Lathe Equipment | Metal and Wood Lathes

Hearing Protectors

Hearing Protection is just too easily overlooked in small shops.

On large sites everyone wears them because of Health and Safety rules but at home, they mostly just get left on the shelf.

And the long term effects can be anything from annoying to catastrophic later in life.

The smallest and cheapest type of hearing protection is ear plugs.

Easily kept in a pocket and small enough to keep lots of them around the shop.

The drawback is they become dirty and will often irritate some ear canals.

Hearing protection cups, like stereo headphones offer the best protection and with padding against the side of the head, won’t annoy or become irritating.

That is until you try to put on a dust mask and one tangles with the other.

But with this type of hearing protection you know you’re safe and hearing loss won’t become a problem later.

Protectors come in all varieties of cost and performance.

Get the best you can afford.

Metal Drill Bits

One accessory you’re going to need for your shop is a set of Metal Index Drill Bits

There are bits available at all sorts of prices from very cheap to extremely expensive.

And the rule of thumb is “You get what you pay for“.

The drill bits you’ll find at the local hardware probably won’t be good enough unless they’re Cobalt Drill Bits or at at least HSS which stands for High Speed Steel.

Most everything else is too soft carbon steel which blunts easily and is really only useful for wood. If you find a set of lathe drills that are TiN coated, they’ll be great as the coating stops chips and cuttings from sticking (or welding) to the surface and scoring or marking the drilled surface.

Cobalt Drill Bits are more expensive than lots of other bits but will keep on cutting evenly and that’s what you need on a lathe where pressure is often a whole lot higher that with an ordinary drill press.
I’ve used many Irwin products to date and they’ve never let me down.

If it’s Irwin, I highly recommend it.

You may also need to get a Lathe Drill Chuck for the tailstock if there’s not one in your tool box.

Sharpening Lathe Tools

The only way to attack a piece of timber and get great results is with extremely sharp tools.

Razor sharp.

You can grind your chisels and knives dry but you take the risk of burning the tip and losing the steel hardness.

To get that extra keenness on the end of a blade, the professional choice is a slow speed wet grinder to sharpen lathe tools.

The slower speed and water delivery ensure better control over edge finish.

At low rpm, chisels take a little longer to get fully sharpened but there is less likelyhood of damage to the steel and better control over the amount of material that is removed plus it’s easier to keep the correct alignment of cutting edge.

Use the leather strop to finish knife and chisel blade sharpening and you’ll have that razor sharpness that almost guarantees good workmanship.

The grinding wheel is 10′ dia. and 2′ wide and the grinder comes with grinding paste.

As far as price goes, the Grizzly Wet Grinder Kit beats everything on the market.

Made in Germany and typical Grizzly quality, you’ll find wet grinding lathe tools on this 10″ grinder will help create a better finish to wood lathe projects.

3M Respirator Mask

Dust Masks are such a nuisance.

Until you wish you were wearing one. They get in the way of your vision because they’re never cleaned properly; they make breathing difficuly because the cartridges never get changed and they can be hot and sweaty to wear.

BUT. Stand back and see someone using an angle grinder or bench grinder and you’ll see the sort of garbage that floats around your nose and mouth in the shop.

3M Respirator Masks remove the problems normally found in dust masks with usual 3M effeciency. If you live in a warm climate, they can still get a bit sweaty but they’re more comfortable than most other masks on the market due to the construction and design.

Made from durable silicon material and with Cool Flow exhaust valve for easier breathing, 3M dust masks certainly make the shop a lot safer.

Don’t waste your time or health with on disposable dust mask. They’re for show not safety.

If you’re going to do something in or out of the shop that’ll create clouds of dust or drag out the spray painter and have over spray filling the area, put on a mask. You’ll be very glad later in life.

And always have spare 3M respirator cartridges on hand.

Clean the mask thoroughly before (don’t breathe in old dirt) and after use, change the filters frequently.

The 3M Respirator Mask comes from Amazon so you’re sure on price and delivery.

Lathe Instructions

If you’re new to metal or woodworking and want to know How to Work a Lathe, this is the book to get you started.

In this 260 page book you’ll find an explanaition of lathe parts, accessories you may want to chase up as you get more experienced including cutting tools and tool holders, you get operating procedures and machine set-up.
Here is what others thought about this book on how to run a lathe:

D Logan owner R F & M -”Very well written a approach rto train the novice machinist. I have seen other books on the subject and find this book starts where it should with very good detail , SAFETY.. Book is well laid out and each chapter provides a good question and answer section at the end ..I highly recomend this book..”

Johan Stokman (Fort Worth, TX USA) “Great book for the “true beginner”, me. Very well written, lots of good advice on safety and operations. Just the info you need to get started, now for the next book..”

This book on Lathe Operation and Maintenance is the place to start whether you’re brand new to lathes or need more lathe instructions to build your experience levels.

Dewalt 8 inch Bench Grinder

The DEWALT DW758 8-inch heavy-duty bench grinder comes with a powerful 3/4-HP induction motor for heavy-duty grinding operations.

The bearings are such fine fittings that after the grinder is switched off, the grinding wheels will keep turning for some time.

Sturdy tool rests are easily adjustable and won’t move once locked tight.

Key features include an industrial cast-iron base and motor housing for added durability and prolong life, and the motor runs at 3,600 RPM for easy and reliable high speed material removal.

There’s a 12-1/2-inch distance between wheels for longer and larger grinding applications, and precision-machined adjustable aluminum tool rests allow the user to accurately position work.

Rear exhaust ports in the wheel guards provide smooth operation. This grinder measures 16 inches long and weighs 39-1/2 pounds and comes with a 36-grit wheel, a 60-grit wheel, eye shields, spark deflectors, tool rests, and an adjusting wrench.

No wheel dressing tool comes with the grinder and this is a very necessary tool to keep your chisels and metal cutting equipment edges straight when sharpening. Something you will definitely need.

The DEWALT DW758 8 Bench Grinder is going to do lots of work in your shop and the 8 inch size abrasive wheels give a cleaner finish then smaller wheels that tend to create grinding bounce and inaccuracy.

Wood Turning Tools

There are quite a number of woodworking lathe tools on the market and not all are the quality needed to turn out great projects. The type of steel will determine just how sharp you can get lathe chisels and if you can’t keep a chisel sharp, you’re going to end up with lots of chuncking and difficult to remove marks. These wood lathe turning tools are carbon steel and will retain that keen edge longer than cheap, low grade steel chisels.

The 800 by Great Neck is an 8 Piece Wood Turning Tool Set

wood lathe turning tools

The set are high carbon alloy tools.

Comes with season kiln-dried hardwood handles and plate ferrule.

The set is accurately ground, sharpened, hardened and tempered.

Blades are made of high quality forged tool steel, correctly hardened, ground with proper bevels, and polished.

Blades are securely fitted with long tangs into special designed natural finish hardwood handles.

Blades are 6 1 2″ long, handles are 10 1 2″ long. More information on Great Neck Lathe Chisels

Steelex Plus D2304 Deluxe HSS 6 Peice Lathe Chisel Set

This Deluxe Lathe Chisel Set features beefy ash handles for unsurpassed control, brass ferrules and high speed steel
blades.

Includes:

17″ long 13/16″ Parting Tool

13/16″ Round Nose and 3/8″ Gouge

19″ long 1″ Skew

5/8″ Gouge and a 22 3/4″ long 3/8″ Gouge.

Comes in a beautiful red blow-molded carrying case.

Steelex Wood Turning Lathe Tools are the very best quality and won’t let you down.

Steelex 4 Jaw Chuck for Wood Lathe

Increase your wood lathe’s versatility with this Steelex Chuck for Wood Lathes

This 4-jaw chuck is 6″ in diameter and comes complete with key.

The 4-jaw chuck is an independent-type chuck that is used for square and odd-shaped pieces.

Each jaw tightens individually and can be turned around to hold larger dimension workpieces.

This 4 Jaw Chuck will help you add new and interesting designs to your work and let you create more complex work pieces and projects.

Steelex Chucks fit many of the wood lathes in the U.S.A.
Will it fit yours? Click on the image to get further information.

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