Skill Builder: Wood Lathe

Week 8 Skill Builder:

This week I made a handle for nothing in particular on the wood lathe with a small piece of unidentified hardwood (maybe walnut).

Supply List:

• Wood Lathe

• Lathe Chisels

• Drive Center

• Digital Calipers

• Pencil

• Sandpaper

• Dust Mask

• Face Shield

Process:

[Note:] Initially I started off with a longer piece of softer wood that I thought was I nice length for a handle, but that was quickly abandoned for a piece of hardwood (at Leia’s advisement) after the end of the wood kept tearing up on the drive center. Starting off the hard wood was much easier for me to find a comfortable setup with.

To start off I marked the center point on both sides of the hardwood block. I hammered the drive center to make a mark on one side and then drove it into the other. I loaded the drive center attached to the wood block and then locked it into place with the live center on the other end. Next was positioning the tool rest. It took a couple of tries to find the height that allowed for smooth shaving but once I did it immediately felt 100% different than all the other attempts. I really enjoyed the feeling of turning the stock to round. I got kind of excited and just went in with the different chisels afterwards, creating curves and grooves galore. I really liked the way it looked in the end but it did not feel good as a handle.

I made a second attempt with my other piece of hardwood, doing a little sketch and keeping the handle task in mind. This turned out quite nicely look and feel wise. Then I sanded and waxed it to a nice shine.

Attempt No. 1 (sanded)

Attempt No. 2 (sanded and waxed)

Next Steps:

I really enjoyed using the wood lathe and would like to try more turning projects. I followed the general shape of the sketch I made but didn’t go down to the dimensions I had sketched and would like to try getting closer to a pre-sketched design. I also do want to try a longer piece of wood to play with more gradual variations and curves.

Wood Lathe Timelapse