looking for a set of turning tools

[MichaelMouse]

thanks,all!! now i have options and know what to look for and where to look.

I favor a sharp tool, which to me means one which is easy to touch up rather than one which "stays sharp" longer. Though I have a variety of alloys, including a very expensive (for its time) "name" gouge with extra vanadium, I treasure my carbon steel types which stone up rapidly for those final passes.  M2 must be touched up with diamond, and the vanadium and PM tools I have, ditto.  Lots of people just go to the grinder, but they buy more tools to replace those ground short, and don't get any better edge. 

I'd buy a set.  Usually cheaper that way, and lessons learned in usage will apply, regardless of alloy or price.   Take the supplied diamond scraper and grind to a beading tool.  It's a whale of a lot friendlier than a skew, though most people stick with the frustrations of a skew rather than go with a straight chisel.  I have a 1" straight, and use it a lot on spindle work.  

I also have an 1 1/2" roughing gouge.  Anything smaller won't give you the advantages of a broad sweep for working convex shapes.

[SteveS]

SteveS, “News Flash,” P & N tools just like other tools made with Chinese steel including other major brand names.  Sheffield England has gone green long time ago and only few mills still in production.    

Tool vendors can & do specify quality of steel composition!  Several years ago found out there were 22 compositions that qualify as of M2 HSS!

this source indicates that may not be the case.

"The raw material was imported from Austria, as the quality standard of the material  is excellent, & high speed steels are not manufactured in Australia in the required grade & size."

And interestingly they also state "Sutton Tools decide to cease production of the P&N woodturning tool range in early 2018 due to declining sales."

[gear jammer]

The RED handles ones from Harbor freight are great tools to learn on and they will get sharp. The other set is not as heavy.  These are also a good set to learn sharpening techniques rather than grind away expensive tools into metal dust.

A second set would be set of tools like easy wood tools and buy what you need. You will have to buy tips but they do a decent job using a scrape method. 

I use traditional tools and I can get them very sharp which make this turning hobby enjoyable.

[sawdust703]

Howdy,

I'm somewhat of a newbie at the lathe myself. My first lathe was a worn out 30" HF rattletrap that a wannabe woodworker was sellin' on account of their movin' out of state. He handed over a few worn out lathe tools along with it that weren't worth the effort to haul them home. I used that lathe for a few years til I got tired of fixin' it all the time,

I replaced it with a new HF 32" reversible head lathe. When I purchased that new lathe, I bought the red handled set of lathe tools with it. I changed out one of my grinder wheels with a 180 grit white grinder wheel, and left the other wheel at a 60 or 80 grit, I believe. I have self taught myself to hand sharpen my lathe chisels with some guidance from a good friend, and LOTS of practice on the junk tools from the old lathe.

Were I looking to purchase a "set" of tools for someone starting out, and trying to perfect their abilities, the red handled set from HF is the way I'd go! As he figures out what he wants to create on the lathe, whether it be bowls, vases, or whatever blows his shirt up,  let him purchase those tools one at a time until he perfects the use of it. He'll figure it, and it won't be long, he'll have a dandy set of lathe tools he can call his own, and have the abilities to do whatever he desires

[Rodneywt1180b]

PowerKraft was Montgomery Wards' line of tools.  Most likely decent carbon steel.  No, they won't hold an edge all that long compared to more modern steels but they should be good to learn on though you're not going to find a bowl gouge in an older set.
My Chinese bowl gouge doesn't stay sharp all that long either and compared side by side to good modern American made tools from makers like D-Way or Thompson it isn't much better than sharpened rebar.
You can still make a bowl with it, just count on sharpening it more.
My thought would be instead of tools take a look at a sharpening jig for him instead.  Good sharpening is more important than "which tool" to me.
Another thought is if there's a local woodturning club near him see if you can give him a membership.