Woodturning

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 17:28:01 +0000, Sam Berlyn wrote:

> Hi,
>
> This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
> "I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and I
> would like to do some myself.
> Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
> how much it would cost to set up. Thanks
>
>

You can get into the game for as little as a hundred dollars to ... well
the skies the limit. Keep a look out for yard sales and the newspapers
want ad's and you could get lucky. Other wise you could look at these:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/items-list.cfm?key=560000&
You can make some of your more basic tools with flat stock and a bench
grinder.

--
Trees are like children, train them right when their young.....
or spend a lifetime trying to correct them.

Sun, Nov 7, 2004, 5:28pm (EST+5) [email protected] (Sam=A0Berlyn)
wants to know:
<snip> tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly how much it would
cost to set up. Thanks

Lathe, turning tools, wood. Get some cheap/used turning tools, or
make some. Get a cheap/used lathe, or make one. Get scrap wood to
practice with. You don't even need a motor for the lathe, you can make
a human powered lathe. Cost? Depends on how well you are at finding
free materials.

That'll get you started. When you get decent at it, then you can
buy/beg/steal some decent wood. And, you can eiher make a better lathe
and tools, buy, or just stick with what you started with, if it
satisfies you needs/wants. No prob.

And, like they said, news:rec.woodturning is the best place to ask.



JOAT
Viet Nam, divorce, cancer. Been there, done that. Now, where the Hell
are my T-shirts?

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 10:54:34 +0000, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 22:11:49 -0600, Australopithecus scobis
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> If you live outside
>>> Arizona there's a lot of this going on
>>
>>?
>
>They don't have trees in Arizona, or at least not so they can spare
>them for casual garden re-modelling and giving away to passing
>turners.

Incorrect, as it happens.
In fact turning is one of the few kinds of woodworking where you can
collect your material for free in the desert parts of Arizona.

People take out trees all the time for remodeling, storm damage, etc.
Of course your species selection is rather limited, but if you like
working in mesquite, eucalyptus, olive, mulberry, and a variety of
exotic woods, you can get all the material your heart desires just by
cruising neighborhoods after a summer thunderstorm.

--RC
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin.
-- Wiz Zumwalt

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 17:28:01 -0000, "Sam Berlyn"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
>"I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and I
>would like to do some myself.
>Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
>how much it would cost to set up. Thanks
>
>

Sam-

where are you located?

Sam

You would need minimium a lathe, faceplate, turning tools, grinder and a
face shield. Good equipment from Axminster tools, for bowl turning the £180
model is better than the one for £136. They both come with faceplate and
centres. They also sell a reasonable set of turning tools for £62.
Grinders available from Axminster, B&Q or Machine Mart between £20 and £30.
Face Shield available from Axminster. You will also need some timber,
depending where you live either from the local firewood supplier or ask one
of your local park keepers where the council gets rid of trees. Where I
live all of the street trees and park trees are cut into short lengths so
they can be lifted onto the back of the truck (Wet wood is very heavy) and
I've found if approached they will let you have some for free.

http://www.axminster.co.uk

Hope this helps.

Steve


"Sam Berlyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
> "I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and I
> would like to do some myself.
> Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
> how much it would cost to set up. Thanks
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 01/11/04
>
>

~$600, or you'll be forced to make some significant compromises.

That presumes a 10" swing JET, a NOVA chuck with pin jaws, and the basic
seventy buck tool set.

You do have sanding and grinding equipment, I presume?

"Sam Berlyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
> "I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and I
> would like to do some myself.
> Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
> how much it would cost to set up. Thanks
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 01/11/04
>
>

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 20:38:41 GMT, jo4hn <[email protected]> wrote:

>[email protected] wrote:
>
>[snip]People take out trees all the time for remodeling, storm damage, etc.
>> Of course your species selection is rather limited, but if you like
>> working in mesquite, eucalyptus, olive, mulberry, and a variety of
>> exotic woods, you can get all the material your heart desires just by
>> cruising neighborhoods after a summer thunderstorm.
>>
>> --RC
>> That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
>> --Friedrich Nietzsche
>> Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin.
>> -- Wiz Zumwalt
>Speaking of erotic woods, how about Seguaro?
> j4

Not for romance, turning or much of anything else.

--RC

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin.
-- Wiz Zumwalt

[email protected] (J T) wrote:

> Sun, Nov 7, 2004, 5:28pm (EST+5) [email protected] (Sam Berlyn)
> wants to know:
> <snip> tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly how much it
> would cost to set up. Thanks
>
> Lathe, turning tools, wood. Get some cheap/used turning tools,
> or
> make some. Get a cheap/used lathe, or make one. Get scrap wood to
> practice with. You don't even need a motor for the lathe, you can
> make a human powered lathe. Cost? Depends on how well you are at
> finding free materials.
>
> That'll get you started. When you get decent at it, then you can
> buy/beg/steal some decent wood. And, you can eiher make a better
> lathe and tools, buy, or just stick with what you started with, if it
> satisfies you needs/wants. No prob.
>
> And, like they said, news:rec.woodturning is the best place to
> ask.
>

It's rec.crafts.woodturning

LD

>
>
> JOAT
> Viet Nam, divorce, cancer. Been there, done that. Now, where the
> Hell are my T-shirts?
>
>

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 17:28:01 -0000, "Sam Berlyn"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
>how much it would cost to set up. Thanks

Crossposted to rec.crafts.woodturning as well, which is probably a
better newsgroup to ask in.


What are you trying to do ? Do some turning, or _learn_ to turn ?

You can make useful turnings on almost anything. I've made chairs on a
pole lathe made in a woodland from a bendy sapling, and a chisel
forged from leafspring. It's not a good way to learn though - so if
you can do, try and find a course somewhere. You get a reliable lathe
that already works and will do anything you ask of it. Then you can
see about affording a lathe of your own, that's enough for what you
want yourself. A bowl turner wants one thing, a pen turner another,
and a furniture maker needs something long enough to take that table
leg or chair post.

There are several useful brand-new lathes in the $250 region, with
good features like variable speed, swivelling heads, cast iron beds,
their own stands and decent bed length. As always, there are even
better deals around S/H. $25 might even get you something usable.
Half-a-dozen chisels wil get you started. You'll also need a few
accessories, like lathe centres, a faceplate, sanding and finishing
materials, and a grinder for sharpening. I don't regard a dust mask
as essential for much turning (although some timber and any spalted
timber does need it), but I do think a full-face faceshield is.

Other important tools are a big crosscut saw (maybe a chainsaw), axes,
mallets, wedges and a froe. If you're learning, you need a large stack
of green timber to practice on. You can't afford to buy this, so you
have to scrounge it from tree felling work. If you live outside
Arizona there's a lot of this going on, so so long as you can turn a
log into something small enough to chuck in the lathe, you've a free
source of wood. You might even have a woodstove to use up the
remnants.

Don't learn to turn on expensive wood. Turning needs to "flow"
naturally, so if you make a mess of something it's often best to throw
it away and start again. If that timber cost you money, you won't do
that.

--
Smert' spamionam

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 22:11:49 -0600, Australopithecus scobis
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> If you live outside
>> Arizona there's a lot of this going on
>
>?

They don't have trees in Arizona, or at least not so they can spare
them for casual garden re-modelling and giving away to passing
turners.

[email protected] wrote:

[snip]People take out trees all the time for remodeling, storm damage, etc.
> Of course your species selection is rather limited, but if you like
> working in mesquite, eucalyptus, olive, mulberry, and a variety of
> exotic woods, you can get all the material your heart desires just by
> cruising neighborhoods after a summer thunderstorm.
>
> --RC
> That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
> --Friedrich Nietzsche
> Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin.
> -- Wiz Zumwalt
Speaking of erotic woods, how about Seguaro?
j4

"Sam Berlyn" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
> "I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and
> I would like to do some myself.
> Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed &
> roughly how much it would cost to set up. Thanks

You may have better luck in rec.crafts.woodturning.

Unless you are highly disciplined, there is no minimum and what you want
costs more than what you have.

But, look at some of the threads on the Jet Mini in
rec.crafts.woodturning

Be aware, you are on a slippery slope. :o)

LD

>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 01/11/04
>
>

In article <[email protected]>,
Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:

> They don't have trees in Arizona, or at least not so they can spare
> them for casual garden re-modelling and giving away to passing
> turners.

au contraire (sp?) my dear Andy. Arizona really has quite a lot of both
native and non-native trees that are quite suitable for turning and
readily available. Many oaks, nut and fruit woods, pines, cedars and
others.

--
"Sure we'll have fascism in America, but it'll come disguised
as 100% Americanism." -- Huey P. Long

George did say:

> ~$600, or you'll be forced to make some significant compromises.
>
> That presumes a 10" swing JET, a NOVA chuck with pin jaws, and the basic
> seventy buck tool set.
>
> You do have sanding and grinding equipment, I presume?
>
> "Sam Berlyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Hi,
>>
>> This is going to sound like a real "newbie" question,
>> "I like woodturned products e.g. bowls, mushrooms(toadstalls) etc. and I
>> would like to do some myself.
>> Please could you reply and tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly
>> how much it would cost to set up. Thanks
>>
>>
>> ---
>> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
>> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
>> Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 01/11/04
>>
>>

I'd also suggest taking a basic woodturning class, woodcraft has single
day things or you can take a more comprehensive class somewhere. You'll
get to use a variety of equipment and get a feel for what you like. The
safety and technique instructions you'll get will be invaluable.


--
New project = new tool. Hard and fast rule.

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 02:17:48 +0000, Andy Dingley wrote:

> If you live outside
> Arizona there's a lot of this going on

?