Just picked up a turncrafter 12" vari-speed lathe and need to get some tools. Any insights as to what tools I will use the most for turning handles? I received a Barracuda 2 key chuck system that comes with a bunch of parts. I know I need to pick up a live tailstock center, but what size/type would work best with a mandrel?

Bill

I turn some wood handles for my own use. I have a Delta midi lathe.

For turning tools, as a minimum you need a spindle gouge, and a spindle roughing gouge. I started with a Harbor Freight set that was not high speed steel, and bought some individual HSS tools. I saw Harbor Freight now has a HSS set for about $79.00.i use my 3/8 spindle gouge the most, after using the roughing gouge to get the spindle round. Lastly you should get a 1/8 parting tool.

You should also probably get a Jacobs chuck so you can bore holes. A lot easier than using a drill press.

I joined a woodturners group, and have learned a lot from them. You might look and see if there is one in your area. They are a lot like Rodbuilders, in that they are more than willing to teach, share, and help.

Drop me a email, if I can help you.

Bert

Hello Bill, First Do you have the means to sharpen high speed steel? A good slow 8" grinder with the proper wheels is a must or you will burn the edge, You will also need a jig to hold your angles, Do Lots of reading on this subject. You may want to think about tools with replaceable carbide inserts, They are pricey however they last a long long time, As you can rotate the cutter to a new edge that has not been used before when you wear one out you simply change to a fresh new insert . Keep in mind you can tie up a lot of money in a proper sharpening setup. How much wood turning you will be doing dictates the set-up you chose. If a lot of turning is in your future invest in a good grinder, jig, and wheels, If you're just doing the occasional few grips, reel seat inserts, I would think about carbide tools. I use both types, As I have 3 lathes, A Big Nova DVR XP 4 foot long, that can turn 16" dia Huge 100+ lbs blocks of crotch wood, And up to 29" dia on the outboard outrigger for large decorative serving platters, Big clock faces and such. I have a med size Rikon 48" that is my money maker it's set up with a duplicator with carbide cutter, To turn spindles for resorationions of old victorian porches, staircases, etc. I can turn Exact replicas of the old spindles, one right after another pretty quickly. Lots of old home's in my area are being restored = $$. My rod building lathe is like yours but a Jet with no speed control other than the belts, You're going to love that speed control on your lathe!! Good move on that one! I rough turn-shape my cork with Stanley Surform tools, A must have for cork in my book, But that's just me, Just use a light touch they cut fast! then use sandpaper for the final shaping. For wood reel inserts I use the small-med sized carbide tools, Always ready to go when needed, Always sharp, They cut like butter. They're my go-to's. So like Bert suggested meet up with some wood turners in your area, Or Youtube has tons of wood turning how to videos Definitely watch them they are very instructional and free to watch at your convenience. Here a link on turning with carbide tools, Have fun!! You may not realize it but you have a new additive Hobby here. Jaa [www.google.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2016 09:50AM by Jay Dubay.

William,
If you are not turning wood, but only cork and eva, then you really need very little in the way of turning tools other than a Stanley surform file and sand paper.

For light wood, you only need about three tools a gouge, a parting tool and a angled straight edge tool.

I agree that a Jacobs chuck is a good idea as is a live center so that you can put chucks etc. in your live center and have it spin with the work when needed.

By the way, I do a lot of center drilling in various materials. I chuck the material in the head stock chuck and then hold the drill bit or cutting tool in the tail stock. Perfectly centered holes this way. The work spins and the drill bit stays stationary.

One thing that I have also found handy is a 3 ball bearing steady rest that is adjustable sideways as well as up and down to assist in holding long thin pieces from wobble or vibration.



Take care

All of these recommendations are spot on and very true, but the first and foremost tools have not even been mentioned yet. That is those concerned with SAFETY. A good face shield and well as an adequate type of respiration item needs to be strongly considered. All the tools and gadgets you can buy are totally useless if you end up getting hurt in the process.

Ron Weber

Ron is correct, also don't wear loose clothing that can get caught by the spinning chuck.

Safety first is what I learned in construction. The guy I bought the lathe from ended up getting a serious lung infection from turning walnut without dust removal or a mask, he spent 3 weeks in the hospital before it got cleared up. Think if I start out just doing cork and eva and learn from there might be the way to go. I have heard sharpening tools has a learning curve all its own so for now replaceable carbide tips might be the way to go. Any particular brands better then the others?

Bill

William,
I use a 30 or a 42 inch belt sander using various grades of sandpaper to sharpen all of my tools, knives and anything else that needs to be made sharp.

Notice the various grades of sandpaper:

[www.harborfreight.com]

Also the 30 inch belt sander:

[www.harborfreight.com]

Some examples of a 42 inch belt sander:

[www.amazon.com]

An example of a 4 inch belt sander.

[www.amazon.com]

Basically I have a 30 inch, a 42 inch by 1 inch and a 4x36 inch belt sander.

I use each of them for different uses depending on my needs. I have a variety of sanding belts for each sander and use the appropriate one as needed.

Several of the sanders came with 1750 rpm motors when I purchased them. I have replaced all of the 1750 rpm motors with 3600 rpm motors. I find that a light touch on a faster spinning lighter grit paper does a better job than a heavy hand on a coarser sanding belt.

Here is a picture of the rod rest that I use to insure no wobbles on long stock and or when I want to stabilize the end of the work piece for hole drilling.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

A picture of the lathe with the live or revolving tail stock:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Penn State Industries is a good source of quality lathe accessories at a reasonable price:

[www.pennstateind.com]

An example of the live center for the #2 tail stock:
[www.pennstateind.com]

An example of the 5/8th crown head stock drive for a #2 head stock that I use when turning wood grips:

[www.pennstateind.com]

This head stock drive does an excellent job of holding the wood grip when one is nearing the end of the turning project.

An example of the 3 ball bearing steady rest that I made for holding rod blanks when using my full length rod lathe. A rod rest of this design is also the same as the rod rest that I use with my wood lathe to hold and support long and thin work pieces. Since these are metal bearings, I will wrap the work piece with about 3 wraps of masking tape to protect the work piece or rod blank from steel bearing high speed turning damage.

Good luck



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2016 03:25PM by roger wilson.

William learning to properly sharpen your tools can take as much time as learning how to use them , you may want to try Easy Wood Turning tools which have the advantage of changing the insert rather then sharpening the tool.
if at all possible attend ICRBE and attend Morris wood turning classes ,he still gets a better cut using a roughing gouge then me using a skew well worth the trip alone.
If you plan on using a mandrel most likely you are turning cork or EVA a Jacob chuck is really all you need as you should already have a 60 degree center on the tail stock, as stated above Stanley sure form and sandpaper, I do suggest using a turning block with the sandpaper
Word of warning turning can be addictive as rod building have fun SFETY FIRST
John

William,
there are many you tube tutorials on how to build carbide lathe tool at home. If you can build a rod you can build a carbide tool.
they ARE able to be sharpened.
Do not just dispose of them when they get dull. A flat diamond stone, a drop of TREND honing fluid, and 10 seconds is all it takes to get it back to where it should be.
Many videos on how to with that too.
The only time i discard one is when all 4 faces are chipped from hitting very hard metal,
Carbide nicely cuts plastic,copper and aluminum too so think mixing that in to what you are turning. makes interesting reel inserts,grip accents, one off winding checks,or whatever gets into your head to do. Dip in perma gloss after turning a piece and it slows the corrosion down.
Big box home stores carry non ferrous metal tubing in their pluming section on everything from 1/4 in to to around 1 inch which covers most rods most folks build
Look at their couplings, often a fraction of the cost of continuous piping. I make my ferules for larger carbide tools using 3/4 inch copper coupling from home store at 45c each. Use Ash or hickory for the handles: home store carries them as pick or shovel handles for under $10.
The diamond stones for sharpening are about 10- 20$ on the online websites. Many carbide inserts available from them too. Get a few spare carbide insert mounting screws with TORX style heads .Invest in a tap and die set that is AT LEAST HS steel or harder. Use cutting fluid when tapping thread and go slow.
Be warned, turning can be as addictive as rod building.

I found this set of turning tools that I am thinking about ordering- [www.amazon.com]
For me replaceable tips might be the way to go for now.

William,
Very nice tool set.

But, I wonder.

Would you be better off to pick up an inexpensive set of tools to get some practice in, and find out the tools that you really want to use before spending a lot of money on the tools?

For example, this $20 set of tools will let you get familiar with the various tools and will help you make a decision on what you really want for tools:

[www.harborfreight.com]

Yes, I read the comment on getting very nice sharpening equipment, but I have found that the use of the belt sander does a very quick and reasonable job in sharpening the tools that I need for turning.

I also agree that carbide tools are a great way to go when you are really into turning, but to get your feet wet and to understand the basics of turning, the expensive tools are not needed.

Of course a lot depends on the material that you are going to be turning.

Good luck and enjoy.

Roger, it might be worth a trip to HF and check them out, since they are only about 10 miles from my house.

You can do a very adequate job of sharpening your tool with this simple attachment.
[www.pennstateind.com]

Ron,
X10 on the use of the disk sander for sharpening. I use it all of the time for various sharpening tasks.
You can use a rest if needed, but after a short trial, you will find that you can sharpen what you want with nothing more than the disk sander. No real need for a guide.

Be safe