Wood Turning
The Cutting Edge offers a wide variety of woodturning tools and accessories. For a complete listing of these offerings, please visit our ON-LINE CATALOG.
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Introductory Woodturning Sets:
I am frequently asked by beginning woodturners to suggest a basic turning kit of tools. This is not a simple question, because the selection of tools will be influenced by your selection of spindle or faceplate turning, and the size of the turning you plan to do. However, there are a few basic tools that should serve each turner well in the beginning. These tools can then be added to as the need arises.
Spindle Turning Starter Kit: 3/4" Roughing Gouge (301-HS03H); 1/2" Spindle Gouge (301-HS07H); 1/2" Skew Chisel (301-HS08H), Round-edge Skew (301-HS147H), or Oval Skew (301-HS60H); 1/8" Diamond-Section Parting Tool (301-HS33H).
Spindle Turning Add-ons: (Get these next) 1/4" Spindle Gouge (301-HS05H); 3/8" Spindle Gouge (301-HS06H); 1/2" Round-nose Scraper (301-HS26H); 3/4" Skew Chisel (301-HS21H), Round-edge Skew (301-HS148H), or Oval Skew (301-HS61H).
Bowl Turning Starter Kit:
NOTE: Bowl gouges are sized by two differnt systems. The English system uses the width of the flute while the American system uses the diamter of the bar. Thus, a 3/8" bowl gouge in the English system is a 1/2" gouge in the US system. In order to reduce confusion we now use the AMERICAN system.
I list a couple sizes of bowl gouge here because you need to scale your tool to the project. If you want to turn 4" to 8" vessels, get the 1/2" gouge. If your taste is more to large bowls, wet wood or aggressive wood removal, get the 5/8" tool. The same thinking applies to the scrapers as well. Don't worry, you'll end up with both before long. You will also need to decide if you want a deep-fluted or a Super-fluted gouge. Deep- fluted gouges are more traditional and have a U-shaped gullet, while Super-flutes are preferred by most professional turners and have a more versitile V-shaped gullet. The key to using any bowl gouge is the grind you put on it. I recommend a side grind for your bowl gouges. For a jig to help you grind gouges properly see my online catalog.
1/2" Deep-fluted Bowl Gouge (301-HS40H) or Super-fluted Bowl Gouge (301-HS85H) 3/4" Radius-ground Raffan Bowl Scraper (301-HS65H)
1/16" Thin Section Parting Tool by Chris Stott
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