Amazon is going hog wild with prices these days. As it pertains to this
forum:

JET Mini Lathe $199
Bed Extension $39
Stand $103.99

Less $25 discount for spending $199 or more on JET. No tax withheld and
free shipping.

I bought the lathe and extension three weeks ago from them for $219 +
$49. I'm hoping to get price protection refund.

I know some others are shopping for these now and might find the
pricing favorable.

Delta pricing may be similar.

Yeah, I bought it for $249 (-$25) and saw it for $219 later and got the
$30 difference. However, their price changes daily (hourly ?) so
catching the lower price can be a bit time consuming. It is now $237 (
as of 12/16, ~ 4PM) so I guess I won't get the other $20. Oh well.


robdingnagian1 wrote:
Amazon is going hog wild with prices these days. As it pertains to
this
forum:

JET Mini Lathe $199
Bed Extension $39
Stand $103.99

Less $25 discount for spending $199 or more on JET. No tax withheld
and
free shipping.

I bought the lathe and extension three weeks ago from them for $219 +
$49. I'm hoping to get price protection refund.

I know some others are shopping for these now and might find the
pricing favorable.

Delta pricing may be similar.

Hi Barry,

Congratulations on your new lathe. Here's what I recommend for your
first tools. This list isn't cast in stone, it's just a place to
start.
1. 3/8" Spindle Gouge ($25)
2. 3/8" Bowl Gouge ($30)
3. 1/2" square end scraper ($23)
4. 1/2" round nose scraper ($23)
5. Thin Parting Tool ($24)

Woodturners are a generous and open group. Find a local chapter of the
American Association of Woodturners. Check out their website
www.woodturner.org. Although I am a diehard do-it-yourselfer and had
been a woodworker for 20 years, I took a class when I started turning.
After almost ten years of turning, I look back at the initial lessons
as one of the best decisions I made. It opened a whole new world and
deepened the enjoyment a whole bunch.

A good source for tools is Packard Woodworking
(www.packardwoodworks.com). This is a smallish family-run business,
but big enough so they have a nice catalog, good inventory and prices,
great customer service, and an insider's knowledge about the selection
of tools (the owner is a turner).

By the way, the least expensive tools are carbon steel - don't waste
your money as carbon tools become dull very quickly. Start with basic
HHS (high speed steel), or maybe one of the offshoots, such as M2
steel. Stay with the cheaper tools made from these materials. There
are wonderful advances in metallurgy that produces tools that are
wonderful (Glaser tools, Oneway, 2060) but expensive. As a newbie, you
will spend a while getting the hang of putting a good cutting edge on
the tool. This means you will be grinding away on your learning curve.
No sense having expensive metal filings from a fancy tool under your
grinding wheel. Reward yourself with tool upgrades as your skills
develop.

There are many great books and videos (VHS and DVDs). Pace yourself.
Spend time at the lathe just making shavings. Observe how the cutting
edge separates the shavings from the block. Try different positions
and angles. Find a teacher--it's a lot more fun than trial and error.
Many techniques are not intuitive or obvious. Allow the bevel to
lightly rub against the wood.

Protect yourself. Please please do not skimp or be casual about
safety. Get a good face shield and use it 100% of the time (Face
shield goes ON before lathe goes ON). When sanding, wear a respirator
too--it makes a noticable difference even if you just spend a few
minutes sanding.

All the best, John H.

Hi Barry,

Congratulations on your new lathe. Here's what I recommend for your
first tools. This list isn't cast in stone, it's just a place to
start.
1. 3/8" Spindle Gouge ($25)
2. 3/8" Bowl Gouge ($30)
3. 1/2" square end scraper ($23)
4. 1/2" round nose scraper ($23)
5. Thin Parting Tool ($24)

Woodturners are a generous and open group. Find a local chapter of the
American Association of Woodturners. Check out their website
www.woodturner.org. Although I am a diehard do-it-yourselfer and had
been a woodworker for 20 years, I took a class when I started turning.
After almost ten years of turning, I look back at the initial lessons
as one of the best decisions I made. It opened a whole new world and
deepened the enjoyment a whole bunch.

A good source for tools is Packard Woodworking
(www.packardwoodworks.com). This is a smallish family-run business,
but big enough so they have a nice catalog, good inventory and prices,
great customer service, and an insider's knowledge about the selection
of tools (the owner is a turner).

By the way, the least expensive tools are carbon steel - don't waste
your money as carbon tools become dull very quickly. Start with basic
HHS (high speed steel), or maybe one of the offshoots, such as M2
steel. Stay with the cheaper tools made from these materials. There
are wonderful advances in metallurgy that produces tools that are
wonderful (Glaser tools, Oneway, 2060) but expensive. As a newbie, you
will spend a while getting the hang of putting a good cutting edge on
the tool. This means you will be grinding away on your learning curve.
No sense having expensive metal filings from a fancy tool under your
grinding wheel. Reward yourself with tool upgrades as your skills
develop.

There are many great books and videos (VHS and DVDs). Pace yourself.
Spend time at the lathe just making shavings. Observe how the cutting
edge separates the shavings from the block. Try different positions
and angles. Find a teacher--it's a lot more fun than trial and error.
Many techniques are not intuitive or obvious. Allow the bevel to
lightly rub against the wood.

Protect yourself. Please please do not skimp or be casual about
safety. Get a good face shield and use it 100% of the time (Face
shield goes ON before lathe goes ON). When sanding, wear a respirator
too--it makes a noticable difference even if you just spend a few
minutes sanding.

All the best, John H.

The ones in a normal set. Parting tool, roughing gouge, spindle gouge, skew
and scraper. Add a bowl gouge if you're going to reach and give leverage.

As often discussed, carbon steel sets are available at reasonable prices and
finishes, HSS only modestly higher. The one thing you may have to do with
inexpensive sets is take the sharp edges left on the shafts by grinding.

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
...

Can anyone recommend some tools for a newbie as I wait for delivery?

I don't necessarily want a "set", just as I've never bought a set of
router bits.

What do you folks consider the first 4-5 turning tools to buy?

Thanks,
Barry

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 07:03:41 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:

The ones in a normal set. Parting tool, roughing gouge, spindle gouge,
skew
and scraper. Add a bowl gouge if you're going to reach and give leverage.

As often discussed, carbon steel sets are available at reasonable prices
and
finishes, HSS only modestly higher. The one thing you may have to do with
inexpensive sets is take the sharp edges left on the shafts by grinding.

Thanks, George.
===============================
Barry,
I'll probably open a can of worms here, but I'd recommend that you get a set
of the "el cheapo" carbon steel tools from Harbor Freight for around $12.00
USD. They're not very good, and won't last long, but they will make you
learn to sharpen properly, because they don't hold their edge well. In order
to turn, you'll need to go back to the grinding wheel every few minutes to
touch up the edge. You'll grind off a lot of steel before you get the hang
of sharpening properly. When you feel that you have the sharpening thing
down, go back to Harbor Freight for their High Speed Steel set at around
$40.00 USD. That is a serviceable set that should last you a long while.
You'll also need a bowl gouge (not included in the set), if you intend to
much bowl work, and a few home made, or speciality tools as the need arises.
This way you won't waste most of a set of HSS tools learning to sharpen.
Others disagree, but that's my opinion, FWIW.

Ken Moon
Webberrville, TX

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 13:34:01 GMT, B A R R Y
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 05:56:16 GMT, "Ken Moon"
wrote:

This way you won't waste most of a set of HSS tools learning to sharpen.
Others disagree, but that's my opinion, FWIW.

I'm a relatively experienced woodworker and pretty good at sharpening
my hand tools. Sharpening lathe tools dosen't look all that different
from sharpening the bench, mortise, swan neck, and skew chisels that I
already own.

Am I missing something? If so, the HF idea makes a lot of sense.

Thanks!
Barry

my wife used to own a sharpening shop, sharpening saw blades, chain
saws, machete, axes, restaurant knives.. bout anything that needed
sharpening..
It took her 2 or 3 tries to sharpen my lathe chisels.. especially
since I've been butchering them for 20 years..
What worked best was to get the $9.00 set of HF chisels for her to
look at.. so she know what mine were supposed to be.. angles, edges,
etc..
I am NOT a good sharpener, so I'm going by what she said... that lathe
chisels were harder than saw blades or other tools... and the one that
she had the most trouble with, the skew, was the one that I thought
would be easiest..

BTW.. if you're going to HF, I recommend the 3 piece mini chisel set
for $10.. the bowl gouge didn't impress me, the small skew is deadly
sharp and still is after 2 days of my playing with it and the cheap,
tinny looking parting tool is really very handy.. and somehow stays
pretty sharp..