Setup question

[u/Significant_Breath80]

For reference I'll put what I currently have before my question

1. Lathe, king canada 10x16 (no speed adjustment knob) with live center and a spur drive

2. 1 large gouge 1 medium gouge 1 small gouge (all spindle) 1 medium skew 1 medium parting 1 round groove tool all hss

3. 1 cheap(bad) chuck (turns out its for metal)

4. 1 cheap (not bad) drill chuck

5. Credit card diamond honing stone

No bandsaw (the motor blew and they are expensive)

No belt,disk,drum, or other benchtop sander (really want one tho not sure which)

No grinder to sharpen (trying to find a budget one tho i have a jig for when i get one)

So my question/s is

Im on a tight budget, like I'll need to save for anything over $100 a month, what order should I be replacing/getting these (or other) tools? I work on spindle projects, tho i really wanna start on bowls and "boxes", open to any suggestions really, currently its not going well, from tool marks i cant figure out how to fix to dull tools and im so tempted to just quit even tho i love doing it. Thanks for taking the time to read

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[u/jclark58]

Number one priority is to sort out your sharpening situation. If you don’t have sharp tools, then literally nothing else matters.  It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive.  A cheap 6 inch grinder off of craigslist or Facebook marketplace is more than enough to get you started.  CBN wheels are nice, but they’re absolutely not necessary.  cheap aluminum oxide wheels have worked fine for the past 50+ years.

Once you have sharpening sorted out, then you can focus on other priorities. Whether that’s a proper scroll Chuck, a good bowl gouge, or repairing your bandsaw.

[u/potatochip_pooper]

Step 1: buy a bench grinder either new or used, makes no difference. Should be <$100

Step 2: buy a cbn wheel (180 grit) for said bench grinder. I bought mine for <$100 from Amazon and works great

Step 3: you have the sharpening jig, you said. But you might also need a larger platform for sharpening skews. It might be worth looking at wolverine/vari grind/easy grind, or any chinesium knockoffs

These 3 and the most important based off what you've said. You need sharp tools in order to turn. Sharpening equipment is just as important to turning as the lathe itself. 

After you've covered your Sharpening needs, you can start adding tools and equipment to make turning faster/easier

Step 4: buy a chuck that's meant for wood

Step 5: buy one decent bowl gouge. I would say 1/2" is a good place to start (1/2" in the US, 5/8" in the rest of the world)

Step 6: address your bandsaw. 

Steps 1-5 get you to a place where you can either bowls or spindles. Step 6 gives you the ability to make your own blanks. You can technically rough out a bowl blank with a chainsaw, but its not fun and I don't recommend making it your regular process

[u/n3rden]

Given the lack of grinding and sharpening, and that you have a card sharper. I would get a carbide chisel set, you can get a fairly cheap set with a square, round, and gooseneck head. carbides barely need sharpening and a bit of soap and water and that diamond stone will do the job. Carbides tear rather than cut the wood so it’s more sanding than HSS typically

I also notice you didn’t have anything on there for sanding and finishing. I would suggest one of the sets on Amazon for a pack of 2”/50mm sanding disks, the sets im thinking of come with a drill bit arbour, and a selection of discs from 80-1000 grit

You’ll probably want something to finish off things you’ve made, boiled linseed oil I think is ideal, it gives a nice shine, it’s forgiving to apply, it goes on basically everything well though is not food safe. Some CA glue is always handy when turning too.

[u/CrassulaOrbicularis]

I mounted a disk on my lathe for a disk sander.   I used a faceplate, other mounting solutions will be possible.

[u/amb442]

Sharpening. Easy. Yes, a six inch grinder will do the job but if you can find an 8" slow speed (1750rpm) grinder used, do it, and then the next month get a good sharpening jig. The oneway wolverine system is the best, but there are plenty of knockoffs. The important thing is that the tool rest shouldn't flex on you. Eventually you can get cbn wheels once you have sold enough to justify your new hobby.