A Lathe Addict Can Never Have Too Many Woodworking Lathe Tools

There are a huge variety of woodworking lathe tools available to create the exact design and finish you require. Depending on the project, you will have different tool requirements. You may need a texturing tool to add detail to a bowl, an Oland tool for faceplate work, a hook tool for grain end hollowing, or an articulated hollowing tool for hollowing hard-to-reach places. The list of tools is as long as the list of lathe cutting methods and an avid lathe woodworker can never have too many.

There are a number of common woodworking lathe tools, most of which are types of chisel. Those detailed here are basic woodworking lathe tools but the cut you want will determine the woodworking lathe cutting tool

you need. A Gouge is a round nose hollow chisel used for roughing up cuts, although you can perform scraping, shearing and cutting with it so it is very versatile. This is the tool that you should begin to learn with, as it is the only one able to initially round the wood. A Skew Chisel is used for smoothing and cutting shoulders and is a flat double ground chisel with its end being ground at an angle. A Spear Chisel is flat ground to a point, a Round Nose Chisel is flat with a rounded point and is used pretty much exclusively to hollow, and a Parting Chisel, used for cutting-off and determining the depth of a cut, is a double ground chisel. Calipers are also essential for measuring and shaping wood as there is no other way to measure the diameter with absolute precision.

Woodworking lathe tools need to be kept sharp, both to maintain good workmanship and as a safety measure. A blunt woodworking lathe tool is like a blunt knife - it will not cut well and you could end up cutting yourself as you put unnecessary force on it. Those who have been using a lathe for a long time and are highly experienced might manually sharpen their woodworking lathe tools but unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are doing, it is wise to invest in a grinder. You can either use a common bench grinder or a slow-speed grinder.

The method you choose is down to personal preference but the advantage of the slow-speed grinder is that it doesn't heat up the woodworking lathe tools and allows you more control. A round-edged chisel will need to be rolled on the stone and flat-edged tools will be placed flat up against it. Once you have sharpened your tool, just smooth it with some sandpaper to get rid of any burs.

Woodworking lathe tools can be easily found on the internet, on one of the many sites dedicated to woodworking, or you could even consider making your own, which certain sites can also teach you to do. There are only a few woodworking lathe tools that are absolutely essential but those who are passionate about woodturning will undoubtedly find that as they think up more and more creative projects, they need to find the tools to do the job.