Jeff, Regardless of brand of tools IMHO scrapers work great as opposed to gouges and such for the most part, try them you will like them,good luck.

I'm a long time woodworker, and a very novice turner. The two best pieces of advice I can give have already been posted.

"Buy a good 1725rpm grinder with CBN wheels at the same time, with a Wolverine sharpening system" Best system I've seen. If I get serious about turning I think it's a must. My local club has this.

"look up the AAW which is the national woodturner group. It is worth joining. They have a list of turning clubs. There may be a club near you that you could join. "

My local club is amazing, and many out there are. You'll find older retired folks who are simply amazing turners. If I could ever be 10% of the turner some of them are, I'd be thrilled. You'll probably make some new friends too.

Showdown between scrapers and gougers will be at 1:00 next Tuesday in the parking lot. Only serious turners need show up.

Gentle animosity is shown towards those terribly misguided scrapers by those of us that know the benefits of using gouges.

I like to turn more than I like to sand. I use razor sharp gouges. I was taught from the following question; "How many of you sharpen a cedar pencil by starting with a pocket knife held at 90 degrees to the wood?"

Hi Rich, if the pencil was turning it may be good, have you ever seen them slice veneer at a plywood factory ?

Wow
Some kind of answers here......
I recommend getting a few books on beginning and intermediate turning , a lot of basic info will be there that gets glazed over in videos and by pros.
Packard Woodworks has a very good selection of turning tools and their house brand is completely serviceable.
I have a few of their gouges and a skew and find they take and keep a good edge.
I don't use many scrapers,( mine are old) so I can't comment on them.

D Brown, they certainly don't use a scraper to peal veneer!

It looks more like a long straight knife, but for sure they do not use a gouge. I have many turning gouges and they do have applications where they work wonderfully but they tend to dig in more and are not as easy to control at least for me but a person still needs all types of lathe tools, happy new years.

Turning is a lot like sex. You find what works, and that is what you do for the next 50 years.....

Like scrapers? Great, get a few and do your best. Like Gouges? Fine, get a few and use them.

Not sure get both and use them.

I have an....eclectic collection of lathe tools from a 2" wide gouge to a 2" flat scraper to a 1/4" gouge. I use gouges mostly for their ability to rapidly peel off wood. Scrapers need to be furiously sanded after use, so they collect more dust than they make.

I see these new guys using carbide chips on a stick and it takes them all day to make one lousy spindle.

D Brown, you don't mention a turning skew nor bedan tool, and they are both sheering cuts when used properly. A veneer knife is ground like a plane blade and that is also a sheering cut, and yes I've personally witnessed veneer peeling. Non of those are scraping tools. Of course a veneer peeling knife doesn't look like a gouge. I've been turning for 35 years and had a solo show in an art gallery. Gouges digging in has nothing to do with the tool, it's the user. Gouges don't dig in for me, and I have complete control over them. It doesn't take 35 years to learn that, but it does take the same amount of effort to learn as any hand woodworking skill.