An attempt was made . . .

[Andy's Shed]

My first try at woodturning


I don't know quite what it is, but it started out as a rough firewood log, some sort of hardwood I believe.

It soon became apparent that I needed to take the log to the bandsaw and cut away the 4 sharp corners, the motor on my new to me lathe kept stopping, I think due to me having selected too low a speed to start with? Either that or it was just me having no turning skills

After some time I started to see a cylinder shape, a bit tapered to be fair but then I remembered that I had a skew gouge in the chisel set that arrived this afternoon. That helped remove some of the tool marks that I'd created too.

One issue that caused me problems was that there was a knot in the wood, I think I got beyond that after some time, but every now and then my gouge would catch on a rough surface and pull to one side, meaning I had to rethink what I was doing.

There's still a rough almost fluffy surface on 2 opposing faces, I think it's something to do with the grain?

Anyway, I finished the turning as best as I could then applied some wax and made an attempt to drill the top with a forstener bit at the drill press. That didn't go to plan either, the hole is off centre and I had a heck of a job trying to hold the piece steady.

Oh and I also dropped it... twice ... still great fun though.

 

[Jameshow]

Well done!

Nice!

Stig you have competition!!

 

[Tris]

An excellent start, nice bit of sycamore by the look of it. Certainly better than the first piece I ever turned.

 

[Andy's Shed]

Thanks both. Sycamore? That one puzzle solved!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I assume you were using a roughing gouge? It's a small fairly low power lathe so you'd expect a catch or two, you have to learn to foresee them and adjust your tool use. You can raise the speed as high as it'll go without vibrating too badly, although that's not always easy with a lathe with fixed speeds.
If it's important that a hole is dead on centre it's usually better to turn the item around the hole rather than try to put the hole in a finished item (especially small long holes like those in lamps). Bore the hole first off the lathe and plug it with something that has an existing centre indent - that's probably as good a way as any on a small lathe. A half horse motor would probably stall trying to drill it on the lathe even if the bed were long enough to allow it.

 

[Stigmorgan]

@Andy's Shed well done it looks nice, I've only been turning for a year, did my first turning 1 November last year and I absolutely love it, there are plenty of good watches on YouTube to learn from
-turn a wood bowl
-mike peace
-worth the effort
-Richard raffan
Plenty of others too

@Jameshow competition is just a driver for improvement

 

[GweithdyDU]

Looks great and your wife/partner can always chase you around the house with it if they can't find the rolling-pin!

Turn a contrasting wood disc with a recess and fit the other part into it and you'd have the basis of a nice bedside/side light, which with the correct shade could look lovely. IMO

 

[Jaco]

Nice job


Years ago I glued up some pine 2x4's to turn a round object.
Mounted it on the lathe then used a Makita planer to get all the edges off before trying to turn.

 

[Andy's Shed]

Thanks very much for all of the advice, it is appreciated.

The motor is a 370 watt version, I'm not sure if the Charnwood W813 has a 500 watt motor, if it does then I may be able to upgrade it in the future?

It's funny that a rolling pin was mentioned above, my wife has suggested that I make her a new one to replace the pin that I may or may not have used as a temporary hammer many years ago. :/

Can I ask for some advice about turning the top on this piece? I attempted to use a spindle gouge to remove some material at the top it didn't go well at all. The gouge caught on the end grain and I was left with multiple nasty chips around where the hole was drilled afterwards. What should or could have been done there,?

Edit: Something else that I need to ask. I found it difficult to get a straight edge on the cylinder shape, it was tapered so to speak and it took some effort to get it fairly straight. I achieved that with the skew once I remembered that I had one. Is there an easier way to produce a straight cylinder?

 

[Tanglefoot20]

Well done…. But it looks more like Ash to me…

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sycamore. Get a copy of this -
https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/kei...CvOD5pSVNmikUiSG0b0aArcUEALw_wcB#GOR001302675

 

[baldkev]

I was thinking pepper mill..... well done

 

[Andy's Shed]

Can I ask for some advice about turning the top on this piece? I attempted to use a spindle gouge to remove some material at the top it didn't go well at all. The gouge caught on the end grain and I was left with multiple nasty chips around where the hole was drilled afterwards. What should or could have been done

Any help with the above would be really helpful, I can't seem to remove any end grain material without the spindle gouges catching and tearing the end grain. Should I be using a different type of gouge for end grain, or do I need to angle the gouges?

Attempt no2 this evening, not sure what if is once again but I had fun.

 

[Stigmorgan]

Spindle roughing gouges shouldn't be used on end grain, they are for rounding off spindle work, use a bowl gouge if you are going into endgrain and make sure it's razor sharp.

 

[Andy's Shed]

Spindle roughing gouges shouldn't be used on end grain, they are for rounding off spindle work, use a bowl gouge if you are going into endgrain and make sure it's razor sharp.

Right, that's what I needed to know. Thanks so much

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Your angle of approach is wrong. You can use spindle gouges, but it comes with practice - you need to cut in through end grain at near right angles, and if the angle the gouge is held at is wrong it'll catch. It's quite difficult to get right, and as you get more experienced you'll realise that shallow ground (usually spindle) gouges are very good for some things but not others, hence the advice to use a bowl gouge (which is usually ground shallow*).

* edit - should have read not ground shallow.

 

[Tris]

Grab a copy of the book Phil mentioned, he gives a really good description of tool use. If you want to square off an end imagine this: place the gouge on the rest with the flute upwards, call that 12 o clock, now roll the gouge to the right, 3 o clock, then aim the bevel at where you want to cut, advance slowly into the wood allowing just the tip of the bevel to cut.
If you are trying to cut an end with the gouge at 12 o clock there is no support from the rest under the left side of the gouge, hence the catches as the wood tries to spin your blade around

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Incidentally, don't over complicate rolling pins. I have two friends of a friend after pins like one I made her. She has a bit of arthritis in the wrists and find a hot dog sausage shaped one far, far easier to use (as do I).

 

[Andy's Shed]

Thanks again folks, thank goodness for helpful forums like this.
I've just ordered a bowl gouge and hopefully see plenty of use, although I'll try the advice re the spindle gouge too.

I wonder what my next rolling pin will turn out like

 

[Pineapple]

Incidentally, don't over complicate rolling pins. I have two friends of a friend after pins like one I made her. She has a bit of arthritis in the wrists and find a hot dog sausage shaped one far, far easier to use (as do I).

As an ex-chef, I think that Phil is entirely correct to suggest the hot-dog-sausage shape.....Because "fancy-shapes" usually result in Nasty Corners where dirt & germs can settle. - The corners are difficult to thoroughly clean out and so the germs get time to breed ! - - The simple Cylinder with Rounded Ends is by far the Best Design.
It is also a good idea to use timbers which are Naturally Anti-Bacterial.
Bamboo, Pine, Oak and any of the Maple Family are favourite.
This is a scientifically-proven fact.
https://www.rowandsons.co.uk/blog/myth-fact-antibacterial-properties-wood/