New woodworkers will be amazed at the complex operations that are possible using the tools they already have by using the tools and accessories. Wood turners are be able to make spiral cuts and turn spindles using their table saw, turn their drill press into a lathe, and turn their router into a duplicator. And new CNC woodturning machines promise to only increase what is possible.Shop-made Chatter Tool

I must say that this isn't a tool that I have been anxiously awaiting to have. It's not a critical tool for the woodturning that I've been doing and major surface treatments just aren't something I normally do ... yet. Still, I had been mildly intrigued by doing some chatter-work on some of my smaller items and knew that this tool wouldn't be difficult to make myself.

A Very Cool Parting Tool

The parting tool is used to cut off (part) the wood at a certain point while it is still turning. It is also used to size certain locations on the wood while it is turning. You use a pair of calipers, pre-set to the desired size, in one hand, and the parting tool in the other. As you cut a groove deeper and deeper into the wood with the parting tool, the caliper is also in the groove. As soon as the caliper will slide onto the remaining wood, you know you have cut deep enough. This process is repeated at each location where you want a size established. This is a great aid in turning. It helps you keep track of the required various sizes at all the various locations on your piece.

Tools of the Trade First of all, I still have the 'set' of tools I bought with my first lathe - a Myford ML8. After a few years' of turning, I went on a week-long woodturning course with Scott Myles, in Fife. There I was introduced to a different range and size of turning tools, so what should I do? Buy some, of course. That more than doubled my tool collection and put a hole in my pocket. I spent some time making my own tools, working out what and how tools worked in a particular way. One design went into production and, of course, I had to have at least one set of each size - that was the Robert Sorby captive ring tool. I collected tools from various countries I visited: interesting hook tools from Norway, and even some tools from Australia. Learn to Master the Kelton Center Saver

The Kel McNaughton Center Saver System (also known as the Kelton Center Saver, the McNaughton Bowl Saver, the Kelton Saver and the Kel McNaughton Coring Tool) enables you to easily produce one or more bowls from a single block of timber. Removing several bowls from the center of each blank saves time, money and allows significant conservation of expensive, or highly figured timbers. Typically, you can save one rough blank for each inch to inch and a quarter of thickness.

Wallet Friendly Shear Scrapers

Ordinary rectangular scrapers can be hard to use for shear cuts. Rounded bottom scraper are not cheap. Here's how to make your own shear scrapers. This article appeared in the September 1999 issue of The American Woodturner, the journal of the American Association of Woodturners. This is a somewhat reduced scan of the article.

Detail Gouge

This article tells how to make a small detail spindle gouge with a large enough cross section to resist vibration. Valen Frye had set up his homemade forge and led us through the hardening and tempering process. This was quite a revelation for me. As an unrepentant tool fetishist, I’ve made many tools, but as I’ve always regarded hardening and tempering as impenetrable mysteries, I have always had to limit myself to grinding. Unhardened steel is much easier to shape. You can still grind, but you can also saw, file and drill, and it all goes much faster. In particular, grinding a consistent flute for a gouge with home shop tools is a very iffy procedure. But as long as you don’t try to go too deep, drilling is easy.

Small CNC Milling Machine

A Small CNC Milling Machine is a small mill controlled by computer. Very used by designers and amateurs this tool can make your projects come alive in no time. The uses for a CNC machine are endless and I’m sure that you will find it irreplaceable not matter what you do for a living. Just think about it, you literally have a machine that can make most of the parts for other machines with precision. The small milling machine can also be used to make models of your works, engravings, cuttings, moldings, etc. Just think about the money you are going to save and reduction in time that your projects will have.