Heading down a slippery slope

[crokett]

My mom called to say that she found a Delta lathe at a Habitat hand-me-up shop and it followed her home. That is all the details I have right now on the lathe. My dad wants me to show him how to use it.

About all I know is you chuck the wood up turn the lathe on and start cutting. Any books/etc you'd recommend? A middlin' to good starter set of chisels?

Now I just have to get the honey-do list done so I can go and play.

[Ken Massingale]

Now your wife is really gonna be mad!

[cabinetman]

David

Here's a fun watch for starters:
http://home.pacbell.net/latheart/tourvideo.htm

[sacherjj]

For good starter chisels, go for the more expensive of those at Harbor Freight. They are pretty decent and around $30, IIRC. Do a search for HF chisels in the Turning area and you will find many posts. That is still all I have, but I haven't had to turn many things.

[Workman]

Lathe plus chisels plus some way to keep em sharp plus wood = addiction (the slippery slope). Do you have any idea how many chisels, chucks, jigs, etc. there are available on this slope? And then, you can't even look at firewood for what it is anymore and you'll probably think you know how to put a square peg in a round hole.

[gerti]

Woodturning is one of those things that you can learn MUCH faster by having someone look over your shoulder or by looking over someone's shoulder.

I would strongly suggest to find a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners:

http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/

I have learned a lot from our local chapter.

[softop41]

David,
You can't begin to tell how slippery that slope is yet.
Here's my story.....It's a bit long and not meant to be a gloat because of the numbers, only one man's tale of the 'slide down the slope'.
I learned to turn in college but hadn't done any in 40+ years. About three months ago, I bought a Jet mini lathe($200) just to try it out again, and a set of Sorby chisels(which, admittedly, aren't necessarily 'starter tools' at $250) and away I went. Well, it's amazing how quickly those chisels lose their edge and how hard it is to get it back by hand. So, back to Woodcraft for a Jet wet grinder($300), and the essential jigs(around $200 including for wood chisels and plane irons).
Realizing that the grinder required a whole new skill set and not wanting to mess up my good Sorby's, I went to Menard's and got a 5 chisel set for $15 or so to practice on. BTW, the Menard's chisels cut amazingly well after a good sharpening; the handles aren't as comfortable as the Sorby's but they cut quite well.
I got comfortable with turning and sharpening and really enjoy turning bowls, etc. My wife, daughter, and mother-in-law think they are just about the best thing going and my daughter would like me to duplicate a bowl I made in college(nothing special but used for special things like holiday candy, etc., as she and her brothers grew up) that has been around longer than she has been alive. That bowl is well beyond the limits if the Jet mini and you can't disappoint your little girl!
So, off to Woodcraft I go again to 'upgrade a bit'! Well, to make the story short, I looking at a Nova DVR-XP as the 'upgrade'(+/-$2400) due to it's small footprint and large capacities and then a 2 day turning class to refine my techniques($200 + $125 for the required chisels, Sorby, most likely).
The thing I like about turning over most other things in the shop is the almost immediate gratification. In an hour or two, you can have a pretty much finished project and ready to move on to another. I haven't done any pens yet but tht should be immediate gratification. However, it sounds like about another $150 to get the various jigs, fixtures, etc., to do it right.
So there you have the tale of one man's trip down the slippery slope.