Brian, I have watched what seems like hundreds of videos on turning, but as a new turner I can truthfully say that I have learned more from you than any single source. I really like your approach. I plan to watch all of them as soon as I can. Thanks,
I am an old geezer who recently retired, and decided to add to my woodshop a lathe. I did some turning many years ago in high school but I’ve completely forgotten everything. I don’t mind spending money on turning tools & I will buy quality stuff but I also dont want to waste money on tools I might not use and could have spent elsewhere. I appreciate very much you taking the time to explain things. Man I wish there had been an Internet back then as well as part of my adulthood. Thanks again and take care.
I came across-ed a good deal on a lathe and 18 different tools. Had no idea what they are or where to start with them. Thanks so much so far after 3 months. I now have a better understanding about the tools. This video is very straight forward and direct
Thanks mate, this video is well worth watching and it made me realize I have a lot to learn. It's blokes like you who really know how to instruct and advise as well as do great wood turning, who encourage us, newcomers, to keep at it.
You´re right, sets often include tools you don´t use or a different size than you´d prefer but as a beginner you don´t know what you want, you don´t know what you need and you don´t even know your preferences. It´s ineviteble that you´re going to buy some tools you think would be useful but in the end they will just collect dust. For me, the roughing gouge would be the 4th tool after the spindle gouge, the parting tool and the skew. With my roughing gouge I can remove a lot of material without dulling the tools for the finer work. That way it saves me a lot of time and my other tools will last longer. Since I have a Neuhammer roughing gouge which isn´t as deep as the usual ones, it´s way more versitaile. It´s more or less just a giant spindle gouge. What tools you need always depends on what you want to make. I have made some bowls but I mainly turn parts for furniture and small boxes. Furniture parts were the reason why I bought a lathe in the first place and that´s about 90% of what I use the lathe for.
Thank you for taking your time to help out struggling newcomers. There is no greater service than to teach someone and watch them progress to a point where even you admire their work. This and your end grain video have helped me know how to hollow out a pot I was working on. Keep up the good work and again many thanks. Oh and I just subscribed to your channel.
I have been hobby turning for quite a while but I often like to refresh what I'm doing by watching videos like this one. This is top class information and advice.
I saw this before buying a lathe, and I'm really glad I did. I am impressed by the number of people who wished they had seen it early on. Thanks so much!!
I wish I found you about 100 viewing hours ago! i have been turning for a few months and this is clearly the best source of information and instruction online! Thank you!
Brian, thanx. I'm considering turning wood and resin gifts. I appreciate the way you come across. Not a tutorial, not a brand plug, not a showcase of your wares, and not bragging about your skills. Your confidence and straight-forward information is exactly what I needed. I will view your other vids.
Some people just KNOW how to make a video and some don't...period. This video is GREAT help to a beginner....WELL DONE and thanks. Could you give me a suggestion as to a couple of DECENT quality brand names for my first tools?
Hey Brian, Wow!! Lot's of information for a beginner like me. I'll be watching this video several times I'm sure. Thank's for taking the time to teach us and help us get started on the road to turning.
Some great tips Brian, and a very informative video for beginners to ease their initial choice of "starter" tools. Wish this video was about when I started ;) Take care Mike
As a complete newbie, I had to watch a couple of times before I started to catch on, but eventually I did. You really explain your reasoning well,. Thanks a lot for making the video.
MAN! Being new to this I can't thank you enough! Ben doing a # of things wrong, and a few right. I can't tell you how much this helped! THANK YOU! Already working my way though all your stuff!
I got given a lathe today, from a customers garage whilst fitting her new garage door. she was going to scrap it! now I'm here haha ive got a feeling this is going to be my new hobby!
Thanks Brian! I have been using carbides....as money dictated me going that route. I'm now hooked, and am starting to look at getting more traditional tools. I am finding that it's harder for me to do bowls with medium carbides. This gave me a good list to start with.
FYI Regarding kits. Some college woodworking classes require students to supply their own tools. So beginners sometimes have no choice but to buy kits. Then the first couple weeks time is used in sharpening the new tools. Part of learning.
Thanks Brian! One of the most informative explanations of tools I have yet seen. And the 4-5 best tools to buy was a huge money saver!!! Regards, Charlie
I too appreciated his choice of quality over quantity. As a person who has used many various tools in his career, I learned early that quality can never be beat. Now that I am into woodturning and woodworking, I am using the same advice. Means that I cannot get what I want right away but when I do get it I appreciate it more.
First RUclips comment ever. Great educational video, I just got a used lathe thinking I'm going to expand my woodworking hobby. I'm overwhelmed by the choice of tools, this got me on a good starting track, thank you. Looking forward to watching more of your videos
Thank you very much for sharing . I am you years ago and appreciate this info . You did a great job explaining and confirming other things I have been learning . Thank you sir
This is a really good video. I'm amazed at all of the different ways you're using those gouges. Wish I would have watched it before I started ordering gouges.
Hi I'm just starting turning & have been looking for video's for help & advice was a good video to watch good advice thank you for making & sharing your work Regards Steve UK London
I just watched this again and can report that after buying an Alan Lacer skew, wide one, it roughs really well and almost eliminates the need for a spindle roughing gouge. Overall, I appreciate your advice. It's right on.
Very helpful, Brian. Just found your site. I like the way you address the pros/cons of tools. Was glad to see you include the skew. I've decided as a new turner to take up the challenge and learn to use it. I'm contemplating grinding a curvature to mine as I see a lot of people use it. Thanks again.
These are great tips for people that actually know what you're talking about. I would love to get into woodturning, but to start with buying tools that I'd have to sharpen myself would pose a problem. Even if I DID have a grinder to do so, I'm not sure I'd trust myself to sharpen the tools with any accuracy at all. So having said that, what about carbide tools?
I started out using regular woodworking chisels....it actually worked okay, but made for some exciting catches. (wasn't too kind to the chisels, either)
Lots of great information! I would suggest, however, especially for beginners that the tool rest be very close to the work. 1/8 inch if possible. That is much safer as it decreases the chance of a tool hooking into the wood and flying though the air with exciting results. Expert wood turners may get away with greater distance as your video shows. Outside of that observation your video is great! Thumbs up definitely!
First and foremost this is a GREAT video for beginners! With that being said, I did want to agree with this post about the rest being close for a beginner, and I also wanted to note that it is REALLY important to turn the lathe off and let the work piece stop spinning before you move the rest. Brian is obviously an expert turner and hes keeping the rest back from the work while moving it around for the purpose of making this video. A beginer should DEFINITELY not be doing what hes doing. Take your time, move slowly and methodically...most importantly HAVE FUN!
Hello Brian What a great Video, im coming back to Wood Turning after 34 years & need a little advice, this helped me a lot. Thanks for sharing ive subbed & liked. Cheers, Graham.
Brian -- Thank you for a very good video. I don't agree with all your recommendations, but I would recommend your video to new turners anyway. That's because you do a very good job of not just telling what your recommendation is by why you are making it. Explaining why you hold an opinion is very informative and useful even if I, ultimately, disagree with it. For example, I would recommend a new turner buy a spindle roughing gouge rather than a bowl gouge. Why? Because, as you point out, a 1/2" spindle gouge can do small bowls fairly easily. It can even handle larger bowls as long as the turner keeps the tool rest close to the work. So, there is little a new turner can do with a bowl gouge that he or she couldn't do with the spindle gouge. If the turner likes turning bowls, a bowl gouge can be added later. So why add a roughing gouge to the arsenal? Because the tool is useful for long shallow beads and coves -- like might be in a tool handle -- and for long tapers. These are shapes many new turners find easier to master with a spindle roughing gouge than with a spindle gouge or skew. And, with light cuts, the surface left by a spindle roughing gouge will rival that from a skew. So, I don't view the tool to be a one-trick-pony. Which of us is right? I don't think it really matters. Armed with your clear explanation of why you recommend the tools you do and why I slightly disagree, my new turner friend will be able to make an informed choice. Well done.
I think that you allude to an important point: that every turner's context is different. Clearly someone who is getting into turning to make pens and small projects has no need for a bowl gouge. This is why I always explain the "why" behind the "what", so turners can apply knowledge to their own particular context.
as a beginner i LOVE this (and a lot of your others) very informational video i realy wish i would have found em just a little bit earlier :-) anyway i realy learned a lot and will definately follow your advices. Thanks a lot ! havent seen better videos for woodturning yet.
Thank you Brian for your videos, they very well explain the does and don'ts of wood turning. What should a new turner look for in steel quality? You mentioned the importance of good steel. How will a new turner know what is and what is not?
Most of the major manufacturers use good steel for tools: Sorby, Hamlet, Thompson, P&N,Henry Taylor, to name a few. If a spindle tool is less than $30, or a bowl gouge is less than $50, I would question the quality (Shop made tools excepted, of course). I am partial to Ashley Iles because the quality of the steel is consistently good quality, the prices are more than competitive, and they have a wide selection. The downside is that the take a while to arrive from England, and it seems if your order is big enough, you could get hit with extra tariff.
Brian, fabulous video. Now that you’ve told us newbies four tools, can you recommend a couple of decent manufacturers from which to buy them? Thank you
Thanks man....I needed this since I am a novice and haven’t even purchased my first lathe so....this was an imperative video. But can u please use a lapel mic with a battery pack attached to a belt ....it stops background noise and reverb from the room. Otherwise, excellent video sir...
Brian, I have watched what seems like hundreds of videos on turning, but as a new turner I can truthfully say that I have learned more from you than any single source. I really like your approach. I plan to watch all of them as soon as I can. Thanks,
You know how to make lessons easy enough for beginners like me to understand. Thank you.
I am an old geezer who recently retired, and decided to add to my woodshop a lathe.
I did some turning many years ago in high school but I’ve completely forgotten everything.
I don’t mind spending money on turning tools & I will buy quality stuff but I also dont want to waste money on tools I might not use and could have spent elsewhere.
I appreciate very much you taking the time to explain things. Man I wish there had been an Internet back then as well as part of my adulthood.
Thanks again and take care.
I came across-ed a good deal on a lathe and 18 different tools. Had no idea what they are or where to start with them. Thanks so much so far after 3 months. I now have a better understanding about the tools. This video is very straight forward and direct
Thanks mate, this video is well worth watching and it made me realize I have a lot to learn. It's blokes like you who really know how to instruct and advise as well as do great wood turning, who encourage us, newcomers, to keep at it.
You´re right, sets often include tools you don´t use or a different size than you´d prefer but as a beginner you don´t know what you want, you don´t know what you need and you don´t even know your preferences. It´s ineviteble that you´re going to buy some tools you think would be useful but in the end they will just collect dust.
For me, the roughing gouge would be the 4th tool after the spindle gouge, the parting tool and the skew. With my roughing gouge I can remove a lot of material without dulling the tools for the finer work. That way it saves me a lot of time and my other tools will last longer. Since I have a Neuhammer roughing gouge which isn´t as deep as the usual ones, it´s way more versitaile. It´s more or less just a giant spindle gouge. What tools you need always depends on what you want to make. I have made some bowls but I mainly turn parts for furniture and small boxes. Furniture parts were the reason why I bought a lathe in the first place and that´s about 90% of what I use the lathe for.
Thank you for taking your time to help out struggling newcomers. There is no greater service than to teach someone and watch them progress to a point where even you admire their work. This and your end grain video have helped me know how to hollow out a pot I was working on. Keep up the good work and again many thanks. Oh and I just subscribed to your channel.
Excellent demonstration, great explanation whilst continuously turning and holding the watchers interest
I’ve watched a lot of videos by a lot of turners, and you sir, seem to have the best mastery of the tools. Impressive.
I have been hobby turning for quite a while but I often like to refresh what I'm doing by watching videos like this one. This is top class information and advice.
I just bought a lathe and found this video. Thanks for the explanations and demonstrations on beginning chisels. The video was very helpful.
I saw this before buying a lathe, and I'm really glad I did. I am impressed by the number of people who wished they had seen it early on. Thanks so much!!
Learned a good deal from this video. Wish I would have viewed it sooner.
I wish I found you about 100 viewing hours ago! i have been turning for a few months and this is clearly the best source of information and instruction online! Thank you!
Brian, thanx. I'm considering turning wood and resin gifts. I appreciate the way you come across. Not a tutorial, not a brand plug, not a showcase of your wares, and not bragging about your skills. Your confidence and straight-forward information is exactly what I needed. I will view your other vids.
Some people just KNOW how to make a video and some don't...period. This video is GREAT help to a beginner....WELL DONE and thanks. Could you give me a suggestion as to a couple of DECENT quality brand names for my first tools?
Hey Brian,
Wow!! Lot's of information for a beginner like me. I'll be watching this video several times I'm sure. Thank's for taking the time to teach us and help us get started on the road to turning.
Some great tips Brian, and a very informative video for beginners to ease their initial choice of "starter" tools. Wish this video was about when I started ;)
Take care
Mike
As a complete newbie, I had to watch a couple of times before I started to catch on, but eventually I did. You really explain your reasoning well,. Thanks a lot for making the video.
MAN! Being new to this I can't thank you enough! Ben doing a # of things wrong, and a few right. I can't tell you how much this helped! THANK YOU! Already working my way though all your stuff!
Very informative for new wood turners like myself. Thanks
Brian, you are an excellent instructor. Thank you from a true green horn.
I got given a lathe today, from a customers garage whilst fitting her new garage door.
she was going to scrap it! now I'm here haha ive got a feeling this is going to be my new hobby!
Exactly what I purchased lady at rockler suggested good call
Thanks so much! A tutorial that’s actually informative! Great camera work, thorough, and practical.
Thank you another excellent tutorial 👍👍
Still a very helpful video for beginners! Thanks a lot!
Great tips Bran THANK YOU
Thanks for the advice. I just bought my first lathe and having a hard time finding the right tool for a beginner. So again thanks.
I was recommended to watch your videos. Thank you for sharing
Thanks Brian! I have been using carbides....as money dictated me going that route. I'm now hooked, and am starting to look at getting more traditional tools. I am finding that it's harder for me to do bowls with medium carbides. This gave me a good list to start with.
Thanks a lot for this video. I wish that I have seen this video before I bought my first tool set.
thanks for the simple explanations and demonstration. I want to try this but it appears overwhelming. good delivery for novice.
FYI Regarding kits. Some college woodworking classes require students to supply their own tools. So beginners sometimes have no choice but to buy kits. Then the first couple weeks time is used in sharpening the new tools. Part of learning.
Love your teaching style. Thanks for these videos
Thats real good news - saw this after I wrote my letter to Santa, but got them all on the list :) Excellent video, thanks.
Thanks Brian! One of the most informative explanations of tools I have yet seen. And the 4-5 best tools to buy was a huge money saver!!! Regards, Charlie
I am glad I found your instruction. Thanks for the great tips.
Great money and time saving tips. Thanks
Thanks for the tool tips!
I'm. glad you made this video and that i found it. I'm a begginer and truly i'v learned a lot from you mate. God bless you.
Great video just started turning and was lucky enough to tap on your video. Thank you
Joe
Planning on starting turning, this was a big help. Thanks Brian, greetings from England!
Great camera work. Excellent recommendations for a new turner to favor quality over quantity and master the few tools before loading up.
I too appreciated his choice of quality over quantity. As a person who has used many various tools in his career, I learned early that quality can never be beat. Now that I am into woodturning and woodworking, I am using the same advice. Means that I cannot get what I want right away but when I do get it I appreciate it more.
Quality over quanity. I cant go the price of Sorby tools, find the Penn State Ind. Benjamins Best to be a really decent tool. Excellant advice
Brian, this is by far the best video I have watched on advice for beginners. Thank you so much.
Thanks so much for the video. I'm a beginner and have found your video much more informative than the many others I have watched. Best Wishes!
well done,,,i do woodturning ....and i learned a few new tricks,,,,never to old to learn
Thank you very much, this is really useful.
Excellent tutorial clear and concise.
Thank you super instruction.
Thank you Brian this was a very helpful video.
That was very entertaining and very informative. Thanks
First RUclips comment ever. Great educational video, I just got a used lathe thinking I'm going to expand my woodworking hobby. I'm overwhelmed by the choice of tools, this got me on a good starting track, thank you. Looking forward to watching more of your videos
Thank you very much for sharing . I am you years ago and appreciate this info . You did a great job explaining and confirming other things I have been learning . Thank you sir
I luckily found a set with all of these tools for a great price and good quality for the price.
This is a really good video. I'm amazed at all of the different ways you're using those gouges. Wish I would have watched it before I started ordering gouges.
Hi I'm just starting turning & have been looking for video's for help & advice was a good video to watch good advice thank you for making & sharing your work
Regards
Steve
UK London
Great vid! Wish I had seen this before I got started. As always, very clear, eloquent and informative.
I just watched this again and can report that after buying an Alan Lacer skew, wide one, it roughs really well and almost eliminates the need for a spindle roughing gouge. Overall, I appreciate your advice. It's right on.
As a complete newbie, links to these tools in your description would help A LOT!
Thanks for the very useful recommendations. I found them to be very useful.
Very helpful, Brian. Just found your site. I like the way you address the pros/cons of tools. Was glad to see you include the skew. I've decided as a new turner to take up the challenge and learn to use it. I'm contemplating grinding a curvature to mine as I see a lot of people use it. Thanks again.
thanks for share your experience i hve no lathe but youre my master:congratulations and blessing
Very skilled woodturner and great speaker. Thank you Brian for this very informative video.
Thanks for the advice as I'm a beginner I'll need all the help I can get.
Спасибо большое. Для меня была очень полезная информация. Вам удачи и успехов в этом увлекательном деле.
This is a great video! I agree Brian does a good job getting good shots of his work. Thanks for the video!!!
These are great tips for people that actually know what you're talking about. I would love to get into woodturning, but to start with buying tools that I'd have to sharpen myself would pose a problem. Even if I DID have a grinder to do so, I'm not sure I'd trust myself to sharpen the tools with any accuracy at all. So having said that, what about carbide tools?
Excellent video, loads of good advice, demonstrations short and to the point, but the sound really suffers in places. 8/10, would watch again.
Just getting into turning and I really liked this video. A lot of good info for the neophyte.
Thanks dude. Nice info for a starter.
A very helpful video for me, thank you!
Solid information. Thanks. I'm looking to make handline fishing reels which seems would use a bowl gouge.
Thank you.
I started out using regular woodworking chisels....it actually worked okay, but made for some exciting catches. (wasn't too kind to the chisels, either)
Wish l had seen this befor buying a set.
Ha! So, where were you when I was starting out! Excellent advice ... I have passed a link to this video on to a friend who is just getting started.
Very honest and interesting video, thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Lots of great information! I would suggest, however, especially for beginners that the tool rest be very close to the work. 1/8 inch if possible. That is much safer as it decreases the chance of a tool hooking into the wood and flying though the air with exciting results. Expert wood turners may get away with greater distance as your video shows. Outside of that observation your video is great! Thumbs up definitely!
First and foremost this is a GREAT video for beginners! With that being said, I did want to agree with this post about the rest being close for a beginner, and I also wanted to note that it is REALLY important to turn the lathe off and let the work piece stop spinning before you move the rest. Brian is obviously an expert turner and hes keeping the rest back from the work while moving it around for the purpose of making this video. A beginer should DEFINITELY not be doing what hes doing. Take your time, move slowly and methodically...most importantly HAVE FUN!
Спасибо. Познавательно. Жаль, что не все ролики сопровождают переводом.
Great video, very informative. Worth subscribing
Very useful and interesting- thanks!
Hello Brian
What a great Video, im coming back to Wood Turning after 34 years & need a little advice, this helped me a lot. Thanks for sharing ive subbed & liked. Cheers, Graham.
thanks brian this video helped me alot,
great video brian,,,
Brian -- Thank you for a very good video. I don't agree with all your recommendations, but I would recommend your video to new turners anyway. That's because you do a very good job of not just telling what your recommendation is by why you are making it. Explaining why you hold an opinion is very informative and useful even if I, ultimately, disagree with it.
For example, I would recommend a new turner buy a spindle roughing gouge rather than a bowl gouge. Why? Because, as you point out, a 1/2" spindle gouge can do small bowls fairly easily. It can even handle larger bowls as long as the turner keeps the tool rest close to the work. So, there is little a new turner can do with a bowl gouge that he or she couldn't do with the spindle gouge. If the turner likes turning bowls, a bowl gouge can be added later.
So why add a roughing gouge to the arsenal? Because the tool is useful for long shallow beads and coves -- like might be in a tool handle -- and for long tapers. These are shapes many new turners find easier to master with a spindle roughing gouge than with a spindle gouge or skew. And, with light cuts, the surface left by a spindle roughing gouge will rival that from a skew. So, I don't view the tool to be a one-trick-pony.
Which of us is right? I don't think it really matters. Armed with your clear explanation of why you recommend the tools you do and why I slightly disagree, my new turner friend will be able to make an informed choice.
Well done.
I think that you allude to an important point: that every turner's context is different. Clearly someone who is getting into turning to make pens and small projects has no need for a bowl gouge. This is why I always explain the "why" behind the "what", so turners can apply knowledge to their own particular context.
as a beginner i LOVE this (and a lot of your others) very informational video i realy wish i would have found em just a little bit earlier :-) anyway i realy learned a lot and will definately follow your advices.
Thanks a lot ! havent seen better videos for woodturning yet.
Great video. I wish I'd seen it months ago. Coming up with similar impressions, but the hard way, unfortunately.
Thanks for your recommendations
Perfect video. Thank you.
Great video, thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the recommendations. Good info.
educational and entertaining, thanks!
Tanks for good Woods for beginer
I found very informative
Perfect good advice
Thank you Brian for your videos, they very well explain the does and don'ts of wood turning. What should a new turner look for in steel quality? You mentioned the importance of good steel. How will a new turner know what is and what is not?
Most of the major manufacturers use good steel for tools: Sorby, Hamlet, Thompson, P&N,Henry Taylor, to name a few. If a spindle tool is less than $30, or a bowl gouge is less than $50, I would question the quality (Shop made tools excepted, of course). I am partial to Ashley Iles because the quality of the steel is consistently good quality, the prices are more than competitive, and they have a wide selection. The downside is that the take a while to arrive from England, and it seems if your order is big enough, you could get hit with extra tariff.
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Brian, fabulous video. Now that you’ve told us newbies four tools, can you recommend a couple of decent manufacturers from which to buy them? Thank you
A great help, thank you.
Thanks man....I needed this since I am a novice and haven’t even purchased my first lathe so....this was an imperative video. But can u please use a lapel mic with a battery pack attached to a belt ....it stops background noise and reverb from the room. Otherwise, excellent video sir...