The Frugal Woodturner: Make and Modify All the Tools and Equipment You Need (Fox Chapel Publishing)

I like this book so far, I haven't finished all the sections of it as it's things that should be done with the book to provide guidance and you go but so far so good. I will recommend it to anyone looking to save some money. He exposes the dirty secrets of the turning industry. For example instead of paying through the nose for that bowl gouge, take a regular one and re-cut the bevel on it. That's the big change that the manufacturers try to stick us six prices for. Lots of good tips and how too stuff in it. For 20 to 30 bucks you can get a wood tap and start making your own faces plates and chucks, The book shows you how. Not everyone will get any use from it. Making your own tools and such requires care and patience. If you have that, then get this book. If you'd rather plop down the credit card and charge into the wild woody yonder then don't bother.

I will have to admit to you right off, I recently purchased this book and have not actually read it cover to cover. I have taken a leisurely browse through it and have read some parts of it here and there. I spent about an hour doing this after I first recieved it. It is loaded with pictures and all sorts of information. Since I have yet to actually turn my first project I am thinking that as I move forward in my efforts this book will come to be more useful and important to me. Since woodturning tools can be very expensive it is always a good thing to have a little help along the way with converting one tool into another. The readings I have made so far, wanting to learn some about this hobby or possible livelihood. I have already learned that on occasion one will have to make some specialized tool to either make things easier or possible at all. I am knowing that this book will gain in value as I progress. The pictures and text seem to be very plain and clear. I was able to understand what the steps were and how to go about it just from the reading of it. The author is an experienced woodturner and has made lots of his own tools and jigs to make possible some of the projects within the book. I would hightly recomend getting this book if you think you will be seriously getting into woodturning.

I've had a wood lathe for about 2 years now, and consider myself at best an advanced beginner. There's a lot to be learned, there's a lot to explore, and my comments in this area reflect that state of knowledge and experience.I found Conover's book filled with useful tidbits and tips, things that I can apply now as well as info that I'm gonna have to grow into. I've been able to take information from this book directly to my lathe and put into practice, while other techniques I can visualize being of use as my skills develop. Because of my blacksmithing experience, I probably have a headstart on the toolmaking portion of this journey, but the application of tooling as it relates to turning is immensely valuable and I'm glad to have this volume in my how-to library.

…than Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge- yet the author based his plans on Underhill's. Not really any information given on how to use the thing and could use, for me anyway, just a little more detail but still worth having and I don't think it'd be as rickety as one reviewer thought (mostly Oak construction).I've just skimmed through the book, think it's too light in detail on some things but some nice bits on turning green wood, making special purpose chucks (at least one not commercially available), scrounging wood supplies. Could use more "frugal" information on building your own lathe.A good book to have in your lathe books collection.

The subtitle of this book is "Make and Modify All the Tools and Equipment You Need." That is NOT what most of the book is about. There are pages and pages and pages of general information that any but the most novice woodturner has already learned. (The book is not billed as an introduction to woodturning!) If you need to know the names of your lathe's parts -- the spindle, the tool rest, the banjo, etc. -- then this book might be for you. If you don't know the difference between a gouge, a scraper, a skew, and a parting tool, then this book might be for you. If you haven't purchased a lathe yet, you will get a couple of pages of things to consider when buying a lathe -- but it is a very shallow and opinionated treatment. If you are into old fashioned, there are 7 pages of plans for making your own (ricketty) spindle lathe out of wood (and rope) -- complete with a treadle foot pump to turn your wood spindle stock.If, however, you already own a lathe, and you are a bit beyond novice, and wish to make a lot of your own tools to cut down on expenses, this book really doesn't offer you very much at all. You will find plans for a wooden lathe bench, a screwdriver scraper, scrapers made out of old files, and a few other tidbits of questionable usefulness to many readers. You can find more and better information on making your own tools -- really useful information -- by searching the Internet using Google.The publisher's proofreader was asleep for the first few pages, as all the punctuation is in superscript -- a comma becomes an apostrophe, a period sits at the top of letters instead of at the bottom.The book has loads of good pictures, and is a quick read -- one evening should do it. I got it on sale, and don't think it was worth the sale price. Check it out from your library, or better yet, just spend an hour at the library and look through it. I doubt you'll spring for the purchase price unless you are a wannabe or a novice seeking a brief and disjointed introduction to woodturning tools. Don't expect any actual instruction in woodturning, however.

I am realitively new to woodturning. I purchased this book to get ideas and do things "on the cheap" as much as possible. I have made several tools already as well as several chucks. For example I made a turning tool called a armrest out of a piece of iron I had had lying around for several years. If you research any of the businesses that sell one of these tools you will find a cost of about $30 to $40. If you follow just one if the ideas presented in this book it will pay for itself easily.

Great reference book.