more of course But that would get you started.

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Thank you for listing the type of projects. When I attended a local event, I was receiving different recommendations by everybody, without listing the types of projects they use them on. (makes it hard to be informed)
I was looking at the Benjamin's best, based on several recommendations (as well as some higher end ones), but stumbled upon a deal when a turner friend, gave it up due to health. I still need to get a bowl gauge, and BB is sold at my local wood store, so I will get that to support them.

On the HF list, I have heard that they have (and sometimes still do) had multiple sets, and one was better then the other. (one was even compared to the BB set at one point) I didn't keep track of that, since I got my tools the prior mentioned method.

Heh - as I noted you won't get any three turners to agree on this

I should also note that the skew is somewhat controversial. Many turners (who are MUCH better than me) never use them and are quite happy with it. My personal take is if you can master the skew all the rest are easy

Be interested to know what you picked up from your friend. Some of the older tools are real gems and others aren't so much or sometimes require a bit of a gentler touch.

I mostly agree with Brian Havens video below on tool choice, although I include the roughing gouge because its an easy way to get some early success easily. Its a worthwhile video to watch anyway because he does a rather staggering number of different cuts with the tools in a very short period of time so its an interesting overview of what they can do (although I wouldn't suggest attempting some of the cuts out of the gate).

On the skew issue Richard Raffans video explains a lot of the problems folks have with the skew fairly clearly, or at least it was some help for me:

I've had some Benjamin's Best tools and they are a good value for the money. The Harbor Freight HSS set I bought when I first started has been, too.

As Ryan said, some turners are good with skews and others aren't. I'm a pretty experienced turner and the skew is my least-used tool, because I still have not learned to use one consistently. That said, I agree with Ryan...the skew is a good tool to learn early, since it helps facilitate the learning of the other tools. (Keep in mind I primarily turn bowls and hollow vessels, not spindle work where a skew would be more useful.)

In his earlier post Ryan mentioned that eventually you might want a couple of scrapers. I use thick round and square-tipped scrapers on virtually everything I turn. Other guys never use them. As you've probably figured out by now, there are pretty much no singular answers in turning.

Vaughn McMillan said:

In his earlier post Ryan mentioned that eventually you might want a couple of scrapers. I use thick round and square-tipped scrapers on virtually everything I turn. Other guys never use them. As you've probably figured out by now, there are pretty much no singular answers in turning.

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Then there are folks like Robo Hippy who turn pretty much everything with scrapers He's really quite good at it though... so its fun to watch. Its also interesting to see his finishing cuts where he tilts the scraper and gets a high sheer angle, I could argue that he's actually using the scraper more like a bowl skew there.. but I won't

I'm going to chime in here also.. I think I am at least an adequate and at least an average turner.....I turn mostly bowls, pepper mills, bottle stoppers and wine glass stems.... almost all of my tools are Benjamin's Best tools... I do have a couple of the higher end tools like the Easy Wood and a couple of Sorby specialty tools like thread chasers... truth is I hardly use them... Part of my tool rack is also the first set of tools I got with my first lathe... they came in a box set that my son gave me and I'm not sure their brand. My go-to tool is usually a 5/8" bowl gouge with a 60 degree angle on the bevel.... I probably use it as much as all the rest put together.

I've never used a Thompson tool, but have tried several Sorby's...my turnings weren't any better than what I get from my BB tools... it's not the tool that makes a good turner, it's what he learns to do with them.

That said, for several years of my early turnings, I used a belt sander to sharpen my tools... after I finally got a sharpening system and started getting consistency in my sharpening, my tools worked better and I worked better. No matter what tool you buy, if you learn to use it, learn to keep it sharp, you'll enjoy turning and become a good turner.

Chuck Ellis said:

....No matter what tool you buy, if you learn to use it, learn to keep it sharp, you'll enjoy turning and become a good turner.

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I couldn't agree more Chuck. Doesn't matter what you use if you know how to use it and keep it sharp!!

I started with some tools that my grandpa had purchased and some that he made. They worked great and then I learned how to sharpen them and they worked even better. I then got a few from a broken up set from HF and a couple Benjamin Best. They worked better because they were better steel and the edge lasted longer. Then my dad gave me a Thompson bowl gouge and I'm even happier. The edge last longer and it takes less to get it sharp again. That said, I still use a BB spindle gouge, a HF spindle gouge and a scraper my grandpa made from some found steel (I think an old spring from a truck) on a regular basis.

I bought a Harbor Freight set before I even got my lathe. The set was on sale, and I really was not sure if woodturning would become a passion for me. I normally do not buy any tools from HF, but the set was HSS, so I figured they could not be that bad. They have served me pretty well. But I tended to beat them up early on practicing sharpening. Not that I took off that much metal, but they looked horrid. I didn't concern myself too much since they weren't a really expensive investment. I have been slowly upgrading to better tools, and since the HF set did not include a bowl gouge, I bought a decent one rather than continue down the path of cheap tools.

Here are two of my "Harbor Freight turnings" -- a couple of reversible screwdrivers I made for guys in the family, and a peppermill for my wife. With a sharp edge, and practice, the HF set can serve you quite well.

Chuck Ellis said:

...I've never used a Thompson tool, but have tried several Sorby's...my turnings weren't any better than what I get from my BB tools... it's not the tool that makes a good turner, it's what he learns to do with them...

...No matter what tool you buy, if you learn to use it, learn to keep it sharp, you'll enjoy turning and become a good turner.

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I agree with both statements. The primary difference between an inexpensive tool and a higher-end tool is how well they hold an edge...how often you have to resharpen. A Thompson gouge will stay sharp much longer than a Benjamin's Best gouge, but both can produce the same great work. And price is not necessarily how you tell the difference between a good tool and a great tool. I've seen (and used) Crown and Sorby tools that were more expensive than the equivalent Thompson, but the Thompson still held the edge much longer. Part of the value in a Thompson tool is that Doug cuts out the middlemen. He makes them himself and sells them directly to you. If his gouges were selling in the retail catalogs the price would double (or more) in price.

And no tool, regardless of cost or quality, will be very useful until you know how to sharpen it.

Vaughn McMillan said:

Part of the value in a Thompson tool is that Doug cuts out the middlemen. He makes them himself and sells them directly to you. If his gouges were selling in the retail catalogs the price would double (or more) in price.

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I agree with Vaughn, retail must at least double the price to cover their cost and make a profit.

I bought my daughter a mini lathe and reading good results bought a Hurricane chuck. IMHO ever bit as good, or better, than my Nova SN2. And I have seven Nova chucks.
Which brings me to... with the chuck results I/we tried the gouges. I have Sorby, Hamlet (Packard), and Crown (Woodworkers Supply) and the Hurricanes seem just as good holding an edge. Hurricane also only sells direct. I assume they are PRC made but the bowl gouges are speced by UK standards which is about 1/8" larger than US. So far $60 you can get a set of 3/8, 1/2, and 5/8 gouges.
This reminds me that I want to order some extra for different grinds. I have not really tried a "bottom feeder" but for $30 for the 5/8" I can grind it for the times I may be better off with a different grind.

Ok, I've been around my elbow, here's a link.
http://www.thewoodturningstore.com/products/Hurricane-HSS-Three-Piece-Bowl-Gouge-Set-34.html

There are certainly lots of opinions going on here. Somebody pointed out the basic truths when it comes to tools. The tools don't make a good turner. The turner takes the tools, and if they have the skills, then they will produce good work. If they are new to turning, then they will pick up the skills using whatever tools they buy. I don't care which ones you get as long as you keep them good and sharp. I use skews with almost all of my spindle work, especially walking canes. I started out with a few inexpensive tools from Highland by the brand name of Bodger. They served me well and I have tried a lot of other brand names since. Crown, Henry Taylor, Sorby, Artison, etc. I ended up settling on a brand called Hamlet. Good tools for me and good bang for my buck. May not be the brand for someone else, but that's OK.