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New to turning, Tools ?

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Maca:
I started turning just over a year ago so won't try to give you advice but I will tell you what I did, and what I think was right and what was wrong. 

Firstly I bought a lathe which wasn't suited to what I wanted to do.  It was a good machine and worked the way it should have but the slowest speed was too fast to do bigger bowls and the swing over the bed wasn't enough.  It had spindle capacity of 1000mm  which is fine if you want to turn spindles but I didn't, I'm more for the short stuff.  I ended up selling my lathe and buying a second hand one from Paul Hannaby (AWGB).  Just having the right lathe made a massive difference to me. 

I bought a chainsaw.  If you are processing your own logs I think this is essential.  If you are buying blanks it isn't.  Personally I've never bought a blank, all my wood comes from local sources around where I live.  I also bought a Triton Superjaw clamp which is brilliant. 

I bought a small bandsaw which at the time I thought was sufficient as a friend had a bigger one and he said I could use it any time I want but you soon feel awkward asking all the time so ended up buying a bigger one which was second hand off gumtree. 

As for chisels, I only own two bowl gouges, 3/8" and 1/2" Axminster ones, and a parting tool.  I tend to use the 1/2" one most.  Sometimes the 3/8" one on smaller stuff and tighter concave faces.  For sharpening I bought a cheap bench grinder with Aluminium Oxide wheel which I want to upgrade as its sometimes hard to get the chisels sharp without getting lines on them which then transfer to tool marks on the wood.  And I bought sharpening jig from a guy on ebay who makes them himself.  Think it was about £30.

I have the grinder close to the lathe and sharpen the chisels multiple times while turning a bowl so I would say for me the essentials are the gouges, grinder, jig and lathe.  I couldn't do a bowl without them.  All my other tools are for getting the wood to the lathe.

John Plater:
Hello Callum
I always find it difficult to offer recommendations whilst operating in a "vacuum" but there are recurring themes which one comes across very often. 1)Find a local club and ingratiate yourself ! 2)Find a professional turner and try your hand first. 3)Please don't believe everything seen online, you need experience under your belt before you are able to make a judgement on the stuff you are watching. Woodturning is fun and addictive and a gateway to a caring and sharing woodworking fraternity but there is also a lot of potential for hurt, both mental and physical.
ATB John

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