# What more do I need (chisels)?



## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

It was about 6 or 7 years ago that I first got interested in lathe work, and bought and old, and very used Shopsmith. That machine was very problematic, and so short lived, that I really didn't see any mentiionable action with it. The only thing remaining, of that purchase, was a number (5) of chisels that the seller included. I have attached a photo of them, and would like to know what other chisels I would need, in order to give myself a good start - since I have a Jet Mini, now.

Also, I have been trying to find info on how to properly sharpen chisels on a grinder - without, necessarily, utilizing a sharpening jig (money is kinda tight, right now).


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

I would look at buying a Bowl gouge. That's probably the most useful tool in my arsenal of tools. Don't know what you plan to turn. The tools you show are really only good for turning spindles. Not much good for platters or bowls. 
There are lots of ways to sharpen tools. My videos may get you going but I do use jigs. You can of course build them which I did at first. Now I have the factory made ones which I do find better. 
Go to www.youtube.com and type in John60lucas/sharpening and you will find several of my videos.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

It depends on what you plan on turning. If you plan on turning small bowls, I would get a 3/8 bowl gouge. If mostly spindles, I would get a 3/8 spindle gouge and a skew. A parting tool would be useful.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

You don't say what it is that you are keen to try and create, and that's one of the things which will determine what makes sense for you to buy first. 
If you talk a little bit about what you have in your imagination that you would like to make, that will help folks around here make more useful suggestions.

Initially, and especially if you're going to be teaching yourself to sharpen manually, you don't need to buy the top-of-the-line tools for big money. Some of the cheap imports certainly don't have the quality to them which you'll find in the premium brands, but they're plenty good enough in the early going, especially if you're going to be grinding a lot of steel away as you learn to sharpen and turn, and even more especially if money is tight.
Just be sure they're high speed steel. 
Benjamin's Best, or Bodger are a couple of brands to look for online.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

As always, I am so very thankful for the responders who chime in to help me.

As far as WHAT it is that I am focusing on to turn, I'd like to say that I am very broad minded. But, primarily (for now), I am interested in turning bowls, as well as chess pieces. I am aware that a skew chisel seems to be indespinsable, and I had just wondered what else might be advantageous to have. Reading, here, it appears that the next order of business would be in my, also, shelling out for a 3/8" bowl gouge. I will get that. 

I have never been one to lock myself in to one small, specialized area of workmanship. I want to learn how to turn just about anything. The more knowledge, and technique that I can arm myself with, will (in MY way of thinking) serve to heighten my chances of earning some income with my efforts. Not only that, but I truly love the creativity factor that would be involved.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

Yes, a bowl gouge is an enormously versatile tool, and totally the best for bowl work. 
Keep in mind that many vendors/manufacturers list the sizes of bowl gouges according to a different standard than spindle gouges.
Spindle gouges are always measured by the diameter of the bar stock from which they are made, so a 1/2" gouge will be 1/2" in diameter.

Bowl gouges are often measured by the width of the flutes, which in practice means that the gouge will be 1/8" bigger in diameter than the stated size. Thus a 1/2" bowl gouge may well be made from 5/8" bar stock. This confusing arrangement is not universal, so it's best to check with the vendor on a case by case basis.

A good size of bowl gouge to begin with would be one made from 1/2" stock, which might be called a 1/2" bowl gouge in some catalogs and a 3/8" bowl gouge in another.

For your spindle work (chesspieces, say) a small spindle gouge, somewhere in the 1/4" - 3/8" range, will be enormously useful. 
As will a small skew (1/2" or so). The skew is very versatile with probably the steepest learning curve of all turning tools. 

A scraper or two is nice to have as well.

For small work like chesspieces, you'll want a parting tool, but you can make one from an old heavy-duty sawzall blade or something similar.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

9thousandfeet said:


> Yes, a bowl gouge is an enormously versatile tool, and totally the best for bowl work.
> Keep in mind that many vendors/manufacturers list the sizes of bowl gouges according to a different standard than spindle gouges.
> Spindle gouges are always measured by the diameter of the bar stock from which they are made, so a 1/2" gouge will be 1/2" in diameter.
> 
> ...


Very good information, and just the thing that I needed to know.

One other thing, though: regarding manufactured sharpening jigs, which might be the best for me to look into?

I know that I mentioned, earlier, as to how I was aiming at 'free hand sharpening', but methinks that I'd fare much better - without frequent trial and error episodes - WITH a jig.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Although I love my skew I can do 99% of my turning with a 3/8" bowl gouge, a 3/8" spindle gouge, a parting tool, and a spindle roughing gouge. You already have a spindle roughing gouge ( the one with the big U shape).
Newer turners will often use a round nose scraper and flat nose scraper. With those tools I can teach you how to turn anything.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

NLAlston said:


> Very good information, and just the thing that I needed to know. One other thing, though: regarding manufactured sharpening jigs, which might be the best for me to look into? I know that I mentioned, earlier, as to how I was aiming at 'free hand sharpening', but methinks that I'd fare much better - without frequent trial and error episodes - WITH a jig.


 I would highly recommend the Oneway wolverine jig. It can take years to master sharping by hand. With that jig I had useable grinds by the end of the day.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

NLAlston said:


> regarding manufactured sharpening jigs, which might be the best for me to look into?


Yes, using a jig reduces the learning curve dramatically, particularly with the more modern (and more versatile) grinds popularized by people like David Ellsworth. These _can_ be ground free-hand, but it ain't easy and requires substantial practice.

The Oneway system is very popular and hard to beat as a serious upgrade from the pathetic tool rests which come with most bench grinders. 

For sharpening most gouges, you'll want the Oneway Vari-grind jig as well.


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

Depending on what you want to turn, either a 3/8" bowl or spindle gouge.
I do think you will want a skew and parting tool. I would regrind the bottom two scrapers to a skew and parting. You may want scrapers but after 25+ years I reground my initial two scrapers to a parting and skew for my daughter when she started turning. The 25+ years had resulted in about 1/8" shorter length over the years.

Here is a video by Cap'n Eddie on making your own grinding jig.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9RDnJHz9g


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

A chuck would be very useful.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

hwebb99 said:


> A chuck would be very useful.


Morse tapered Jacobs chuck? If that is the one you are referring to, it is most certainly on my list :smile:.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

NCPaladin said:


> Depending on what you want to turn, either a 3/8" bowl or spindle gouge.
> I do think you will want a skew and parting tool. I would regrind the bottom two scrapers to a skew and parting.


NC, thanks for your input - as well as for the provided link. I had seen a couple of videos, from this guy, and really like him. But I had never seen this one. Anxious to check it out right after writing this. 

Regarding my chisels, I know that the photo isn't really that good, but let me kinda describe the bottom two.

The one at the very bottom appears to be a Skew Chisel. The one edge is a wee bit longer than the other, and there is a 'V' shaped edge on the 'business' end.

Next to that is another type of gouge. It has a 5/8" width, but I don't know the difference (yet) between a Bowl gouge, Spindle gouge or Roughing gouge.

I guess you can tell that I haven WHOLE LOT to learn, but I am a sponge - for knowledge, and technique - and am eager to fill my cup as MUCH as I can :smile:.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

NLAlston said:


> Morse tapered Jacobs chuck? If that is the one you are referring to, it is most certainly on my list :smile:.


 No, I was referring to a scroll chuck like a Oneway talon.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

Just to clarify about the Wolverine fixture. By itself, it is rather limited. You also should get the Varigrind jig (not the Varigrind II, but the original Varigrind). Also the skew sharpening jig would be useful, but you could just use the platform. The Varigrind is very useful for grinding swept back profiles on bowl gouges as well as fingernail profiles on spindle gouges. The platform on the Wolverine is useful for scrapers and parting tools and spindle roughing gouges ... all of which are fairly easy to freehand grind.

If nobody has said so yet, use a very light touch when presenting the tool edge to the wheel. These aluminum oxide wheels cut high speed steel much more efficiently than the gray silicon carbide wheels that typically come with grinders. If you don't have aluminum oxide wheels yet, that needs to be your next purchase. I suggest about 40 grit and 80 grit both with a hardness of J or K.

Watching a video on sharpening is almost mandatory.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

Forgot to mention it before now, but at least one of my chisels is a Robert Sorby. I didn't notice anything until I was in the Rockler store, last week, checking out some of his tools - and also paid close attention to his signature. When I returned home I checked the one chisel (skew) which had a partial name still residing there. There was enough there to make out the first name - Robert. The last name had been rubbed away some, by usage, but it could be seen that its first letter showed signs of having the same shape characteristics of the way Mr. Sorby writes the first letter of his last name. I did get a bit excited due to wondering if any of the other four chisels might also be of his line. If there were any signatures stamped on them, they were completely worn away. But they all shared the same handle 'banding' design. That's not really important, because anyone could have turned those handles, and cut those bandings in. 

I've read that his tools were made with a much higher quality of steel, and that they could stand up to more grinding episodes than their cheaper counterparts. 

I will post a pic of the partial signature on the skew, when I get back on my laptop. Can't do it on my iPad, which I am on right now.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

Forgot to mention it before now, but at least one of my chisels is a Robert Sorby. I didn't notice anything until I was in the Rockler store, last week, checking out some of his tools - and also paid close attention to his signature. When I returned home I checked the one chisel (skew) which had a partial name still residing there. There was enough there to make out the first name - Robert. The last name had been rubbed away some, by usage, but it could be seen that its first letter showed signs of having the same shape characteristics of the way Mr. Sorby writes the first letter of his last name. I did get a bit excited due to wondering if any of the other four chisels might also be of his line. If there were any signatures stamped on them, they were completely worn away. But they all shared the same handle 'banding' design. That's not really important, because anyone could have turned those handles, and cut those bandings in. 

I've read that his tools were made with a much higher quality of steel, and that they could stand up to more grinding episodes than their cheaper counterparts. 

I will post a pic of the partial signature on the skew, when I get back on my laptop. Can't do it on my iPad, which I am on right now.


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## cuerodoc (Jan 27, 2012)

I too started on a Shopsmith, and yes---they did have Sorby chisels at one time as their "set".
As for sharpening, check youtube-- You can make your own jigs that will work for a while, that's what I did until I figured out what I wanted to be doing.
The 3/8 bowl gouge is a good start too.

Start with cheap wood so you can experiment with what each chisel does & is a good confidence builder. You don't want to be learning that with the finer woods you pick for your projects.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

cuerodoc said:


> I too started on a Shopsmith, and yes---they did have Sorby chisels at one time as their "set".
> As for sharpening, check youtube-- You can make your own jigs that will work for a while, that's what I did until I figured out what I wanted to be doing.
> The 3/8 bowl gouge is a good start too.
> 
> Start with cheap wood so you can experiment with what each chisel does & is a good confidence builder. You don't want to be learning that with the finer woods you pick for your projects.


Thanks.

Regarding shopmade jigs, I ran across another video which showed a jig that I liked even better than another one, which had caught my fancy. That video is located here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sfmIv0iXjis

If I actually do make this one, it will likely be constructed totally out of hardwood. I would have to modify it, some, because his chisel entry hole would be too small to accommodate a few of my tools.

Yes, I know what you mean about practicing on cheaper wood. I had bought a 2"x4" and cross cut a number of 6" sections from it. After that, I ripped each of those sections in half, giving me stock to practice turning some short spindles on. 

Now, I don't know if it was the wood (Pine), dull chisels, or lack of proper technique. But I could never seem to gain really smooth results. Parts of my turning WOULD be somewhat smooth, but there was also a great deal of imperfections. Is Pine, being a softwood, characteristic of that?


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

How about some pictures? They tell a lot more than words unless you use a lot of words. My guess is that you are experiencing the same thing that every beginner does: torn grain from using a spindle gouge like a scraper and possibly some catches.


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## NLAlston (Jan 11, 2008)

Bill Boehme said:


> How about some pictures? They tell a lot more than words unless you use a lot of words. My guess is that you are experiencing the same thing that every beginner does: torn grain from using a spindle gouge like a scraper and possibly some catches.


Yes, I kinda figured that it may have been attributed to something that I was doing wrong.

Next time, I WILL take pics.


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