I've seen a number of turning demos. One thing that strikes me is the
number of turners that have a huge selection of chisels. Each has a
different grind or a different use.

At the prices I've seen anywhere I could easily spend as much on chisels
as a really good lathe.

Some of those that have lots of chisels claim to make their own. How?
Are they buying just steel rods and cutting a flute?

All I know is that at the typical $70-$90 that even mailorder stores
want I'll never own more than just a couple.

Try Packardwoodworks.com I really like the Packard bowl gouges they have and
they are very well priced...I have or have turned with every big name gouge
out there and Packard is what I use for most of my turning tools. Any of
the packard tool are a good deal in my opinion.

Jim
"william kossack" wrote in message
...
I've seen a number of turning demos. One thing that strikes me is the
number of turners that have a huge selection of chisels. Each has a
different grind or a different use.

At the prices I've seen anywhere I could easily spend as much on chisels
as a really good lathe.

Some of those that have lots of chisels claim to make their own. How? Are
they buying just steel rods and cutting a flute?

All I know is that at the typical $70-$90 that even mailorder stores want
I'll never own more than just a couple.

"william kossack" wrote in message
...
I've seen a number of turning demos. One thing that strikes me is the
number of turners that have a huge selection of chisels. Each has a
different grind or a different use.

At the prices I've seen anywhere I could easily spend as much on chisels
as a really good lathe.

Some of those that have lots of chisels claim to make their own. How? Are
they buying just steel rods and cutting a flute?

All I know is that at the typical $70-$90 that even mailorder stores want
I'll never own more than just a couple.

Neat thing about owning a number of tools is that the wear and tear is
spread among them, so they really don't have to be the latest and greatest
alloy. I still have some really stubby carbon steel tools that came with
Ol' Blue twenty five years ago. They make the last and finest cuts for me,
within their capability, and then go back on the rack. The big roughing
gouge gets used on every turning, so he gets a bunch of sharpening. Might
be worth spending a bit more to get a good one of them, as well as a good
interior-hogging bowl gouge. For the rest, let the gift-giving occasions
take care of you. I have a "dad shopping" folder of URLs myself, don't know
how it works at your house.

Don't be afraid to practice with the factory grind. Just make sure it's not
what you want before you start altering it. After you're convinced you've
got what suits you in Harbor Freight quality, it's time to consider if you'd
be better served by Sorby, Crown or Taylor.

James wrote:
Try Packardwoodworks.com I really like the Packard bowl gouges they have and
they are very well priced...I have or have turned with every big name gouge
out there and Packard is what I use for most of my turning tools. Any of
the packard tool are a good deal in my opinion.

And they are nice people to deal with. I have nothing but good to say
about my experiences with Packard.

William,

Being new to turning myself and not sure if it was something I would love
and do for a long time, I told the advice from other guys in this NG and
started with a set of spindle turning tools from Harbor Freight,
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47066 or
this set from Penn State Ind., http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lchss8.html
.. I soon wanted to try my hand at bowl turning and got this set from Penn
State, http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lcbt4.html. They are not the top of
the line but have done the job for me while I'm learning and I was not
afraid to learn how to sharpen on them because of the cost.

I hope this helps.

John



"william kossack" wrote in message
...
I've seen a number of turning demos. One thing that strikes me is the
number of turners that have a huge selection of chisels. Each has a
different grind or a different use.

At the prices I've seen anywhere I could easily spend as much on chisels
as a really good lathe.

Some of those that have lots of chisels claim to make their own. How? Are
they buying just steel rods and cutting a flute?

All I know is that at the typical $70-$90 that even mailorder stores want
I'll never own more than just a couple.

All the tools in the world will not make you a turner, let alone a good turner. I have seen superb work done with the minimum number of chisels (ie one) and rubbish work done by a "turner" who had so many tools they could not easily be counted.

For what it's worth, my advice is to start with a very basic set, get advice from whoever is teaching you to turn and try the tools he/she advises before you buy. Buying a well-known brand may seem expensive but then there are lots of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing!

Hum, looked at the site. In fact had the link.

Their prices are about the same as other sources. I've purchased a few
items from them in the past primarily after doing some price comparisons
but for the 1/2 inch bowl gouge their price is the same as the local
woodcraft or rocklers

Harry Pye wrote:
James wrote:

Try Packardwoodworks.com I really like the Packard bowl gouges they
have and they are very well priced...I have or have turned with every
big name gouge out there and Packard is what I use for most of my
turning tools. Any of the packard tool are a good deal in my opinion.


And they are nice people to deal with. I have nothing but good to say
about my experiences with Packard.

what is making me want to get a couple more is a desire to try some
different grinds. I have sorby etc. The thing that stops me from
getting an extra gouge is the high price.

Tony the Turner wrote:
All the tools in the world will not make you a turner, let alone a good
turner. I have seen superb work done with the minimum number of
chisels (ie one) and rubbish work done by a "turner" who had so many
tools they could not easily be counted.

For what it's worth, my advice is to start with a very basic set, get
advice from whoever is teaching you to turn and try the tools he/she
advises before you buy. Buying a well-known brand may seem expensive
but then there are lots of people who know the price of everything and
the value of nothing!

Bill, try www.seriouslathe.com They have first class tools. For example,
the 5/8" bowl gouge is $45. You will have to turn a handle for them, but
that is no chore. And the flutes on their gouges are all 9" long, meaning
the tools will last a very long time. However, if you get 1/4" diameter
tools, cut the flute down to about half length, otherwise it will be too
flexible. No need for a 9" flute on a 1/4" gouge!!

Regards, James Johnson

George George@least wrote:


: Neat thing about owning a number of tools is that the wear and tear is
: spread among them, so they really don't have to be the latest and greatest
: alloy. I still have some really stubby carbon steel tools that came with
: Ol' Blue twenty five years ago. They make the last and finest cuts for me,
: within their capability, and then go back on the rack.


Second the motion on carbon steel, non-HSS tools for finish cutting.
I like http://www.diefenbacher.com for inexpensive but good ones.


-- Andy Barss

In article ,
"JRJohnson" wrote:

Bill, try www.seriouslathe.com They have first class tools. For example,
the 5/8" bowl gouge is $45. You will have to turn a handle for them, but
that is no chore. And the flutes on their gouges are all 9" long, meaning
the tools will last a very long time. However, if you get 1/4" diameter
tools, cut the flute down to about half length, otherwise it will be too
flexible. No need for a 9" flute on a 1/4" gouge!!

I will second the Serious brand tools - keep in mind though, that these
are A-2 steel. not high speed M-2 steel. What this means is that you can
alter the hardness if you overheat the metal while grinding.

Secondly, and a peeve of mine with the new owners of Serious, is that
the prices on the web site are NOT the current prices. I emailed Serious
in April of this year:

"Was looking over your tooling section and noticed that the prices
indicated in a few of the pictures - specifically, the camlock handles
and the deep-fluted gouges - don't match the price list I rec'd at the
Northwest Woodturners meeting when Scott Trumbo visited. Since there is
no other pricing information on your website I believe you may be
scaring off some with prices more than actual (3/4" handle: web - $125;
2006 price sheet - $89.95) or misleading others with gouges that have
increased from the prices pictured."

Unfortunately I can't locate Scott's reply but it was on the order of,
"we just have too many things to do at the moment to revamp and update
the website" (since the prices are part of the image file). A lame
excuse as I believe Bernie Mares sold Serious about a year or so ago.
Too bad, because the site is certainly jumbled and doesn't help to sell
any of the tools or their lathe. At the very least they could make the
2006 price list available for download.

Anyway... here are the '06 prices for the deep-fluted gouges:

1/4" - $25.00 5/16" - $28.75 3/8" - 31.25
1/2" - $47.50 5/8" - $56.25 3/4" - 62.50
7/8" - $68.75 1" - $75.00

I recently picked up a 5/8" to go in the "Serious Camlock Handle"
($89.95) and I like both very much. I've also got their 3/8" and 7/8"
gouges plus about 3 or 4 HD scrapers.

I'd be happy to cite a few other prices as long as it doesn't become a
full time job - or Serious starts sending me tools for my efforts.

--
Owen Lowe

Northwest Woodturners
Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild
___
Tips fer Turnin': Place a sign, easily seen as you switch on your lathe, warning you to remove any and all rings from your fingers. Called degloving, extended hardware can grab your ring and rip it off your finger. A pic for the strong of stomach: www.itim.nsw.gov.au/go/objectid/2A3AC703-1321-1C29-70B067DC88E16BFC/index.cfm

Besides, rings can easily mar the surface of a turning as you check for finished smoothness.

On Thu, 25 May 2006 21:13:04 -0600, william kossack
wrote:

I've seen a number of turning demos. One thing that strikes me is the
number of turners that have a huge selection of chisels. Each has a
different grind or a different use.

At the prices I've seen anywhere I could easily spend as much on chisels
as a really good lathe.

Some of those that have lots of chisels claim to make their own. How?
Are they buying just steel rods and cutting a flute?

All I know is that at the typical $70-$90 that even mailorder stores
want I'll never own more than just a couple.

Yeah, a lot of folks have a lot of chisels. Seems like too much stuff
to keep track of to me, but that's just an opinion. I've got these
ones, and they're fine for my goofing around

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013

No, they're not the best- but they're not the worst, either. But the
best thing about them is that you get eight tools for the price of one
really spiffy one. Good for a guy on a budget, or for starting out-
they'll all take a beating pretty well, with the possible exception of
the 1/4" spindle gouge I managed to bend when using it as a hollowing
tool. Then again, I doubt it was intended for deep hollowing... and
it still works after I straightened it out.

"JRJohnson" wrote in message
...
Bill, try www.seriouslathe.com They have first class tools. For example,
the 5/8" bowl gouge is $45. You will have to turn a handle for them, but
that is no chore. And the flutes on their gouges are all 9" long, meaning
the tools will last a very long time. However, if you get 1/4" diameter
tools, cut the flute down to about half length, otherwise it will be too
flexible. No need for a 9" flute on a 1/4" gouge!!


I'd just bore a longer hole in the handle, personally.

Serious is still in business? The A2 monster I got from them has proven an
excellent tool, though at 1", he was meant for hogging only. Very
difficult to maneuver a 1" gouge in a 3" gap.

As to sharpening, no reason in the world to press so hard you'd heat even a
carbon gouge to freshen an edge. Maybe that's why I still have steel after
25 years on the freebies....

In article , "George" George@least
wrote:

Serious is still in business?

Yep. Bought out by a couple fellows in central OR.
http://www.seriouslathe.com/

--
Owen Lowe

Northwest Woodturners
Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild
___
Tips fer Turnin': Place a sign, easily seen as you switch on your lathe, warning you to remove any and all rings from your fingers. Called degloving, extended hardware can grab your ring and rip it off your finger. A pic for the strong of stomach: www.itim.nsw.gov.au/go/objectid/2A3AC703-1321-1C29-70B067DC88E16BFC/index.cfm

Besides, rings can easily mar the surface of a turning as you check for finished smoothness.

Those are some nasty pictures.


Owen Lowe wrote:
In article , "George" George@least
wrote:

Serious is still in business?

Yep. Bought out by a couple fellows in central OR.
http://www.seriouslathe.com/

--
Owen Lowe

Northwest Woodturners
Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild
___
Tips fer Turnin': Place a sign, easily seen as you switch on your lathe, warning you to remove any and all rings from your fingers. Called degloving, extended hardware can grab your ring and rip it off your finger. A pic for the strong of stomach: www.itim.nsw.gov.au/go/objectid/2A3AC703-1321-1C29-70B067DC88E16BFC/index.cfm

Besides, rings can easily mar the surface of a turning as you check for finished smoothness.