My Second Wood Turning

Here it is- the second pice of wood turned on my lathe. Remember, I'm just learning the basic use of the wood turning tools, how they react with the wood, various lathe speeds, types of wood, etc.

This started as a piece of red oak hardwood flooring I have left over (I installed our own hardwood floor!). It's roughly 3/4" thick, so I ripped it 3/4" square using my table saw. Again, it's a square piece, so just by drawing an "X" on each end (corner to corner), I easily marked the centers. Mounted between centers on the lathe and roughed it to a cylinder with a roughing gouge, then practiced various size beads and cuts with a spindle gouge and a skew chisel.

I've found it helps to read about different tools (there are many), their uses and designs, then practice on scrap wood to get the feel of each. There will be mistakes, but follow the general safety precautions and you'll learn quickly from those mistakes.

Anyway, this is a real simple turning which was gratifying to make, as a beginner turner. Once carved, I sanded with several grades of sandpaper, then applied tung oil and finished with beeswax.

The lesson here is start slowly, with a "spindle" turned piece (these are easier), follow safety precautions, and have fun. As with most things worthwhile, the joy in this hobby is in the learning.

Getting Started with Basic Wood Turning

Before realy getting into actual turning on my wood lathe, I thought it was very mportant to gather some literature and learn to do this the correct way. Also, tops at my list (and hopefully yours), get some basic safety equipment and make sure you wear it.

I started at the library, in the wood working section and found a few books. I ended buy two which I heartily recomend:

• Woodturning by Phil Irons - A good little instruction book that actually is "two books in one." The upper two thirds of each page covers the hot to on 22 different projects. Everything from cord pulls to hollow forms. The lower third focuses on techniques, everything from selecting raw wood to using tools, etc. The cool thing is, you can open up to one technique and use it while you review any of the projects.
• Turning Wood with Richard Raffan - This is really an excellent all around guide to wood turning. Richard has been turning wood since the 1970s and he covers lathes, tools, stances and grips, techniques and some projects. I really like his simplistic approach to shaping and finishing the wood.

There are links to Amazon to buy each book below, or you can find them in most book stores. I also try to look in used book stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc, for any cheap books on the subject. I also included a link to Richard Raffan's DVD Turning Wood. To see this man in action is quite incredible!

Also - Please invest in eye and face protection. ALWAYS wear safety glasses, at a minimum, and I'd suggest a decent safety face shield. I picked up mine for $13 and change at Amazon (the link is below) and it actually works quite well. The strap fits comfortably on my head and once it's on, I don't even realize I'm wearing it. I've already had several pieces fly off the lathe (fortunately none have hit me!) but I can see it happening. My face isn't that pretty, but I can't see hitting it with some high velocity flying wood blocks as an improvement.