How many lathe tools are enough?

[John K Jordan]

My Craftsman monotube lathe is still out in my shed…

The RIdgid version from Home Depot was the first lathe I had. The best thing about it was the excellent turning course in the back of the manual.
The worst thing about it was everything else.

I bought it to make something for my son in architect school. Made that, turned a bowl of of glued up oak boards.

Before too long I bought a Jet1642 from Woodcraft and gave the monotube lathe to someone else to play with. He made lots of things with it. Better him than me.

JKJ

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

Try flying private aircraft. That might moderate an acquisition addiction. Good fun, though. There are plenty of flying clubs in the US.

I wonder how many of us pilots there are here John. I am a long-retired 3000 hr private pilot and former owner of a Mooney M20J.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Doesn’t count but here’s what I pilot, depending on the choice of the day:

 

[John K Jordan]

This is the only flying I do these days: fingers on the keys - this is the little electronic one in the shop for flexing the hands when they start to cramp.
That's my justification, anyway.



JKJ

 

[Adrian Wilson]

On fibre arts, I have these lovely little vintage lace bobbins. My mother got them somewhere decades ago. Mostly around 4".

 

[John K Jordan]

On fibre arts, I have these lovely little vintage lace bobbins. My mother got them somewhere decades ago. Mostly around 4".
View attachment 78839

Nice! Have you made any? I haven't yet, but might. Made plenty of drop spindles for friends and other short spindly things like hair sticks.
Skew and spindle gouge. Fairly quick to make.




JKJ

 

[Adrian Wilson]

Nice! Have you made any? I haven't yet, but might. Made plenty of drop spindles for friends and other short spindly things like hair sticks.
Skew and spindle gouge. Fairly quick to make.

View attachment 78840
View attachment 78841

JKJ

Not lace bobbins, no, but Xmas ornaments and things like that, on the same scale. I don't know anyone doing bobbin lace except costumed interpreters at the historic site my wife works at (Fortress Louisbourg). I like the hair sticks; my daughter might use one.

 

[John K Jordan]

Not lace bobbins, no, but Xmas ornaments and things like that, on the same scale. I don't know anyone doing bobbin lace except costumed interpreters at the historic site my wife works at (Fortress Louisbourg). I like the hair sticks; my daughter might use one.

Might check with a local fiber arts group - several in this area. If I sold things I could sell all the drop spindles I could make. I once watched someone making lace.

I took those hair sticks to a friend in Milan, Italy. She said most of her friends at uni had never seen one, used pencils.
(There are certain specs which make them easier to use and are stay more secure.)
We also took a good friend with us from the US, a former student now a woodturner. Our mutual friend in Italy taught her the method she uses with the hair sticks! I took a video.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/p6C3YzpNrxg

When we got back to the states the woodturner friend asked for a box of hairstick blanks! (When we visit she puts in an order for wood and tools so I can have it ready.) My philosophy: always support the next generation of woodturners any way you can!! Good clean fun.

BTW, when the friend from Italy came and stayed with us a few years before she wanted a woodturning lesson!
After my usual skew lesson and gouge lesson, she made a cedar bowl to take home. Not bad for her first try!


JKJ

 

[Michael Quataert]

My grandpa had a saying: "Don't be one of those guys that has more tools than talent."

Sorry, Grandpa.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I want to change my answer to the opening question that I gave a couple months ago.

5 tools.
1/2" bowl gouge
1/2" spindle gouge
a scraper (you pick your size and profile)
1" skew
1/8" parting tool

 

[Nate Hawkes]

I have 6 scrapers, all different profiles; some are for various sizes of boxes, a shear scraper, and a bowl scraper. I have a couple spindle gouges; one is a detail gouge. I have 2 skews, a large and a small one. Also included in my lineup are about 5 bowl gouges, and a parting tool. I may have more tools than some and less than others, but I use every tool I own. As a new turner, I had 5 tools; a spindle and a bowl gouge, a scraper, a parting tool, and a skew (which I turned into a scraper because it took a long time to learn to properly use a skew). I sell my work, so I own more tools than a lot of people, but as already stated in this thread, you don't -need- that many tools, they just make specialized tools for different aspects of turning. You can get by on just those select few tools just fine.