Tools
My items are made on a wood turning lathe - machine that spins wood around, I use cutting tools (gouges, skews etc.) to shape the wood by hand - no computer controlled machines / CNC - just skill learned through years of working with wood.
I work mostly seated, which is more challenging - I have to think of my safety more too - it isn't for everyone.
My physical conditions mean I'm intolerant of noise and dust - I don't use heavy or excessively noisy machinery, and due to dust allergies dispose of dust in a quiet manner. The only sizeable machine is my lathe (which isn't that big) - I have a small band saw (used occasionally), an electric chain saw (used a few times a year). The rest of my studio contains a well made bench and a few well chosen hand tools.
Wood Turning Chisels
There are many wood turning chisels available to buy, that perform many tasks. I don't own or use a lot of these - for most of my bowl work I could happily use a 1/2" spindle gouge, a few scrapers, a parting tool, and a few tools to create the beads.
However, I do use some short handled bowl gouges (short handled as I'm sitting down, long handed don't work so well for me), along with some roughing gouges to remove rough timber, and a 3/8" spindle gouge for finer work. That's it really - I don't need more.
I sharpen my tools mostly on diamond tip metal plates, by hand. When the tip starts to round over, I reface them on a grinder (which on average happens at most every month, just not very long). On the grinder, I don't use any special jigs, just a decent tool rest and my hands/body coordination.
