Q&A

Q- Can I come to a club meeting to check things out without joining?

A- Yes anyone is welcome to come and join us for a meeting or two to see what we are all about. You are more than welcome to just show up on meeting night or if you would like to contact us for information just click on the Contact Us button.

Q- Where do you get wood to turn?

A- There are many places where you can buy wood.  The web is always a good source and you can find a lot of turning wood on eBay.  Most wood turners prefer to turn fresh cut  green wood that  is pretty easy to come by.  I have found wood piled on the curb with a free sign on it and have stopped at  houses where they were cutting down a tree and asked if I could have a few pieces.  I have never had someone tell me no.  You can get wood free for the asking from city tree trimming crews, tree dump sites, neighbors and many of your local Tree Trimming Companies.  Another good resource is the members of your club.  Most are willing to share when they get a bunch of wood as well as send out a wood alert notice to members when we know where free wood can be had for the asking.  A good chain saw will become a must have tool.  Our club also has  a quarterly  raffle to earn money for the club.  We each bring something for the raffle and most of it is wood. 

Q- How do I know where to begin?

A- If you are completely new to turning I would suggest that you go buy a good book about the basics.  There are several available from the local book store and many more resources available on line.  If you search on Learn How to Turn Wood. you will find many resources.   The books  that I purchased are Wood Turning A Foundation Course by Keith Rowley and Learn to turn by Barry Gross.  Keith Rowley’s book is referred to by many as the most complete and best overall basic instruction for beginners available.  I would agree and I refer to this book often.  My second suggestion would be to join your local wood turning club.  Here you will find many people willing to answer your questions and help you get going.  The reason I suggest you read the book first is that it helps to have some basic knowledge so  you know what questions you want to ask.

Q- How do I know what lathe to buy?

There is no simple answer to this question.   I Would ask myself several questions.

What do I want to make? I you plan to turn pens and smaller things then your needs are far different from the person who wants to turn large bowls and hollow forms.

How much room do I have for my lathe and turning supplies?  Unless you are planning to turn long spindles you do not need a long bed lathe. Among the most important things to consider are motor size , speed adjustment and the swing of the lathe.  This is the the distance from the center of the headstock spindle to the bed of the lathe, doubled. If you have a lathe that says it has a 12 inch swing, the  maximum diameter of the piece of wood you can turn is 12 inches .   This  however does not include the thickness of the banjo  and you would need to reduce that diameter by the thickness of the banjo on your lathe if the length of the wood is longer than your tool rest can cover  without being placed under the wood during turning.  The banjo is the part that holds the tool rest and slides up and down the bed of the lathe.

The next  things to consider are what type of power do you have available 110v or 220v  and how much money do you have to spend?  Knowing these answers will help you narrow the options down quite a bit.  Remember you will also have to buy tools, a sharpening system and finishing supplies. I would buy the best lathe I could afford to buy.   The web is a good resource for equipment reviews and price comparisons. Spend some time doing your homework before you buy.   Another excellent resource is the members of your turning club.  They are very willing to talk about  their lathes and  the equipment they have and would recommend or not recommend.  If you choose to start with a small inexpensive lathe to make sure that you love turning as much as we do, that ‘s fine.   Just be aware that you will likely be lathe shopping again in the not so distant future.  The good thing is that your inexpensive first lathe will make a great dedicated polishing station in the future.  Neal Addy has a very good chart on lathe specifications on his web site   www.nealaddy.org/pub/lathe_list.html     While he does not make recommendations he gives you a lot of information and if you click on the name of the lathe manufacture it takes you to their site for more details..

Q- What is the difference between a bowl gouge and a spindle gouge?

A- The major difference between a bowl gouge and a spindle gouge is the shape and depth of the flute. The flute of a spindle gouge is circular and shallow, while the flute of a bowl gouge is a modified open U-shape. They come in a variety of sizes.

Q- What is a chuck and do I need to buy one?

A -A chuck is an adjustable or scrolling device that is used to hold one end of the wood you are turning to the lathe spindle so that the other end is free to turn or hollow. They come in many sizes and types.

While a chuck is something you will probably want to have, they are fairly expensive and it is not necessary to buy one immediately. You can turn wood between centers or by attaching it to the faceplate that came with your lathe using wood screws.  Another option is a glue block attached to a faceplate and attached to your wood with hot glue. If you are turning small projects this is an excellent option.

Another form of chuck is the jam chuck. This consists of a piece of wood that is secured to the lathe spindle by using a scrolling chuck, a faceplate or a threaded adapter. This piece of wood then has a hole or groove turned into it that is just the same size or slightly smaller than the piece you are turning. Your project piece is then literally jammed tight into the hole or groove. This might be used to finish a bowl bottom or finish a finial.

Another form of chuck is a vacuum chuck. This chuck consists of a vacuum motor, pressure gauge, tubing and adapter.  It is used to hold your work firmly for things like finishing the bottom without damaging the finished side of your work.

Q- Do you need to wear some type of face shield or are safety glasses adequate protection.

A- A good face shield not only protects your eyes but your face. I had this difference proven to me one day not long after I started turning.  A bowl that I was working on exploded off the lathe and hit me squarely in the face with enough force to push me back. Had I not been wearing a full shield I would have had sever damage to my face not just a sudden wake up. Safety can never be over emphasized in wood turning. You are using razor sharp tools and spinning a piece of wood at hundreds or even thousands of revolutions per minute. Any unseen defect in the wood or turning at too high a speed could cause things to fly apart and that can cause serious injury or even death. We lost a member of the AAW family this year from just such an accident.  Sometimes even those who have been turning a long time can get careless and bad things can happen in a split second.

There are several types of face shields available, I prefer the bubble type as I wear glasses and it gives you a little more room and a neck deflector to keep chips out of your shirt. Just make sure it has an impact resistant shield.

Q- Is dust from turning dangerous or harmful? Do I need some type of lung protection?

A- Absolutely is the answer to both questions?  The dust from many types of wood is not only harmful but toxic. Even if you have a dust collection system in your shop it is not adequate to protect your lungs. You need to wear at the very minimum a good dust mask especially when you are sanding.  You will find many turners recommend the Trend Arishield system. This system gives you a full face shield and head protection combined with an elastic face skirt attached to the shield to give you full protection from dust as well. It has a motorized air filtration system and blows cool air down the face to prevent your glasses or face shield from fogging up and helps to keep you cool. This is another somewhat expensive piece of equipment but then what price do you put on your health and your lungs.

Q- Where can you  go to receive training from a professional instructor?

A- There are many possibilities here.  You will find that many of the professional turners offer training classes at their shops.  If you click on the Resources section of this site you will find a list of many of their websites.  Another option is classes offered by retail vendors such as Craft Supply.  A search of the web on woodturning schools will provide you with many options.

 Q- I received my new turning tools but I must be doing something wrong as they do not seem to cut very well.

A- One of the things I found to be quite strange when I started turning was the fact that many of the new turning tools you buy are not sharp and must be sharpened and shaped before you use them.  If you purchased a sharpening system it very likely came with a video showing you how to sharpen your tools using it.   When it comes to sharpening tools the first time I feel that nothing is going to do you as much good as enlisting the help of a fellow club member. This is one of those things that a video is just not quite enough.  Save yourself a lot of stress and get some help with this task the first time.

Q- I bought a Wolvering sharpening system with the Varigrind2 attachment and I am having a lot of trouble getting things to work. 

A-  I had the opportunity to talk to a factory rep from Oneway at the Symposium this year and was telling him about my frustration with this tool.  He gave me some pointers that have resolved all my troubles.   First set the leg of the Varigrind jig to a 22 5 degree angle to your gouge.  The easiest way to do this is to fold a square piece of paper in half to get 180 degrees then in half again for 90 and again for 45 and again to get 22.5 degrees. Once you have the leg to gouge angle set to 22.5 degrees use a pliers to tighten it down so it won’t vibrate loose.  Now set the distance from the front of the jig to the tip of the gouge to 2 inches and tighten the clamp. With the grinder turned off, set the ball end of the jig shaft into the cradle and adjust the length so that you have the tool resting on the wheel with the bevel in full contact.  Using a sharpie to blacken the end of the gouge  and turn the grinder on and off again  and lightly touch the side grind of your gouge to the wheel. You should see a shinny line that covers the full length of the bevel.  If not readjust your length and check it again.  Turn the grinder on and let it come to speed before you set your tool on the grinder.   Turn the gouge on its side to begin the grind  on the side bevel and not the tip.  You Do Not need to  Press down on the tool.  The weight of the tool and jig will provide enough pressure to sharpen the tool but not ware the tool out by over grinding.  Hold the tool in the center of the jig and rotate it smoothly from one side to the other.  One or two passes is enough to have a very sharp tool unless you are re-shaping the grind pattern.  This will also prevent over heating and burning the tool tip.  Note that the front of the jig will be between the  ends of the U shaped front arm but not contacting the bottom of the U.  You can sharpen all of your bowl and spindle gouges without changing your settings.  Your swing and rotation will change with the different grinds but not the tool position in the jig.  I told them they needed to do a better job with their training video.