Wood turning at the lathe is a very satisfying craft where you can make cool stuff FAST! But like all crafts and skills, there are quite a few common mistakes to fall into that can make the experience frustrating. Here I cover the main ones I know.
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TOOL GIVEAWAYS
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MISTAKE 1: NOT SANDING WITH THE GRAIN
Sanding on the lathe is pretty easy because you can just turn on the lathe and hold sand paper against it while it turns. The problem is your probably sanding across the grain, which makes the scratches extremely visible. Fortunately, correcting this is really simple. Before moving to the next grit, stop the lathe and sand along the piece to erase those scratches. We’re actually just changing the direction of the scratches, but so long as they’re going with the grain our eyes don’t really notice them.
MISTAKE 2: PRACTICING ON SOFT WOOD
Its tempting to practice on soft wood because it’s cheaper, but it’s softness makes it really difficult to turn satisfactorily. A good tool finish requires super sharp tools and near perfect technique. Personally, one of my favorites to turn is maple. It’s a hard enough to turn well, closed cell, pretty inexpensive, and easy to find on the road side!
MISTAKE 3: FOCUSING ON THE WRONG SIZE
It’s easy to get wrapped up on bed length. Unless you KNOW you’re going to be turning long stuff, odds are you’re going to run out of swing (distance between the bed and center - how thick a blank you can turn) a lot sooner. So pay more attention to the swing than bed length.
MISTAKE 4: TURNING AT THE WRONG SPEED
Large, unbalanced, or rough objects do better turned at slower speeds. Going too fast too soon can be catastrophic. Once you get down to final passes though, cranking up the speed can help get a perfect tool finish that doesn’t require sanding.
MISTAKE 5: TURNING WITH DULL TOOLS
Sharpening isn’t fun, and it’s even less fun when you’re not good at it. But know what’s even less fun than sharpening? Trying to turn with dull tools. It just doesn’t work. The finish won’t be nice, there’ll be more tear out, and a greater chance of catches. Just take the time to sharpen, and the more you do it the better you’ll get!
MISTAKE 6: NOT RE-TIGHTENING THE CHUCK
When using a four-jaw chuck I’ve found that the piece needs to be tightened twice. I lock it down pretty tight and then give it a short spin. I see if it’s spinning pretty centered and tweak it if it seems off. Once it’s good, I tighten the chuck again and it’s always surprising how easy it moves after that short spin. Besides the obvious safety reasons, that second tightening is also going to result in better turnings by keeping the piece steadier.
MISTAKE 7: NOT WEIGHING DOWN THE LATHE
The formula for kinetic energy is half the mass multiplied by the velocity squared. Which means even relatively lightweight objects have a lot of energy when they get up to speed. Mini and midi lathes aren’t very big or heavy, so they need to be attached to something that is to keep those vibrations down. Turning is challenging enough without your workpiece and tool shaking around.
MISTAKE 8: NOT WEARING PPE
Turning at a lathe involves spinning a hard piece of material at a high rate of speed towards your face. It shouldn’t have to be said.. but this can go bad quickly. Safety glasses aren’t enough. Ideally an impact rated face shield should be worn while turning, and a good dust mask. Also, be sure nothing dangly or loose clothing is close to the lathe, it can get sucked in and pull you into the lathe.
MISTAKE 9: NOT REPOSITIONING THE TOOL REST
I won’t pretend to be able to explain the right answer.. but getting your tool rest at the right height and distance from the piece is very important. And is different for traditional tools and carbide tools, and if you change tools, you may need to adjust the rest. And as you go from a rough square blank to a rounded piece the rest will be farther away and may need to be adjusted. Just always be conscious of the relationship between your rest and workpiece.
MISTAKE 10: FORGETTING THE OTHER EXPENSES
A lathe is a fairly inexpensive tool, but you’ll also need tools, a way to sharpen those tools, work holding devices, other tool rests, hardware/kits to turn, wood.. it can add up.
