Replies

1. 
   BG | Aug 29, 2004 05:22am | #1

   Cutawooda,

   Congrats !!...so what are you going to put it on?
1. 
   cutawooda | Aug 29, 2004 05:28am | #2

   came with a stand as well. I even put some wheels on the heavy side so when i raise it up it can be wheeled around

2. 
   SawdustSteve | Aug 29, 2004 07:11pm | #3

   Hi Cutawooda...

   Hint #1 Sharpen the tools you just bought. Factory sharpening is for the birds

   Hint #2 Be sure the lathe is firmly anchored down. If this means you have to add some sandbags or concrete blocks onto to the bottom of the stand to get it really solid, do it!

   Hint #4 Get a few books on turning and start to read them.

   Hint #5 There are two different cutting actions. Scraping is the easiest with the tool held parallel to the ground and advanced slowly into the wood. Skew cutting is a bit harder to master but the results are much better, It's almost the same action as a plane.

   Hint #6 *SAFETY* NEVER touch a spinning piece of wood. Power driven splinters are VERY painful. Use a dust mask and a face mask or goggles.

   Hint #7 Keep the tool rest as close to the work as possible. 1/8" is a nice spacing. (It gives more tool support AND less chance to get fingers trapped between the wood and the tool rest)

   Hint #8 Hardwood DOES cut cleaner than softwood. Here's a chance to use up all those small pieces of hardwood you have been saving.

   Best of luck with your new toy SawdustSteve

1. 
   billballeza | Aug 31, 2004 05:51am | #8

   What's Hint #3?

1. 
   SawdustSteve | Aug 31, 2004 10:57pm | #11

   Ah, the mysterious Hint # 3......... No matter how hot it is in the shop, DO NOT do any turning in the nude.

   But seriously,

   Hint #3 Join a 'local' woodworkers club. The guys and gals there will be more than willing to help you learn how to use the various tools. Also, check the internet for wood-turners groups. They can be very helpful too.

1. 
   billballeza | Aug 31, 2004 11:33pm | #12

   Thanks, Steve. Local woodworking clubs are a definite boon to anyone's efforts to improve and learn.

3. 
   PolarBear | Aug 29, 2004 08:49pm | #4

   Congrats on your purchase.  As for tools, I have a set of the cheapo tools I never use somewhere (unless I threw them out already).  Spend the money on good tool steel - I like Sorby's myself, but any of the better tools will work.  You will be amazed at the difference in weight between the cheapo and good tools, as well as the difference in how long the good ones maintain their edge.

   My advice for starting out is get some green wood and start practicing on it.  If you can get some 2X2's, and just make practice cuts, so much the better.  Whatever you get, green wood is going to cut much easier then the dried out old stuff that we want to make furniture with.  Once you get the hang of it, doing the dry wood gets a whole lot easier.

   As for purchasing, you might look at http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/.  They have good (not phenomenal, but good) prices, their selection is outstanding, and their service has always been top-notch IMHO.

   I see that woodturner's has a set of Crown tools for about $260 that looks like it might be an OK beginner's set.  I've never used Crown, but the look like they should be up to the task. 

   Having said that though, I would probably do a piece meal (sp?) approach.  As a minimum turning set, I would get a 1/2 inch fingernail bowl gouge, 3/16 inch diamond parting tool, 3/4 or 1" oval skew chisel, and if you are turning bowls, I would also look at an inboard or full round heavy duty scraper.

   You will also want to have the ability to power sand your bowls.  This is done by getting something that attaches to your drill and lets you sand while the lathe is running.  Look under the abrasives section.  You probably want to go with the Velcro systems - the power locks listed there have a tendency to dig in if you are not careful.

   If you are looking to expand your tool selection, then I would get a roughing gouge, maybe a spindle gouge or two, a square point scraper, maybe a 1/4 " bowl gouge.  I wouldn't get too excited to buy all of these right now, but they make great Christmas, Birthday, anniversary, etc. presents if you drop the right hints.

   Another Item I strongly encourage you to look at is a jig for sharpening those fingernail profile gouges.  I took a class from Mike Mahoney a few years ago and he showed me how to sharpen those by hand - needless to say, as soon as I got home I made a mess of it.  With the jig you always get a consistent grind on the tool.

   After you get going, you will want to look at chucks (go with OneWay), hollowing tools, end grain cutting tools, finishes, pen turning kits, miniature kits, slow speed grinders, wet grinders, bigger lathe, more blanks, more tools, bigger shop, ...

   Again congratulations on your purchase.  I have often told people that lathe work can be the most rewarding and frustrating work in a shop - usually at the same time.  There is something about doing it all by hand and watching that perfect curl come off the tip of your tool that is extremely rewarding.  This will definitely put your furniture up to a new level once you have mastered the basics of lathe work.

   Steve

4. 
   CharlieD | Aug 29, 2004 09:02pm | #5

   I own the same lathe, bought under similar circumstances. You won't be sorry; it is apparently the exact same tool as the $400 Jet, with different paint and different switching and controls. I love mine. Bought it on the advice of the late ToolDoc here on Knots. Harbor Freight's HSS turning tolls--the $40 set--are supposed to be good too. I chickened out on those, and have regretted it. I think the brand was Windsor. You'll want a longer better bowl gouge eventually, if you buy that set.

   Enjoy..!

   Charlie

   I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
5. 
   mike4244 | Aug 30, 2004 05:53am | #6

   Congradulations on your new lathe. Not sure what brand turning tools you have, go to Penn State website. They have very good quality chinese lathe tools at unbelievably low prices. I bought a standard parting tool and a small spindle gouge from them. I was very surprised at the high quality. Most of my lathe tools are Sorby, the two cheap tools I bought were equal to my Sorby's.Learn to sharpen your tools, I also suggest you buy a book or two. Red oak does not turn well,  you may get better results with pine. Doesn't matter what you use at first, use construction lumber, firewood etc. When you can turn nice coves and beads on a hunk of 2x or4x then your ready to try turning on hardwoods. Then you will find it much easier to achieve a nice smooth turning with proper turning woods. There are many woods that are suitable, maple,walnut,cherry etc.

   You need a grinder, if you do not have one yet I suggest a 8"wheel,1750 rpm's. These cost more than smaller grinders with 3450 rpm's but are worth the extra money. Wish I had one,I did buy a Grizzly slow speed (70 rpm) 10"x2" friable wheel which is excellent for all turning tools. I use both grinders, mostly the Grizzly now because it is next to the lathe.Use your cheap set of tools to learn how to sharpen, better learning on them than expensive ones.

   mike

6. 
   DennisS | Aug 30, 2004 06:29am | #7

   Hi Cutawood -

   Congrats! You're about to become impassioned with yet another aspect of woodworking.

   Heed the advice on weighting down the lathe. Nothing's as disconcerting as having the thing start to dance across the floor when you mount a big out of balance blank to rough down.

   Given that it's basically a bench model, it's a lot lighter than  the big Powermatics, OneWays and the like so you'll have more trouble with the balance thing when you get to bigger projects. Try to do as much roughing down on the bandsaw as you can with respect to getting the piece 'round'.

   In addition to scraping and skew chisel cutting there are the gouges: Spindle gouges for working between centers and bowl gouges for working inside the bowl itself. These are ground to a steeper bevel to allow 'riding the bevel' for a supported cut when reaching inside far off the tool rest. In these situations, one gouge does not fit all. A couple or several with different grinds gives you more control of the cut.

   Sounds like you're more interested in spindle turning, perhaps furniture legs moreso than open or closed vessel turning. That being the case forget, for the time being the business of bowl gouges and focus on spindle tools like skews and spindle gouges. But again, the spindle gouges can be ground to different profiles and bevel angles for control in different situations.

   I don't personally do much scraping on spindle work. The skew will give you a fine enough finish right off the tool that very little sanding is needed. With lots and lots of practice. The skew is one of if not *the* most difficult turning tools to master.

   If you do lots of furniture legs requiring fairly accurate duplication you might look into a duplicator to make work go a little faster. Don't know if there's one for your lathe or not, though. I'm not a highly experienced turner by any means and the few times I've tried to turn two exact items it was really difficult and frustrating.

   ...........

   From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.

   Dennis

7. 
   caldwellbob | Aug 31, 2004 06:06am | #9

   I have Ernie Conover's The Lathe Book. It helped me get started turning and has good sharpening tips in it, too.

8. 
   djcolorado | Aug 31, 2004 07:55pm | #10

   There was a piece of advice I read before I bought my lathe earlier this year which was to expect to spend as much on tools and accessories as you spend on the lathe. In the case of the Jet that I bought that was right on, and probably more so given the deal you got. I am only into furniture making and have used the lathe to make spindles and turning round table tops to diameter. The big money is in a set of HSS turning tools (skew, spindle gouge, roughing gouge, parting tool, and optional round and square nose scrapers)and the sharpening system for them. The sharpening system and a book on how to sharpen them, particularly gouges and skew chisles is really important. Seemingly small changes in the grind of these can make a big difference in their useability (meaning minimizing the number of tool catches which reduce the piece to fire wood). I did buy a chuck to do some specialized kind of legs and to hold stock for end drilling, but I think that is more optional if the work is mostly spindle work. The face plate I use for turning table tops to diameter came with the lathe and isn't very expensive if you have to buy one.