Wood Lathe

[Unk]

Anyone else do any wood turning? I recently got a lathe, and am re-learning how to turn. We had a small wood lathe in our shop when I was kid, and we also turned in wood shop in school. But I haven't used a lathe since about 1980, so I am a little rusty.

I am practicing with some oak logs from a dead tree I had to take down, as well as some scrap pine lumber I glued up. The flat bottom oak bowl (2nd pic) turned out real nice, but the wood was green and a couple days later the bowl warped as it dried out.

Not perfect, but I am learning and enjoying it.

[cudgee]

Anyone else do any wood turning? I recently got a lathe, and am re-learning how to turn. We had a small wood lathe in our shop when I was kid, and we also turned in wood shop in school. But I haven't used a lathe since about 1980, so I am a little rusty.

I am practicing with some oak logs from a dead tree I had to take down, as well as some scrap pine lumber I glued up. The flat bottom oak bowl (2nd pic) turned out real nice, but the wood was green and a couple days later the bowl warped as it dried out.

Not perfect, but I am learning and enjoying it.

The best way to learn i reckon. Trial and error doing something you really like and enjoy doing.

[WillyCamaro]

Anyone else do any wood turning? I recently got a lathe, and am re-learning how to turn. We had a small wood lathe in our shop when I was kid, and we also turned in wood shop in school. But I haven't used a lathe since about 1980, so I am a little rusty.

I am practicing with some oak logs from a dead tree I had to take down, as well as some scrap pine lumber I glued up. The flat bottom oak bowl (2nd pic) turned out real nice, but the wood was green and a couple days later the bowl warped as it dried out.

Not perfect, but I am learning and enjoying it.

The best way to learn i reckon. Trial and error doing something you really like and enjoy doing.

Exactly mate! Especially with turning, it's entirely learned by trial-en'-error, except for basic safety of course .

Your off to a great start Unk, lookin fine, mighty fine.

[Colonel26]

Very cool! I’ve never turned anything. But it sure looks interesting.

[Doc B]

Wow! Those look great...especially for not doing it since 1980!!!

[Steve Warden]

Wow! Those look great...especially for not doing it since 1980!!!

Ditto!
Absolutely beautiful!!

[desmobob]

Looks like great work... very attractive!

[OLDE CUTLER]

Anyone else do any wood turning? I recently got a lathe, and am re-learning how to turn. We had a small wood lathe in our shop when I was kid, and we also turned in wood shop in school. But I haven't used a lathe since about 1980, so I am a little rusty.

I am practicing with some oak logs from a dead tree I had to take down, as well as some scrap pine lumber I glued up. The flat bottom oak bowl (2nd pic) turned out real nice, but the wood was green and a couple days later the bowl warped as it dried out.

Not perfect, but I am learning and enjoying it.

Just make sure you know how to "ride the bevel" and you wont have any issues. When I first started I had a couple of turning tools including a just sharpened skew go flying the length of a 24 foot garage. Also keeping the tools very sharp helps.

[doglegg]

Unk, like you I did it a lot in High School shop and loved it. Your bowls look great. Brings back some pleasant memories. Keep it us and keep us posted.

[zzyzzogeton]

I was first exposed to turning by my great-uncle, who had a full blown woodshop in his backyard. 50 ft x 150 ft. Made everything from cabinets to chests to ladders up to 20 feet tall and more.

Didn't do any more until many years later in woodshops on US Navy bases and then I just dabbled at it. I still have all my chisels but I no longer have access to a lathe. Seeing your work is making me develop an itch to go out and buy a lathe and get started again.

[Unk]

Thanks guys.

Olde Cutler, yes, I was trying to remember to 'ride the bevel" when turning a bowl last night. It's harder to do than it sounds! You have to stay focused and pay attention to what you are doing. When I get a "catch" some cuss words involuntarily come out of my mouth. I have been sharpening my tools every time before I turn something, and that makes a big difference.

The oak turned real nice. I have plenty of it, but it is green, and the logs have a lot of checks and cracks. Pine is not good wood to turn on the lathe - too soft. It has tear out, so you have to really sand it down before you put some oil on it. But it is cheap, so I am using it for practice. Wood is so expensive nowadays - I don't want to mess up a hunk of walnut or other expensive wood.

Of course I said pine was cheap - but have you priced a 2x4 at Home Depot recently? $5 for a 8' 2x4. I noticed the pine I used on that bigger bowl was from New Zealand??!! Why in the heck are we importing pine from New Zealand to Texas? That can't be cost effective.

[doglegg]

Mike back in the early 60's in shop class I always used mahogany and walnut. They were inexpensive back then. Hate to buy them now. I used a lot of scrap that others left. Glue, clamp and turn.

[Unk]

Doglegg, same here. I took shop all through Jr. High and High School in the 1970s. Loved it. My Dad and I built a workshop after I took wood shop in 7th grade. Some of my best memories are tinkering with stuff in that workshop with him. He was a do-it-yourselfer, and could fix or repair pretty much anything, and he passed that on to me (I try at least). I still have some of the wooden toys and bowls he made back in the 1970s.

We used mostly walnut, mahogany, oak, and maple in our projects back in the 70s. I don't remember them being overly expensive.

Being retired now, I bought about the cheapest Lathe I could find - from Horrible Fright (Harbor Freight). It seems to be a copy of a Jet lathe (probably made in the same factory). I read the reviews and watched a few Youtube videos, and it seems to be a decent lathe for the money.

I also bought a Teknatool Nova G3 Chuck - just got it yesterday evening.

[doglegg]

Looks like a knice set up Mike

[wv trapper]

I haven't turned since my high school shop days also. I have a small craftsman lathe a few years ago and now I am semi retired I'm setting us a small shop. I have some ideas on what I want to make, as the weather warms up hopefully I can get to work. Your bowls are beautiful!!

[1967redrider]

Excellent work, wv trapper!!!

You don't happen to make Lignum Vitae pommels for Marble's fixed blades, do you?

[Shearer]

Here is a picture of my lathe.
It does 50 to 3850 RPM.The first lathe I purchased would only slow down to 500 RPM .As the timber I was using came of my farm.It could be out of balance or contain defects there nothing like a piece of timer breaking of at 500 RPM.You can also use back of the drive head and turn wood as long as it does not touch the floor.
The bowl in the picture is one piece 18 inches
Grant

[Shearer]

Bowls are fun to turn.After a few hundred you look for something different.
I made this little table for my drinks and tv remote all turned on the lathe.(18”D top by 22” high.

Grant

[Colonel26]

Grant those are fantastic pieces. That’s very impressive.

[Shearer]

Thanks for the nice comments Colonel.
Here a couple more pictures with the finished product.
The outer bowl is 20” diameter.


Grant

[Unk]

Those are great, Grant! Very nice.

[Shearer]

Those are great, Grant! Very nice.

Thanks Mike.
I find wood turn is a good hobby for your mental health.
While you are turn the wood it take your mind of other thoughts.
I've never sold a piece yet I give them away to family and friends.
I can do this as I make all my items from wood I collected off my farm.
I sold the farm three years ago still have enough timber on hand to keep me busy.


Grant

[mrwatch]

Broad leaf maple burl

[1967redrider]

Shearer, would you happen to make Lignum Vitae pommels for Marble's fixed blade using your lathe? Thanks!

John

[Shearer]

Shearer, would you happen to make Lignum Vitae pommels for Marble's fixed blade using your lathe? Thanks!

John

NO
Lignum vitae is a wood, also called guayacan or guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as Pockholz or pokhout, from trees of the genus Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America (e.g: Venezuela) and have been an important export crop to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century.

I live in Australia. The timber would be hard to find and the shipping would be to high.

Grant