Woodturning is a fun activity that many people often fall in love with. It is more similar to woodcarving, an artistic activity of removing wood from a single piece of wood, than other types of woodworking activities which involve cutting and joining individual pieces of wood to create a completed project. Woodturning is particularly popular due to low demands for the size of your workshop and the number of tools.
A turner can produce a wide range of wooden products, such as bowls of different shapes and sizes, vases, handles for fireplace tools, handles for furniture and many other useful things. You can play with shapes and grain of wood to create your own characteristic product.
Before you get started in woodturning, you need to prepare a few things.
What do you need?
The most important turning tools are chisels and a lathe. It is also useful to own a grinder to sharpen chisels. A sharp chisel is the basis of a well-made product. So, what do you need?
- Lathe
- Woodturning tools
- Material to turn, i.e. wood or acrylic turning blanks
- Workwear and personal protective equipment
Which lathe do you need?
Choosing the right lathe is not easy. Which is the right one for you? We'll tell you what to look for. In addition to many brands available, lathes come in a variety of sizes. Your choice is influenced by your budget and the space available in your workshop but you should also know which projects you’d like to make.
Want to try turning a large bowl or table leg? Do you want to turn almost anything regardless of size? These questions address a few key technical specifications that can help you narrow down your search for the right lathe.
You can turn a workpiece of any shape with different diameters. The maximum diameter of a workpiece is twice the distance between the spindle axis down to the lathe bed, called swing over bed. To choose the right lathe, compare this parameter with the diameter of your desired workpieces and add at least 2-3 cm.
Second very important parameter is the distance between centres. This determines the maximum length of the workpiece when spindle turning between two centres. So, a lathe with 550 mm distance between centres won’t be the right choice if you want to turn a table leg 720 mm long, unless you have a bed extension which can extend the distance by 250 mm or even more.
Naturally, there are other questions and parameters which could narrow down your choice. It is always better to get a second opinion or recommendation from experienced professionals. Should you want to test out the lathe or be in need of any advice, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Which chisels do you need?
A carver or sculptor need the right tools, just like you do. Using the right turning tools will bring you the well-made project you expect. Choosing the right tool can be very confusing for a beginner, therefore we split chisels (and gouges) into two broad categories: turning chisels with replaceable carbide tips and traditional turning chisels.
There is a lot of turning chisels to choose from. To choose the correct chisel you need to know that there are two basic types of turning.
The first type is spindle turning. To put it simply, the workpiece is clamped between centres, which are located on the headstock and tailstock.
The second type is faceplate turning which is practiced when turning bowls. The workpiece is attached only to the headstock (more precisely a faceplate or chuck).
If you want to turn bowls and other hollow vessels, you will need either a faceplate or woodturning chuck. The workpiece is attached to the faceplate with screws, while the chuck has four jaws that clamp and hold the workpiece firmly. Virtually all modern lathes have a headstock, tailstock and faceplate as standard accessories to be able to do both types of turning on one lathe. Chucks are sold separately.
Turning chisels with replaceable carbide tips are great for both beginners and professional turners. These chisels, unlike traditional chisels, don’t need to be sharpened, always providing the same quality of material removal. When an edge is dull, rotate the tip to a sharp edge. When all edges are dull, just replace the tip for another. You won’t need to replace the tips often; carbide tips are made to stay sharp for a long time.
Turning chisels with replaceable carbide tips are available with several types of tips and in different sizes, used particularly for finish or when turning exotic wood and epoxy workpieces.
- Round tip: Used for roughing material and shaping curves.
- Diamond tip: Used for making grooves and other details.
- Square tip: Used for roughing material and making tenons.
- Radius tip: Used for roughing material and making round tenons.
Turners have been using traditional turning chisels for centuries making useful and decorative projects. Traditional chisels can shape anything in right hands. Nowadays, traditional chisels are made either from tool steel or high-speed steel (HSS). If you want the best and lasting performance from your chisel, opt for chisels made from HSS. Sharpening may weaken your chisel but HSS chisels are made to withstand high temperatures without reducing their hardness.
Turners have been using traditional turning chisels for centuries making useful and decorative projects. Traditional chisels can shape anything in right hands. Nowadays, traditional chisels are made either from tool steel or high-speed steel (HSS). If you want the best and lasting performance from your chisel, opt for chisels made from HSS. Sharpening may weaken your chisel but HSS chisels are made to withstand high temperatures without reducing their hardness.
Roughing gouge and Spindle gouge:
Both are used to roughen unprocessed material. The roughing gouge is used to shape the material from square to round. The spindle gouge is used to make grooves and other details.
- Bowl gouge: Used when turning bowls and other hollow shapes and shaping curves. Can also be called a hollower.
- Skew chisel: Used for making smooth surface.
- Parting chisel: Used for making grooves, fine details, notches and cutting away the material.
Sharpen traditional chisels regularly!
Traditional turning chisels can provide the best performance but require regular sharpening.
It is important to learn the correct sharpening technique. Use a grinder,
sharpening by hand is not recommended. A wet sharpener with speed regulation is the best choice.
Wet or dry wood – which to choose?
Wet and dry wood has its advantages and disadvantages. Wet wood is easier to turn as it has lower hardness and does not produce as much dust. Additionally, wet wood can be bought almost anywhere. However, the finished project can warp and deform over time. Water will evaporate from the surface because the wood is still in the process of drying. If it dries too quickly, it can even crack. It is known that water evaporates mostly from the surface of the workpiece. Water stuck inside of the workpiece only moves to the surface when the surface dries out a little. This way the wood gradually dries out.
Always take into account that projects from wet wood will be different after drying - they will shrink and turn into an oval. This is especially troublesome when turning individual parts that must fit together. For example, you cannot turn a part with 50 mm diameter, pre-drill a 50 mm hole and hope that the part will fit precisely into the hole.
Worse level of deformation is cracking, which is never desirable. Cracking can be prevented by slow drying. However, the time and method of drying varies between each type of wood. Cracking often occurs when turning thick-walled bowls or when using the centre of a log as a workpiece.
Contrary to wet wood, dry wood will keep its shape. However, turning is more demanding and produces more dust. These disadvantages can be minimized by a range of modern equipment such as dust collectors. Dry wood is also harder to find and tends to be more expensive.
In theory, you can turn any piece of wood and many other materials that fit on the lathe as long as the turned workpiece is in good condition and has no loose knots or other defects. Defects could cause the workpiece to come loose or damage the tools. To make things simple, start by using a turning blank with eight sides. Such pre-cut blank is easier to roughen than one with four sides.
Lights
Additional work light is a valuable addition to your lathe. IGM LED Work Light can be mounted on your lathe and easily adjusted to provide excellent lightning wherever you need it.
Let’s start turning!
Turning is above all a practical activity. Knowing the theory is necessary as in every other activity but the best way to learn about turning is to work with your lathe often.
Pay attention to safety instructions and wear proper clothing and protective equipment when working on a lathe!
Turning is very dangerous if not taken seriously. You are using a very sharp tool to cut into a fast-spinning piece of wood. Always properly clamp the workpiece. Should the workpiece come loose, proper clothing and protective equipment can save your life. You will need:
- Face shield and safety goggles: Protect your eyesight from wood dust and your face from loose pieces of material.
- Respirator: Inhaling wood dust, especially from exotic wood, is extremely dangerous.
- Wear proper clothing: Do not wear loose clothing, gloves, bracelets or anything that can get stuck in the lathe.
Using the chisel
Every chisel is used a little differently, but you should know how to handle a chisel in general. Firstly, clamp the material firmly. Then turn the lathe on. Once the workpiece has reached sufficient speed, start cutting away a thin layer of material with the chisel. Set it flat side down on the tool rest and point away from the workpiece. Then, in a slow downward motion towards the wood, begin to cut away the material. Follow these steps at first and handle the chisel with care, eventually you will set the chisel in the correct position straight away.
Roughing
Roughing is the next step after clamping. Roughing means essentially shaping the asymmetrical piece of wood into a round workpiece. The point is to efficiently remove as much material as possible, regardless of the surface quality. Use the roughing gouge to roughen the workpiece or the spindle gouge if the workpiece is already almost round.
Roughing is the next step after clamping. Roughing means essentially shaping the asymmetrical piece of wood into a round workpiece. The point is to efficiently remove as much material as possible, regardless of the surface quality. Use the roughing gouge to roughen the workpiece or the spindle gouge if the workpiece is already almost round.
Shaping curves
Grab the bowl gouge to shape curves. A curve is a part of the workpiece where we reduce its diameter to create convex and concave surfaces. The most important rule is to remove material from top of the workpiece, slowly moving downwards. To shape convex or concave curve, remove the material alternately from both sides of the workpiece otherwise you can cut and damage the workpiece.
Change the position of the gouge to create steep or gentle curves. To create a steep curve, rotate the gouge around its axis (shut position) and tilt it a little more in a vertical direction. The opposite movement (open position) creates a gentle curve. During turning, switch the positions to gradually create a steeper or gentler curve.
Surface smoothing
Now you can create convex and concave surfaces while smoothing the workpiece. Grab the skew chisel but be careful to remove the material using only the middle up to the heel of the blade. The tip of the blade cannot cut into the workpiece. Always set the chisel on the tool rest so that the tip is above the heel.
Parting
Parting means cutting away the material or finishing a shape. Grab the parting chisel and set it in a vertical position but with the tip pointing downwards, contrary to the steps above. Make a notch by moving the chisel slowly upwards. This will allow you to create 90° notches.
In conclusion
We hope that this article got you in the mood for turning and will help you to create a project you’ll be satisfied with.
If you want to try turning under the guidance of an experienced instructor, you will find
on the IGM website in the For customers section, courses not only for beginners.
Kurzy IGM.