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Rod:

All the tools have gotten so expensive I take a really good look at
them before I buy anything. New stuff comes out all the time (although
this tool has been around for years) that is shown as something we must
buy, something we have to have or we aren't even in the game.
Woodturning is no longer a cheap activity, and for most the cost of the
lathe is the cheapest part of the deal if you add up all the chucks,
chisels, buffing stuff, finishes, sandpaper, hollowing stuff, specialty
tools, additional faceplates, and on an on.

And the farther I get along this path, the fewer tools I use. I have a
lot of tools, some I made, some I bought, some are excellent quality,
some are not too good, and some were aquired as part of other purchases
when the business was going away. But in reality, I only use about 5
of 80-90 tools I own. My original Delta set from 1996 or '97 hasn't
seen the light of day in years.

When I demo or teach, I really try to stress that people use the tools
they have to their fullest capacity, and not be afraid to make their
own tools, a la Feltmate. Since the lathe tools are incredibly hard to
completely ruin (although when deep hollowing I did get a catch from a
loose knot that bent my gouge about 2 inches!) you should experiment
with wild abandon with stance, presentation, and intent. Learning to
use the tools one probably already has will save an awful lot of $$$.

Robert
============================
Robert,
Your opinion is similar to mine and a lot of others on this group. I started
off with the $6.00 (on sale) HF tool set. With that I learned to sharpen,
then found out how reshaping would affect the cut, them made some of my own,
and finally, after the soft carbon steel tools were worn to a nub, I
upgraded to a HSS set. I found thru all this that bowl gouges, chucks, and a
lot of the "essential" trools we see in all the catalogs, are luxuries (but
nice to have). After you understand that turning is all about getting a
piece of steel into position to cut a piece of wood, then the special
purpose tools should be evaluated on this basis. I know that George can use
one of his "pointy gouges" to turn most anything but a deep hollow form, and
Darrell can do pretty much the same thing with an Oland tool.

A lot of the things a texturing tool does could probably be done with a
stripped down grinding wheel dresser with some modification and
experimentation. A chatter tool can be made by using a HSS steel hack saw
blade. A couple of pieces of drill rod can give you several different tools.
A 1/4 or 3/8 in. mortising chisel becomes a workable bedan, and on and on.
Purpose built tools are nice to have, but they should be evaluated against a
"Do I really need it?", "Can I do the same thing with something I already
have?", "Can I build a similar device for 5-10% of cost of the commercial
product?" and most important, "Do I want to be the first kid on the block to
have this thing?". If the answer to the last question is 'Yes", forget all
the previous and go get one! FWIW

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.