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.

Excellent Tools To Be Used For Wood Working

Wood working is an exceptional art with the help of which we can create a lot of different things like furniture and various other accessories. These days more and more people are opening wood work companies because it is a very profitable venture. If you are looking for something totally unique then you can also consider creating your own furniture. There are various wood work schools that you can join in order to learn about the excellent techniques. You would only be successful in your venture if you use very good tools.

In this article, I would basically like to tell you about all the information about wood working tools and their use.

1. Table Saw

It is one of the most essential tool when it comes to wood working. You cannot complete your project unless and until you use this excellent accessory. If you are opening your own wood shop then you must surely purchase a table saw for it because you would need his tool for completing various projects and assignments given by the clients. You must only purchase the best quality product even if it is expensive because you have to use it for many years.

2. Band Saw

Band saw2 is another very useful and versatile tool that should surely be present in your wood shop. It can be used for various things like re cutting, cross cutting, for cutting the joints, ripping wood and for cutting the wood into circles. Many people are not totally aware of the various uses of band saw but if you know it's great functions then you would just love to purpose it. It is easily available in stores all around the world.

3. Measuring tools

Your projects can never be completed unless and until you have good measuring tools. It is used for measuring the exact size and length of the wood when you are creating wood patterns. A wood stick ruler and a measuring tape come under the category of measuring tools and they can really help you to right angles and in accurate manner.

4. Router

This important tool must be present in every wood shop as it helps you to create various different wood accessories. A router can really help you to give a professional look to any project that you are working on.

Well these are some very important tools that should surely be present in your work shop if you really want to complete your wood working projects with great efficiency.

Woodworking Hand Tools Are A Must When Working In Wood

When you want to begin the art of woodworking, then woodworking hand tools are an absolute must. If you do not have the right tools at your disposal, then you will find it impossible to perform the work you love. Whenever you are shopping for the hand tools you need, you will need to find tools that are specific to your current project as well as ensure you feel comfortable using them.

There are a number of projects you will work on that use very specific woodworking hand tools. Try to consider the specific projects you want to accomplish and then ensure that you have all the tools ready. Do not begin a project apart from making sure you have the required tools. Every project will be different and may require another tool than you have, and the only way to be sure is to plan ahead.

A great resource to find your woodworking tools is to check out the hardware stores in your area. The good news is that you will be able to actually handle the tools in real life so you can decide if they are fitting for you and your needs. Sometimes a tool will have many different style and will need to be examined closely to choose which you prefer.

Another place to find your woodworking hand tools is to look at a local garage sale. The main benefit would be the price savings, since you can negotiate the cost. This is also a wonderful way to find extra tools you can use as spares. Do not be afraid to use these tools as your main tools, either. You will need to be familiar with the tools that you buy before you purchase them, however, so you know what to look for.

You can find a number of resources on the internet that are great ways to find woodworking hand tools. You can find many sites where you can win tools at auction and even find websites by locals selling their tools off. This is a wonderful way to find very rare tools that you can add to your collection, just make sure that you know what you are buying before settling on a particular purchase.

If you want to complete your wood crafts easier, then you will need to invest in woodworking hand tools. Collecting the right set of tools first will help you to finish your work in a timely manner rather than having you scramble around to get a last minute tool you need. Be prepared if you want to succeed as a woodworker, including having the right tools ready.

Wood Turning - After the Basic Tools, What Then?

Wood turning is an old craft. In fact, Egyptian pictures on the sides of pyramid tombs indicate a history of at least three thousand years. Most of the basic tools such as cutting tools and the wood lathe itself have not really changed since then. At the same time the tool catalogues are full of a bewildering array of accessories, add-ons and gadgets. Here are some thoughts on what may make turning more enjoyable.

First of all there are the myriad numbers now of project parts. In days gone by, people either made some of these such as potpourri covers or had them made by other craftsmen. Now they are readily available from various suppliers. Obviously, if you wish to make a pen, you will need pen parts. Simply buy project parts from reputable dealers and you will be fine.

Less obvious are some of the accessories, including safety items. One of the first things to buy is a face shield. Most woodworkers will already own and use safety glasses but there is a fundamental difference between a wood lathe and most other shop power tools. Most of our tools have rotating or otherwise moving blades that cut through a piece of wood that is advanced to them. Wood lathes hold wood and move it toward us while we use sharp tools on it. If the wood is released for some reason it can fly out and hit a turner in the face. While this is rare, it does happen. What is more frequent as a turner advances in knowledge and begins to use more decorative wood with bark inclusions and other bits, is that shavings, bark and wood chips are thrown at the turner. A face mask is almost a requirement.

To go along with the face mask is the sanding equipment and dust mask that is needed. A simple piece of sandpaper will work for a long while, but sanding pads powered by electric drill or some other means speed up work. They also kick up a lot of dust and lungs should be protected with a dust mask. Look for one with an N95 safety rating to protect your lungs.

While chucks are a topic in themselves, many wood turners like to use four jaw chucks to hold wood on the lathe. While these are not necessary, they are very convenient for a lot of uses. Get a good one. They tend to hold large and heavy blocks of wood that should not be allowed to fly out from the lathe. Remember that these are very young in the history of the craft and may cost more that some beginner lathes.

One of the great additions to the turner's arsenal in recent years has been the use of cyanoacrylate glues, sometimes called super glues after one of the first marketed to the general public. They come in various viscosities or thicknesses. Many turners will find plenty of uses for both the thin and medium types. They are handy for holding some work, attaching pen or other project parts, filling cracks that would otherwise spoil a piece of work and the list goes on. These are available from most woodturning and woodworking suppliers.

While there are other always other things to consider purchasing in the never ending game of tool buying, once the basics are on hand, this age old craft is a great provider of all kinds of enjoyment. Even though many new tools and accessories may be bought or dreamt of, woodturning only needs the basics for good craft.

Using Power Tools For Easy Work

In almost any variety of home crafting, power tools make a noticeable difference - most jobs can be done easier, faster, and with more precision than by hand. There are two general categories of power tools - portable and bench-mounted.

Portable Power Tools

Portable tools are not as accurate as bench tools, but their convenience and mobility may easily justify their purchase.

Electric drill is the most versatile of all portable power tools. Hole-drilling is its regular duty, but attachments are available for sanding, polishing, grinding, routing, turning, sawing, and many other jobs. Check into the assortment of attachments - you will probably put an electric drill at the top of your tool shopping list.

Electric handsaw is very useful for cutting large sheets of plywood and lengths of standard-sized lumber. It's easy to handle and maneuver - you simply guide the saw along the line you're cutting. Blade diameters range from 4½ to 12 inches. A special table is available for converting a power handsaw into a table saw.

Saber saw is a popular tool because of its ability to make both straight and intricately-curved cuts - and it is priced relatively low. It will cut wood up to 2 inches thick, and blades are available for cutting sheet metal, plastic, and rubber. Attachments include a rip guide and an angle base. You can easily make cut-outs or do key-hole work by riding the saw on the tip of its "shoe" and slowly lowering it to cut through.

A router makes smooth, groove-type cuts. It is very handy for making joints - including rabbet, dado, mortise-and-tenon, and dovetail - and it's also useful for beading and inlaying. Attachments are available for quick conversion into a saber saw, orbital sander, or electric plane.

Orbital sander has a sanding pad that moves in a tiny circle, allowing you to sand either with or across the wood grain. You can do both heavy and finish sanding, depending upon the coarseness of the abrasive paper you attach.

Vibrator, or reciprocating sander, can also be used for either heavy-duty or fine finishing work (depending upon the abrasive) but has a pad that moves back and forth in a straight line. Belt sander must be kept moving with the grain at all times, as the sanding belt moves in only in one direction. It is useful for sanding large, flat surfaces where you want to remove large quantities of wood rapidly.

Bench-Type Power Tools

For furniture making, there are two bench-type power tools commonly found in the home shop; the table saw and the drill press. The lathe is very handy for turning furniture legs and round pieces, and the jointer precisely smooth edges and faces of boards, but most craftsmen consider both to be more luxury than necessary. The table saw is extremely useful for accurately cutting both large and small pieces of wood. It is usually equipped with a ripping fence for long, accurate cuts, and a miter gauge for precise cutting of ends and various angles in shorter pieces. Several accessories are available for special cuts and particular shaping jobs.

Drill press is designed for drilling accurate, uniform holes. Most presses are equipped with stops for easy control of angle and depth. For projects that require a lot of hole-drilling, a drill press is invaluable. The machine is also handy for mortising and - with attachments - shaping, routing, and drum sanding.

Home Made Hand Tools For Hobby Foundry Work

If you have been thinking about making a start in hobby foundry work in your home workshop, you may be forgiven for thinking that the tools and equipment are going to cost you an arm and a leg, this need not be. Sure, you could trot off to the downtown industrial tools supplier and take home an arm full of expensive tools.

But if you take a good look at some of the tools, you'll discover that the design principles and fabrication could well be undertaken in the home workshop if you have metal fabrication skills and a reasonable amount of basic metal working equipment.

Take for instance "crucible lifting tongs", once you understand how these tools operate; you could quite easily make a set or two over a weekend. The basic design action operates on the "scissor principle" but they don't cut anything, they are designed to "clamp securely" onto the crucible to lift it out of the furnace when the metal has melted. Great caution needs to be taken while carrying out this operation, as one slip due to faulty or badly designed tongs, and you could have a disaster on your hands.

The best way to design and build a set of tongs is to copy a well made set, or to follow directions set out in a textbook or ebook downloaded from the net, we'll give you some links a little further on in this article.

Some of the most frequently used basic tools you'll need in the hobby foundry are; Bench ramming moulders tool - Tube sprue cutter - turned wood sprues - slick & oval spoon - hand riddle or sand sieve - draw pins, screws & hooks - rapping bar and spike - gate cutter - strike off bar - sand carving tools (made from old hacksaw blades).

The tools mentioned above seem to be the ones that will be most used in your hobby foundry... and all of them can be home made if you have metal & wood working skills, it will take time and effort to make the tools required but they wont cost you a red cent if you make them from scrap materials, and if you are like most hobbyists you will know where to "scrounge stuff".

You may have to experiment with different ideas before you arrive at the most satisfactory design, but you will learn a great deal about why things have to be made in certain ways.

Do you own a wood lathe? Even a most basic machine will suffice in the home workshop, you could even make your own if you were keen enough,I guarrantee there are tens of thousands of home made wood lathes sitting in hobby workshops the world over. A wood lathe will repay itself many times over when you start to make patterns for your hobby foundry.

Your bench-ramming tool can be quickly turned to shape on your wood lathe, in fact, while you're at it, make two or three of them in different shapes & sizes, they will all come in handy when ramming and moulding patterns of differing sizes, you could get away with a single tool, but you wont regret making extra tools.

After a pattern has been completely rammed in a sand mould, and before the metal is poured, the pattern has to be removed without disturbing any of the surrounding sand. Draw pins and spikes are used to remove timber patterns from sand moulds.

Simple draw pins can easily be fabricated from long slender wood screws, particleboard screws are ideal. The easiest way to convert woodscrews into draw pins is to braze-weld a short length of 1/4" dia mild steel rod onto the head of the screw...that is all you need to do... make a set of them with different gauge screws as well long and short ones and you should have the field covered as far as lifting pins or draw spikes go... simple isn't it.

Blunt hacksaw blades are usually thrown in the bin, from now on you should save them, as many useful little hobby foundry tools can be made from old saw blades, quite often small sand carving tools can be quickly made by grinding and shaping using a normal bench grinder.

By being resourceful and thinking how you can use scrap materials, you should see now that there is absolutely no need to spend large amounts of money to get the tools and things you need for your hobby. If you are not sure about your own building & fabricating abilities then you should always ask advice.

A Basic List of Hand Tools Needed For Kids to Get Started in Woodworking

You can buy the tools that you don't already have as you get to them in the book or you can go ahead and buy them all at once. In the article below I give suggestions as to sizes and styles that can help children get the most out of their use. The advantage in having all your tools ahead of time is that it will save you from having to run around trying to find what you'll need the day before you start a new project just to find out it's sold out. Another advantage is you can often times find all the tools you need online at one site. This can save you time and money.

Here is a list of tools you'll need. Use this to compare what you already have to what you'll need to purchase. You can buy each child their own set (which would be nice since one of the first projects is a tool box) or they can share tools. (But getting kids to do that is an entire book unto itself.)

A. Measuring Tape (12') they make measuring tapes that have the fractions labeled on the tape to make it easier to read especially if your child is just learning about fractions.

B. Ruler (12") wooden ones are easier to read than the clear or colored plastic ones.

C. Hammer (7 - 10oz for smaller children, 16oz for older children with better hand eye coordination)

D. Screwdrivers: flathead and Phillips

E. Nail set

F. Handsaw (western or Japanese style)

G. Coping saw

H. Block plane

I. Brace Drill (Hand drill)

J. Rasp

K. Sandpaper (100, 120, 150, 180 grits)

L. Glue (white or yellow) water proof for outdoor projects

M. Screws and nails (a box each of 1 ¼" and 1 5/8" drywall screws and a box each of 3d, 4d, and 6d finish nails will get you through most projects in this book).

N. Clamps (See the lesson on building the step stool for information on clamps).

O. Safety glasses (it may take some extra effort, but find a pair that fits your child. They will become frustrated quickly if every time they start to swing a hammer they have to push their glasses back up on their noses. Manufactures do make child size glasses it just might take some looking around to find them.)

P. Combination square

Q. Speed square

Again, this isn't a complete list of the hand tools needed to build any project imaginable, but it's a great start. Armed with the above list of hand tools you can conquer all the projects in our book, "Woodshop 101 for Kids"

All About Wood Tools

Wood is a very tricky material to work with. With its interesting properties and various forms and sizes, it is best to start working out some wood with the use of different handy wood tools for better results.

In wood working, which is often times described as the process of creating, making, carving, and building something with the use of wood. It was said that woodworking has been here for awhile. The use of various wood tools for wood working purposes has been traced since the ancient Egyptian times. Before, it was said that they use various pointed materials like spears as wood tools. Today however, lots of materials which differ in variety are used for wood.

Some famous wood tools are the claw hammer or finish head and the twenty five inches retractable tape measure. The Claw Hammer is the most widely used wood tools in the world. At a certain point in their lives people have used and utilized the claw hammer or the finish head. Even if there are lots of types of claw hammers the main feature of it is this smooth and rounded finish head. For starters, it is always good to use the ones which are not that heavy.

On the other hand, the main tools and materials used for measuring various types of wood materials is the 25" retractable tape measure. Same as the claw hammer, this is one widely used material wood. A good tape measure should have the usual and standard metric marking which can be locked to maintain your measurements. Another feature of this retractable tape measure is its hook which is loosely placed on the rivets by design. This hook is useful when marking measurements to get accurate results. Usually, this retractable tape measure is use for both internal and external measurements.

Wood Working Tools - Mitre Saw

What Does A Mitre Saw Do?

A mitre saw allows you to make angled cross cuts.

Let us take a simple example of a picture frame. You have a long piece of wood that you want to cut into four pieces to make up the frame. But instead of simply joining the pieces together so they are aligned at 90 degrees to each other, you prefer to make a mitre joint.

What is a mitre joint? It is when you bevel the two pieces to be attached together so that they meet at an angle. In the case of our picture frame, 45 degrees is an appropriate angle. Think of a picture frame you have seen recently and you should notice that most of them are made in this way.

Why Make A Mitre Joint?

In general, a mitre joint is considered an attractive joint, especially for frames (picture or otherwise). When the depth of the joint becomes greater then stronger options such as dovetails may be considered.

Sometimes a pipe is joined using a mitre saw to create the joint. In some such situations there may even be no other viable alternative.

Manual Mitre Saw

This features a metal base onto which a backsaw is positioned and is able to freely rotate. A backsaw is used because this allows for greater precision in cutting.

The base contains vice clamps onto which you can secure your piece of wood. Guiding rods then allow you to fix the angle at which you want to saw. This is a very similar concept to the original "mitre box".

Mitre Box

The mitre box precedes the manual mitre saw but the principle is much the same.

It is nothing more than an open ended and open top box with slots cut in it. It is usually made of wood or plastic.

The idea is that you position your piece of wood inside the box and then place your saw through the guides and begin to cut. The guides are usually set at 45 and 90 degrees. Some models feature 60 degrees, 30 degrees and other less common angles.

It is good practice to clamp your work to a bench but if you are cutting small pieces then you can often go without.

Powered Mitre Saw

The above devices are generally only good for making picture frames and similar constructions.

For larger applications you may find it more effective to use a power tool. Also, the price of such tools has dropped considerably in the last few years.

A powered mitre saw usually features an aluminium base above which is mounted a circular saw. The saw can be rotated around the base and locked into position at whatever angle you choose.

A variety of different models are available on the market. The most basic is a sliding saw. The saw is able to slide along a rail and this means that it can cut to larger than its own diameter. Another popular version is a compound saw. This allows you to not only angle your cut but also to tilt the blade at the same time.

Sharpening Wood Turning Tools - Relax To A Great Edge

One of the great secrets to sharpening woodturning tools lies not in the grinder nor the tool but in the woodturner. It is learning to relax and let the tools do the work.

When one begins to turn wood, there is a lot to learn at the wood lathe, which tools to use for what cuts, how to mount the wood safely, how to make a cut that leaves a good surface and how to sharpen the tools, among others. The most arcane appearing to most newcomers to the craft is sharpening, perhaps because it takes place at the grinder and not the wood lathe itself.

However, what one quickly learns at the wood lathe is a tense turner is a tired turner. The best cuts are made with the tool held lightly but firmly in the securing hand while addressing the wood with the guiding, not clenching, hand. Legs are spread about shoulder width apart with the knees slightly bent and the leading leg the same as the guiding hand. This allows the back to be slightly curved but not rigid and the cuts to be guided rather than forced. Work goes ahead without undue effort and the tools do the work rather than being forced by tiring muscles.

All of this seems to be forgotten at the grinder. Yet the movements and body stance to sharpen the woodturning tools are or should be the same as those in turning the wood. With the grinder at the same height as the wood lathe and the tool rest in much the same position, movements that cut wood will now sharpen the tools. Tension on the part of the turner will, however, provided forced and jerking movements that will ruin and edge.

To sharpen free hand it is necessary to duplicate the hand and leg stances of the wood turning. The tool is allowed to ride the bevel along the grindstone and the handle raised as if for a cut. When sparks are observed coming over the edge the tool is rolled left and right as is for a cut. This results in a good edge without tension. Because of this relaxation, not only is a better edge developed, but the turner is also more likely to sharper often without facing all the nervousness of the grinder.

Sharpening jigs serve to eliminate a lot of the tension early because the possibility of error is greatly reduced. They also eliminate the need to learn new sharpening skills at the same time as new woodturning skills. Regardless, a better edge will be received from using the jig if the use is done in a relaxed manner.

Woodturning is intended to be enjoyable. Relaxing and enjoying the sharpening as well as the cutting will develop an all round pleasant experience in the woodworking shop.

Care of Wood Lathe Tools

In order to get the most out of your lathe you will need sharp, well maintained tools. Wood lathe tools take a lot of abuse, much more so that most of the other equipment in your toolbox. This is simply as a result of the amount of wood they can go through in a short amount of time. Carving a large piece of wood that is turning at high velocity is enough to dull even the best chisel.

So what can you do to keep your tools sharp? The first and one of the most important things you should be doing is cleaning your chisels after each use. This small step will go a along way towards prolonging the lifetime of your tools and keeping them sharp. Taking good care of your chisel set with regular cleaning will result having to sharpen them less often and better results from your carving.

You want to keep your tools as sharp as possible, but you don't want to sharpen them too much. Each time you sharpen your wood lathe tools you are grinding a little bit of them away, and over the lifetime of your tools this will wear them down until they are little more than wood handles with little metal stubs on them. You might not have seen this happen, but believe me it does!

That said, all the cleaning in the world won't stop your tools from dulling if you use them frequently, at some point they will need to be sharpened. The process of sharpening a chisel is a fairly precise art, and the best thing to do is have an experienced wood turner show you how to do it. Failing that I would recommend watching a video of wood lathe tools being sharpened, as there's really no substitute for seeing it done.

With all that said I will give a quick overview of the steps needed to sharpen a chisel. First off you will need a tool grinder, preferably one that runs over three thousand RPM and for your wheel you will want aluminum oxide with something like sixty grit.

You should always wet your wheel with a little bit of water before sharpening, to prevent sparks and keep your tools from catching. Depending on the specific chisel or gouge you want to sharpen you will need to use different angles of attack and pressures to achieve the desired result. Tools should be applied to the wheel, with a light pressure, taking care not to force them as this can result in nicks and scratches, and it can be very dangerous if your tool catches at 3000 RPM.

With regular cleaning and sharpening you will keep your wood lathe tools at their best and your wood turning projects will never suffer because of inferior tools. There's nothing worse than working on a project for weeks only to have a gouge with a nick in it catch your spindle and snap it in two.

Sharpening Wood Turning Tools - 7 Things to Keep In Mind

Woodturning is one of the most basic of crafts and the requirements are simple; a wood lathe to hold the work and make it spin, wood to shape and tools to cut the wood. This is woodworking at its most basic. In order to also make it among the most enjoyable of woodworking crafts is that most basic of wood cutting needs, sharp tools. There are a few things to keep in mind when sharpening wood turning tools.

First is the edge that is sought after. Many wood workers seek to sharpen a knife, chisel or plane blade to a razor edge for a clean cut and lovely shaving. However the wood for a typical woodworker stays still while the blade cuts. At the wood lathe the opposite occurs, wood spins and the tool is guided to the cut. The spinning wood, often with bark, knots and perhaps included grit rapidly ruins a razor edge. So the edge sought is one that works well but is not so sharp as to disappear.

Second is the equipment needed. Woodworkers often get a beautiful edge with various stones while woodturners are more at home with a good tool grinder. Most of the time the tool will be sharpened at the grinder and presented to the wood. A good wheel made of aluminum oxide with a grit of 80 to 100 will give a serviceable edge with a good surface left on the wood.

Third is the skill needed to sharpen that array of woodturning tools. Many woodworkers will need to sharpen straight edges with the possible foray into sharpening saws and wood carving gouges. Woodturners have tools with blades straight, curved, round, and fluted. Many have angles of sharpening that vary along the curved edge. While being able to sharpen freehand is a great asset, sharpening guides are wonderful assets to both the professional and the amateur.

Fourth is the frequency of sharpening. While the person who has learnt how to sharpen a knife well will find themselves infrequently going to the sharpening bench, a woodturner may find themselves at the tool grinding machine every couple of minutes. This makes a difference as to how a person sets up the shop to prevent too many footsteps between the wood lathe and the grinder.

Fifth comes the selection of tools. Principally they are made of three materials for the blades, high carbon steel, high speed steel and specialty steels. For all intents and purposes, most turners use the high speed steels. They will hold an edge longer than high carbon and are significantly cheaper than the specialties. A grinder with that aluminum oxide wheel will do a good job on them and will be adequate for each of the others, especially when using a sharpening jig.

Sixth is the consideration of what cuts are required by the tool. This may mean that some otherwise identical tools need to be sharpened with different configurations. Turning wood bowls is an excellent example. Some cuts are best performed with a bowl gouge sharpened straight across at a forty five degree angle. Others need a similar bowl gouge but shaped to have long wings and an angle varying from about seventy degrees at the tip to forty five along the edges. Again, a sharpening jig simplifies the sharpening process.

Seventh and perhaps most important is learning to relax while sharpening the various tools. If a poor edge or the wrong angle is obtained, it is a simple matter to return to the tool grinder and fix it. Tension is more likely to ruin an edge than is poor technique. Besides, woodturning is meant to be fun. Relaxing and enjoying such a large part of the process only adds to the amusement. Once again, consider making or buying a sharpening jig to add to the joy of woodturning.

Sharpening woodturning tools is a skill accessible to everyone who wishes to turn wood or work with a wood lathe. There are a few things to keep straight but as in all things with wood turning, practise may not make perfect but it goes a long way to getting great results.