The Frugal Woodturner: Make and Modify All the Tools and Equipment You Need

Spend Less and Have More Fun Turning

To enjoy woodturning,  you don't have to spend a lot of money. You don't need a lot of space or a lot of wood, and you can make and modify your own turning equipment from easily found or low-cost items. And, now, thanks to author and teacher Ernie Conover, you can discover all the practical and savvy knowledge you need to affordably set up a workshop and enjoy woodturning on a budget.

With The Frugal Woodturner, you'll learn how to:

*Choose the right lathe

*Find good tools without breaking the bank

*Be smart about sharpening

*Set up a shop on three different budgets

*Make your own finishes and varnish

*Use greenwood, firewood, and discarded lumber

Best of all, by being a frugal woodturner and crafting your own tools and equipment, you'll get a deeper understanding of - and have as much fun as - the process of turning itself.

This comprehensive guide covers all the elements needed for setting up and maintaining a personal woodturning shop on a budget.

Ernie Conover is a professional woodworker and the author of The Lathe Book, The Router Table Book, Turn a Bowl, Turning for Furniture, and Woodworker’s Guide to Dovetails. He teaches and provides academic oversight at Conover Workshops, a craft school that has taught thousands of students the craft of woodturning, founded by the Conover family.

Ernie Conover is a professional woodworker and the author of The Lathe Book, The Router Table Book, Turn a Bowl, Turning for Furniture, and Woodworker’s Guide to Dovetails. He teaches and provides academic oversight at Conover Workshops, a craft school that has taught thousands of students the craft of woodturning, founded by the Conover family.

Introduction

1 Choosing the right lathe

*Lathe types, small to large

*A brief history of the lathe

*Saving money: Making your own spring pole lathe

*Sizing up a lathe, new or used

*Saving money: Building a shopmade lathe stand

2  Finding good tools without breaking the bank

*The three families of turning tools

*Tools for spindle and faceplate turning

*A short course in steelmaking

*Tools for spindle and faceplate work

*Saving money: Grinding your own scrapers

*Saving money: Make a chatter tool, and your own tool handles

*Saving money: Making a scraper from a screwdriver

*Measuring and marking tools

*Finding good used tools

*Tools you can't live without

*A short lesson in heat-treating

3 Be smart about sharpening

*The basics of grinding and honing

*How to choose the right grinder and wheels

*Using handy grinding jigs

*Sharpening a spindle gouge

*Sharpening a bowl gouge

*Saving money: The Heiple Sharpening System

*Honing: The final step to sharp tools

*Whetstones and slipstones

4 Finding wood without spending lots of money

*Finding free or cheap wood

*Understanding wood movement

*Spindles: Splitting and riving, then turning

*Turning green bowls

5 Holding the wood on the lathe

*Commercial chucks

*Saving money: Making your own faceplate and steady rest

*Making your own chucks

*Saving money: Making a jam chuck and using it to turn a box

*A typical bowl-turning session

6 Simple, inexpensive finishes

*Build a durable finish with shellac

*Saving money: Mix your own shellac

*Polishing with carnauba wax

*Safe oil finishes

*Saving money: Making your own oil/varnish finish

7 Good woodturning setups for three budgets

*Tight budget/basic setup

*Medium budget/All-around setup

*Large budget/Upscale setup

Appendix 1: Schools and Programs of Study

Index