There are 11 basic woodturning tools used in wood working: roughing gouge, spindle gouge, bowl gouge, skew chisel, parting tool, hallowing tool, scraper, bowl saver, auger, chatter tool, and wire.

Creating a wood project requires certain tools to perfectly cut, drill, carve, or shape the wood. So that you can efficiently produce a well-made wood product, your tools must be sharped and maintained at all times. Below are the different types of woodturning tools to use in making a wood project:

Roughing gouge

This is a flat cutting tool that produces a large cut. It will roughly shape a wooden spindle and is ideal for the initial cutting of wood pieces. It is not advisable to use a roughing gouge when making a bowl shaped item.

Spindle gouge

This is also known as a detail gouge. It is a shallow cutting tool that is responsible for the detailed turning pattern of a spindle.

Bowl gouge

A bowl gouge has a longer handle than the spindle gouge and is responsible for turning large bowls. The thicker shaft one this tool allows you to cut farther away from you than other gouges.

Skew chisel

This angled edge chisel is used to smooth spindles with flat surfaces. It also adds detail, which is why it should be sharpened at all times.

Parting tool

This tool separates large and small diameter sizes of straight edge wood. It is a pointed tool and has wider sizes that are known as bedans. The parting tool produces even cuts on spindles.

Hallowing tool

This tool is used to make deep bowls and any other projects that require the hallowing out of a particular area. Among all cutting tools, the hallowing tool has the longest handle to enable you to reach deeper when you are hallowing wood.

Scraper

This tool, when dull, scrapes the fiber of the wood to smooth wood surfaces. It can also be used to shape wood that cannot be shaped by gouges. A sharp scraper has a burr at the edge and is used to cut wood.

Bowl saver

A bowl saver functions like an ice cream scoop. It scoops out solid wood pieces when hallowing wood. A bowl saver stores the interior wood core that is scraped off until you are ready to turn the wood core into a smaller bowl or other hollowed wood item.

Auger

An auger is a drilling tool that initially hollows or holes a wood. This tool produces cylindrical holes in wood items.

Chatter tool

A chatter tool is a scraper that can create "chatter marks" on turned wood. These marks are for decorative purposes.

Wire

Wires are rubbed on the wood to burn lines into it. Some wires come with attached handles on each side.

More specific types of woodturning tools also function for other special purposes. For basic woodturning needs, however, start with the tools mentioned above.