I am relatively new to the wood turning craft..That being said i bought
a lathe that i could afford at the time as well as tools that that
weren't premium.Both have worked quite well in getting me addicted to
the flying wood shavings .As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .The lathe will be upgraded once i can
afford that but i think that it will take quite a bit of time for me
save the amount needed for what those lathes bring.Any advice would be
greatly appreciated..


Thanks,
Jesse

Hello Jesse,

There are several companies that make good tools: Robert Sorby, Crown
Tools, Hamlet Tools, Henry Taylor, and Ashley Iles. Tools by any of
those companies will be good. I would also recommend that you purchase
high speed steel tools. They hold an edge longer than regular carbon
steel tools and are less likely to be destroyed by overheating when
you are sharpening. I own tools made by each of these companies and
they are all good. One of my favorite tools over the years was a
Robert Sorby 3/8" spindle gouge. I simply wore it out until there was
no more flute.

At the end of my lathe today, I have a 1/2" Crown Roughing gouge, a
1/2" Hamlet ASP 2060 spindle gouge, an Ashley Iles 3/16" Diamond
Parting tool, and two Hamlet skew chisels, 1/2" and 3/4" with rolled
edges. This covers most spindle work that I do. For bowls, I have
three 5/8" bowl gouges with the David Ellsworth grind on them and a
1/2" bowl gouge with the David Ellsworth grind on it. I probably have
50 to 100 other tools accumulated over the years that are used
occasionally for special purposes. Virtually all of these tools were
made by one of the companies mentioned.

I hope this helps you a bit.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

On Mar 28, 3:49 pm, Jesse wrote:
I am relatively new to the wood turning craft..That being said i bought
a lathe that i could afford at the time as well as tools that that
weren't premium.Both have worked quite well in getting me addicted to
the flying wood shavings .As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .The lathe will be upgraded once i can
afford that but i think that it will take quite a bit of time for me
save the amount needed for what those lathes bring.Any advice would be
greatly appreciated..

Thanks,
Jesse

Hi Jesse

Fred already gave you a number of good toolmaker names, I will add the
P&N Professional tools as a very good name also.
They do come unhandeled, so you don't have to pay for expensive
handles, and get a good turning exercise making handles for them.
As for what kind of tools to buy, I think you already know which tools
you use most, and I would just replace a few of those with the better
ones.
Here's a link to the tools, and they sell more brands, so you can
compare prices also.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,330&p=49138

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


On Mar 28, 7:49 pm, Jesse wrote:
I am relatively new to the wood turning craft..That being said i bought
a lathe that i could afford at the time as well as tools that that
weren't premium.Both have worked quite well in getting me addicted to
the flying wood shavings .As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .The lathe will be upgraded once i can
afford that but i think that it will take quite a bit of time for me
save the amount needed for what those lathes bring.Any advice would be
greatly appreciated..

Thanks,
Jesse

On Mar 28, 7:15 pm, "
wrote:
Hi Jesse

Fred already gave you a number of good toolmaker names, I will add the
P&N Professional tools as a very good name also.
They do come unhandeled, so you don't have to pay for expensive
handles, and get a good turning exercise making handles for them.
As for what kind of tools to buy, I think you already know which tools
you use most, and I would just replace a few of those with the better
ones.
Here's a link to the tools, and they sell more brands, so you can
compare prices also.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,330&p=49138

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

On Mar 28, 7:49 pm, Jesse wrote:



I am relatively new to the wood turning craft..That being said i bought
a lathe that i could afford at the time as well as tools that that
weren't premium.Both have worked quite well in getting me addicted to
the flying wood shavings .As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .The lathe will be upgraded once i can
afford that but i think that it will take quite a bit of time for me
save the amount needed for what those lathes bring.Any advice would be
greatly appreciated..

Thanks,
Jesse- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Good advice from Fred and Leo. But here's another take.

Keep turning for a while longer, and really get the feel for the tools
you have. I mean really get confident.

Then if you can, borrow someone else's tools. Do they feel better or
worse than yours? Do they cut better? Can you do the operations that
you are completely familiar with (with all that practice!) easier,
leaving a better surface with their tools?

If so, then you helping define what you want in a tool. Like Fred, I
have one from this guy, one from that guy, and so on. I love my Henry
Taylor 3/8 bowl gouge, and my Henry Taylor 1/2 spindle gouge. But I
really like my Robert Sorby roughing gouge, and my Robert Sorby
Continental gouge.

But I use a really cheap HSS 3/8 spindle gouge for my spindle work. I
love this thing - it stays sharp, and it has a really, really shallow
flute on it so I can put a long nose on the grind without worrying
about goofing up my cutting angle.

Try some tools, see which ones you like, buy those. Don't buy a set
unless you are convinced that you like every tool in the set. Spend
the money on these new tools and get good ones, handled or unhandled,
and you will have a good investment. Mine have lasted me a
unexpectedy long time.

Robert

On Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:49:09 GMT, Jesse
wrote:

I am relatively new to the wood turning craft..That being said i bought
a lathe that i could afford at the time as well as tools that that
weren't premium.Both have worked quite well in getting me addicted to
the flying wood shavings .As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .The lathe will be upgraded once i can
afford that but i think that it will take quite a bit of time for me
save the amount needed for what those lathes bring.Any advice would be
greatly appreciated..

Hi Jesse,

I don't know exactly how far you're looking to upgrade, and how much
money you've got to spend- but I have got a set of eight chisels made
by Delta that came with my Midi lathe as part of a promotion. While
they are not the absolute best tools that money can buy, they are
really pretty good, and I have done a lot of turning with them. The
come with nice long handles and flues, and take a nice sharp edge- and
that's about what a guy needs.

IIRC, the set retails for right around $100, and includes three
gouges, two skew chisels, two scrapers and a parting tool. The set
has been serving me very well for several years now, and you can
hardly beat the price compared to many of the others.

"Jesse" wrote in message
ink.net...
..As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are better
quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the multitude of
companies out there .

Spend some time sharpening and using the ones you have. Tools, no matter
whose name is on them, won't cut the wood on their own. Too many people out
there think that proficiency lies in the "right" grind and the "right"
alloy. Probably why there are so many different ones in both categories.
Keep your rest up there close to protect yourself from accidents and work
some different angles with your current grinds. The idea of using someone
else's is excellent. If you've got a turner around, do it. With luck s/he
won't have the same brand tool and jig you do, and you might find something
more to your style. Of course, you might find your style is better, and
save the price of the steel finding out!

I'm in the market for a good carbon set right now, because three of the
tools I've been using the last twenty-five years are so short in the tooth
that I hit the toolrest with the ferrule on some cuts. Ashley Isles still
makes some, and in the patterns of the old ones, the cheapest, thinnest,
sharpest most useful tools in my inventory. They do the final cuts.

Jesse
I agree with most of the others here. (Frightening thought for them but
true.:-)) Learn to use what you have and gradually buy or make more. I have
some tools that just collect dust and a few I use all the time. Some are the
first ones I had and some are ones I have made and some I have bought. Quite
a few are tools I made for a singular purpose and are brought out for that
when it arises.

Note that good steel is relatively cheap and easy to come by, especially for
the manufacturers of the tools. Doubting that few if any make their own
steel, it is what they do with it that counts. Most follow tried and true
forms of chisels, gouges, scrapers and parting tools. Hence many of the
"beginner" sets are great buys for the money. What you can not buy is
practice and experience. That you have to provide and that is what turns a
good tool into a great one.

One thing I think all beginners should do is buy or make a sharpening jig.
That will make all the difference in your tools, cuts, and enjoyment.

By the way, this group is a great tool as well. Use it as much as you like.
We may be opinionated, but over all a pretty good bunch. (Funny, my arm
feels as sore as if I had patted myself on the back?)

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com

One more thing Jesse - Darrell is being modest.

As I have said many times in the past, get a cup of coffee and got to
Darrell's site.
There are other good ones here too, but none I can think of that would
serve the beginning turner nearly as well.

It has (and does!) serve some of us quite well that have been grinding
wood for a while, too!

http://www.aroundthewoods.com

Also, learn to search the archives of this group. The amount of info
on everything from finishing, tool and lathe review, to cutting blanks
is incredible. And the best thing - no waiting on answers.

Robert

On Mar 28, 6:49 pm, Jesse wrote:
. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are
better quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the
multitude of companies out there .

I've had great experience with Sorby tools. I've tried others, but
the Sorbys are the ones lined up on the wall over my lathe.