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u/whatever56561977 1d ago
Take a class, then make lots of shavings. Don’t be afraid of messing up. Learn from your mistakes. Watch Richard Raffan on YouTube (he’s been turning professionally for 50 years, but more importantly he’s an excellent teacher).
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u/daven_53 1d ago
Look for a local woodturning club. Failing that I agree with Raffan videos, excellent.
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u/BothAppointment3284 1d ago
Tried to reply all but messed up. Thanks everyone for the quick and helpful responses!!! I should mention I am afraid of actual equipment with moving parts. (For the rational reason that I want to keep my fingers.) so the mention of different types of tools is a bit frightening. I live in Brooklyn NY and there are craft and wood working welding soldering classes etc but for some reason woodturning is always the most expensive, and is offered like one day a year…!
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u/tigermaple 1d ago edited 1d ago
You're pretty close to one of the nationally renowned arts & crafts schools, Peters Valley (~2+ hr drive from Brooklyn). You could make a week or a weekend out of it and take one of their upcoming woodturning classes:
ETA: I did find this one closer and sooner also, and you're right that it's a bit pricey relative to the total amount of contact hours but I don't have a good feel for what is reasonable in New York, and on the other hand, I've never regretted a penny spent on classes, you pretty much always get your money's worth and then some in terms of accelerating your learning curve:
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u/WhatsUpDaddyCat 1d ago
I watched a ton of YouTube videos before I actually took a class at Woodcraft. Nothing beats hands on learning from someone.
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u/Just4FunAvenger 1d ago
Classses, if you don't have a lathe. Practice if you do. Reading. There are a lot of great books out there. Youtue. There are some really good turners that give great information. My personal recommendation:
By no means the only one. But a good place to start.
My best bit of advice. Better skills. Not better tools. Don't waste your time and money buying better tools, if you don't know how to use them. Develop your skills. Not your tool collectiion.
Unless you're a tool whore. Like me. LMFAO!
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u/TerenceMulvaney 1d ago
In addition to all the other good comments, start with green wood. It is much more forgiving and will let you experiment with techniques without worrying about how much the wood cost.
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u/1-719-266-2837 1d ago
Besides a local turning club or lessons? YouTube.
Worth the Effort and Turn a Wood Bowl have some very good instructional videos.
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u/MontEcola 1d ago
Take a class. The best way to do that for most people is to join a wood turning club. My club gives lessons for $25 for a whole day.
If you are lucky, you may know someone willing to teach you some things.
I stated with you tube videos. and I learned bad habits. When I took classes at my club someone could correct me and fix it. Turning the angle of the tool by 10 degrees made a huge difference. And holding the tool handle on my body was great to learn too.
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u/AlternativeWild3449 11h ago
Take a class if possible. Otherwise, there are many good YouTube videos to watch. And combine that with just doing it. The more shavings you make, the better you become at it.
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u/Chester-J-Lampwick 1d ago
Carbide tools, and some YouTube.
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u/Relyt4 1d ago
I bought HSS tools to start, but the majority of the beginner YouTube videos I see are all done with carbide. I thought of taking a class at rockler but they're all carbide also. Would it be worth picking up a set of carbide tools to learn with if I already have HSS?
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u/JustAnotherSlug 1d ago
Carbide and hss are different to use, but not impossible to learn both.
The big reason I recommend carbide over hss for beginners is that they don’t need sharpening as much. Since most beginners have small amounts of kit, it’s rare that they have a grinder with the correct wheel or sharpening system.
I learnt with hss because that’s all we had back in the day. I turn with carbides now, but I also have a grinder…. I’m also lazy…. And time poor. When I get my act together, I’ll likely go back to hss because I really do like the flexibility it gives me .
Also, should you want to turn resin, carbides tend to give a better finish imho.
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