First home turning

[Elsmorian]

Hi all,

I went on the 2 day Axminster wood turning course at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed it, so after some hunting and getting my own space I bought an Axminster AWVSL900 from WellsWood on this forum and have just set it up and turned my first thing since the course, was going for a hair-pin bowl just as something small and simple to start with.

I'm not sure what the wood is, it might be bits of window framing, not sure if WellsWood can remember - they came with the lathe. Either way it felt much harder than the stuff on the course which was some yew, ash and beech I think. I suspect I also need to sharpen my tools, but I think its ok for a first go - plenty of room for improvement!

I think it's a little chunky, maybe a bit tall and shallow - room for improvement for sure


One thing I would like to ask - When roughing out the piece to get it fairly round and sometimes when turning the outside, I seem to introduce some judder into the piece, like the part I'm currently working has become off centre. I'm able to clear this up by trying lighter passes though it can take a while, so maybe I'm taking off too much at once? Hope that makes sense!

 

[CHJ]

Please reduce the size of the images you link to, 3264X 2448 pixels means that the forum editor display expands to the point most members won't be able to respond.

The wood looks like Oak and there is no doubt whatsoever that you need to sharpen your tools, I would expect to have to do so half a dozen times turning that and definitely before every finishing cut.

 

[selectortone]

Well done for a first turning and welcome to the forum from one newbie to another . Onwards and upwards (as my old Mum used to say)

 

[NazNomad]

Certainly looks like oak. At least, like any oak I've used here.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Well done on your first piece. I'm 99.9% confident it is indeed oak and I would say the following:

Don't get too caught up in minor details at this stage, just go ahead and put as many hours in as you can to get the hang of feeling the tools. During this phase you will make hundreds of mistakes but it's all part of the journey so get your head down and put the time in. Then in about 3 months it will be worth fishing for critique because you'll have a much stronger sense of direction and you'll be able to control far more of the aspects of the piece.

Sharpening the tools is of such epic importance that I would recommend that's your first obstacle to overcome.

 

[Dalboy]

Well done on your first piece. I'm 99.9% confident it is indeed oak and I would say the following:

Don't get too caught up in minor details at this stage, just go ahead and put as many hours in as you can to get the hang of feeling the tools. During this phase you will make hundreds of mistakes but it's all part of the journey so get your head down and put the time in. Then in about 3 months it will be worth fishing for critique because you'll have a much stronger sense of direction and you'll be able to control far more of the aspects of the piece.

Sharpening the tools is of such epic importance that I would recommend that's your first obstacle to overcome.

As above comment but still show your progress as you will get comments which can point out any problems you may have missed. If you find a club close to you then it is well worth joining so that you can get hands on with someone with more experience.

 

[Elsmorian]

Apologies for the picture size and thanks for the advice, and the wood identification!

I have managed to fill my work area up with other stuff at the moment making more shelves for the garage but once that is done I should have some more space and can turn some more practice pieces


Chris

 

[bobajobob]

Good advice above.
You have chosen a fairly difficult wood to start your solo turning. Oak is tough and coarse grained.
The judder you have experienced is the probably the fluctuating resistance as the tool cuts with and across the grain.
This becomes more apparent as the tool loses its sharpness. Oak is also one of the more abrasive native timbers and demands sharp tools and frequent sharpening.
Having said that, you will learn better technique than if you practice on softer homogenous timbers. You will not be short of advice and support if you document your progress here.
Treat your tools and timber with respect and always put your safety first.
Good luck .

Bob

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Funny you should mention how abrasive and unforgiving oak is because I was just thinking that myself. I was going to suggest 2 possible solutions (once you've got your garage cleared and ready).

The first is simply practice on green wood, its just very forgiving, long shavings, lovely smell (a bit wet if very green). it really is a joy to turn.
The second is just get hold of as much regular construction type pine as you can, it splinters a bit but its very soft and also forgiving. You can often salvage it from skips or friends doing house jobs. But firewood piles are a great source of useable green timber to practice on as long as you can saw them up in a sensible way before mounting. Have you got either a chainsaw or bandsaw or both? Also what sharpening setup do you have?

 

[AWG]

Hi Chris and welcome.

You'll find great experience and suggestions from the guys above, I find this forum very informative.
My only input...have fun, stay safe!

 

[CHJ]

One thing I would like to ask - When roughing out the piece to get it fairly round and sometimes when turning the outside, I seem to introduce some judder into the piece, like the part I'm currently working has become off centre. I'm able to clear this up by trying lighter passes though it can take a while, so maybe I'm taking off too much at once? Hope that makes sense!

If you have other lumps of Oak to play with, concentrate on getting and maintaining your tools sharp a lot of the hard work you have experienced is due to the cutting resistance.
If the oak is very dry as it appears to be, wet the surface with water and wait a few minutes for the wood grain to swell.
This will reduce the tendency for the grain to tear and fibres pull out (worse with blunt cutting edges) and also act as a lubricant to aid cutting.

If you are getting to the stage of finishing cuts you can use a sanding sealer or finishing oil to do the same.

There are several methods of removing any 'judder' marks with scrapers etc. which used correctly flat on the rest won't bounce and follow the already formed ridges culminating with shear scraping but these need a different technique to bevel rubbing gouges and shear scraping is definitely for the experienced.
If using a scraper to 'round out' bounce problems ensure it's positioned below centre on the outside and above centre on the inside then any tendency to catch will drive the tool in free air and not the wood.

If you can 'scape' dry oak without tearing the fibres you are doing well but it's possible with moistened wood.