I started my woodworking career doing picture framing. The next step was building furniture—shelving, then kit reproduction furniture. Finally, about Y2K, we went to Arrowmont on a Woodturning Elderhostel. Cil insisted I learn how to use a lathe properly before I bought one. Good thing, too, because I made most of the major mistakes and some of the minor ones in that week.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated many tools, from chisels to machinery.  What I have found is that the tools you own determine how easy it is to complete a project. Example: You can flatten a surface using a hand plane and hand-sanding in a day, or in 10 minutes using an electric planer and a belt sander.

As an experienced wood turner, here’s my list of the essentials.

For bowl-turning and spindle making, start with a midi lathe. If you are sure you want to be a versatile, full-service turner, make the big step to a full-size lathe with at least 16” swing and 40” bed.

Get a drill press. A table-top press is OK, but the quill length is limited to about 2.5”. Next, a bandsaw. A 14” unit is
the useful minimum size. You may want to add a riser block for the ability to resaw wider boards, or section bigger logs.

Those are the minimum machine tools for easily making a variety of turnings. A good table saw is the next step up. Segmented turning practically requires a well -made table saw to reliably and accurately cut angles.

I have many gouges in my collection.  Fortunately, I have been able to bring them into my new workshop. If I had to
downsize my collection, here’s my priority list:

• A 1/2” bowl gouge.
• A 1.25” skew.
• A 3/8” detail gouge.
• A 1/8” parting gouge.
• A 1” flat scraper.
• A 1” half-round scraper. Both scrapers should be as heavy as possible.
• A 1” spindle roughing tool.

That’s it– the bare minimum.

For making pens, you need a pen mandrel and special tailstock fitting.  There are a number of very helpful additions. There are ways of holding pen blanks for initial drilling. I prefer a dedicated pen-blank vise, clamped to the table
of my drill press. You also need a set of barrel trimming cutters and guides.

As you gain experience and develop your personal style and signature shapes, more tools become more important. You may end up with several bowl gouges, some of different sizes, some simply ground to different angles. I have one gouge ground almost flat, used for the inside bottom of bowls. There’s another one I use for finishing cuts.

I would recommend staying away from specialized tools unless you have a real use for them. As an example, I have
some beading tools. I can cut a bead in seconds with one of them. Does it save time? Not really. By the time I walk over to my tool rack, find the beading tool and get back to my lathe, I could have cut two beads with my detail gouge or my skew, whichever I happened to be holding. The advantage of the beading tool is that I can consistently make beads of the exact same size each time.

Carbide tools can be useful additions, or as substitutes for your HSS tools. The advantage to a carbide tool is that they stay sharp. I need to experiment more with my carbide tools to see if they actually do the jobs my other tools do.

Have fun doing woodwork. Every aspect has its triumphs. Cutting, sanding, finishing, decorating each can be a source of pride. And you can spend as little or as much as you are comfortable with to get good results.

Well, I’ve got to get downstairs and get MY shop in order!

Arny

Last modified: June 10, 2018