Three Traditional Turning Tools

[John Morris]

Hello folks, if you could only have three traditional turning tools, what would they be? I am looking at some turning tools for pole lathe turning. At Tools For Working Wood, they advertise three main tools, I would be doing spindle work on my pole lathe, chair legs, spindles etc. Here is the list they provide.

• 3/8" Finger Nail Gouge $33
• 1 1/4" roughing out gouge $43
•  3/4" Skew Chisel $33

Chisels shown below, I believe they are the three on the left. Made by Ashley Iles.

 

 

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[HandyDan]

I would trade the skew for a parting tool.

[RustyFN]

I prefer a 1/2” gouge over a 3/8”. Roughing gouge, larger skew and a parting tool.

[Masonsailor]

Ditto to Rusty

[Steve Krumanaker]

Well, I am partial to the skew, so I would include that. I would also go smaller rather than larger with any gouges for a few reasons. Your intended use is for spindles so you don't need to hog off a bunch of material like for turning a bowl. Also, you're providing the power so guessing you'll be taking smaller cuts. The three tools you listed seem a pretty good choice to me.

[lew]

Wow, missed this one, sorry!

 

Like some others have said, I prefer a parting tool instead of the skew.

[Gerald]

Missed this and was delayed by the oxy cloud I have been in.

    For the SRG As Steve said foot power will not need large tools. So 3/4 to 1" will work.

    I like skews also and a 1" is my favorite. I rarely use the 1/4, 3/8 , 1/2  and 1 1/4 I have.

    What you have called a fingernail gouge is the name of a grind , not a gouge. Here you want a 3/8" spindle gouge.

 

As to some other tools you have seen us mention . A parting tool can be made from a reciprocating saw blade.

   

[John Morris]

Man, seems like the parting tool is a big hit with turners. Thanks for the advice gents, appreciate it greatly!

Thanks for the clarification Gerald on the fingernail grind, I am not too good at describing turning tools, but I do see that description all over the place, I copy pasted "fingernail gouge" from the website selling those tools that are desired for pole lathe turning. I wonder if the manufacturer is simply incorporating the name of the grind into the name of the tool? Or is it a regional thing?

Here is the website I got my information from:

 

Carbon Steel Pole Turning Tools

TOOLSFORWORKINGWOOD.COM

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Foot-powered lathes are back! Pole, treadle, and every other style of person-powered lathes are experiencing a big resurgence. But this exciting news...

 

Thanks again all, appreciate ya greatly!

[Gerald]

Try these sites for turning tools: https://www.packardwoodworks.com/SFNT.html

                                                   https://thompsonlathetools.com/contact-2/

                                                   https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/

Just for starters

[John Morris]

10 hours ago, Gerald said:

Try these sites for turning tools: https://www.packardwoodworks.com/SFNT.html

                                                   https://thompsonlathetools.com/contact-2/

                                                   https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/

Just for starters

 

Thank you sir Gerald!

[RustyFN]

My advice would be to buy decent tools. My experience with buying an 8 piece set was that I only used half the tools in the set and the ones I did use weren’t that great. You can get great tools for a good price if you buy the tool from Thompson or D-Way and make your own handles. That is what I do. I make my tool handles from shovel handles from Lowe’s. Already the perfect size so not much to do. I like my handles long and can get two from one shovel handle. If you like them shorter you should be able to get three.

[RustyFN]

I forgot. You can buy the inserts from Cindy Drozda so you can remove the tool to make it easy to sharpen. This is what some of mine look like. I also use one handle for the same size tools and swap them out. Not as much room to store them and only seconds to swap them.

[jthornton]

I can't comment on spindle tools because I've never turned a spindle yet... but I do grab the left hand carbide insert tool a lot as well as the bowl gouge. The scrapers are used a lot too.

 

Most of the tools came with the lathe when I bought it. I bought the large bowl gouge, the angled scraper and the spindle gouge with the black handle.

 

Better quality tools stay sharper longer I've found.

 

JT