Table Of ContentTurning
W
Techniques
& Projects
From the Editors of
Fine Woodworking
Turning
W
Techniques
& Projects
From the Editors of Fine Woodworking
T
Text © 2013 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
Photographs © 2013 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
Illustrations © 2013 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Pp
The TAunTon Press, Inc.
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e-mail: [email protected]
edITor: christina Glennon
coPy edITor: seth reichgott
Indexer: Barbara Mortenson
cover And InTerIor desIGn: carol singer | notice design
LAyouT: susan Lampe-Wilson
Fine Woodworking® is a trademark of The Taunton Press, Inc., registered in the u.s. Patent and Trademark office.
The following names/manufacturers appearing in Fine Woodworking’s Turning Techniques & Projects are
trademarks: Abralon®, dico®, Lee valley®, Lin-speed®, Masonite®, Micro-Mesh®, Minwax®, Plexiglas®, Tormek®,
Titebond II®, Tru-oil®, Watco®, Waterlox®.
Library of congress cataloging-in-Publication data
Turning techniques & projects / editors of Fine Woodworking.
pages cm
“compiled from articles that originally appeared in Fine woodworking magazine”--Title page verso.
Includes index.
e-Book IsBn 978-1-62710-405-0
1. Woodwork. 2. Turning (Lathe work) I. Fine woodworking. II. Title: Turning techniques and projects.
TT201.T869 2013
684’.08--dc23
Printed in the united states of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is compiled from articles that originally appeared in Fine Woodworking magazine.
unless otherwise noted, costs listed were current at the time the article first appeared.
ABouT your sAFeTy: Working wood is inherently dangerous. using hand
or power tools improperly or ignoring safety practices can lead to permanent injury
or even death. don’t try to perform operations you learn about here (or elsewhere)
unless you’re certain they are safe for you. If something about an operation doesn’t
feel right, don’t do it. Look for another way. We want you to enjoy the craft, so please
keep safety foremost in your mind whenever you’re in the shop.
acknowledgments
special thanks to the authors, editors,
art directors, copy editors, and other
staff members of Fine Woodworking who
contributed to the development of the
chapters in this book.
contents
Introduction 3
Part One
tools
• skew chisels 4
• scrapers 9
• Gouges 17
• Four-Jaw chucks 22
• sharpening Gouges 30
Part twO
techniques
• Turning Furniture Parts 33
• Learn to Turn spindles 41
• duplicate spindles by hand 49
• Tips for hollowing end Grain 54
• Go Beyond the Lathe for Beautiful vessels 59
• Faceplate Turning Is Fun 62
• secrets of segmented Turning 70
• Making split Turnings 79
• Fixing Turning Mistakes 83
• colorize your Turnings 87
• Four Finishes for Turnings 91
Part three
Projects
• Turned drawer Pulls 96
• Authentic shaker Knobs 104
• Pens Make Great Gifts 109
• Get a handle on your chisels 115
• Turn a hollow vessel 119
• Turning Bowls from Green Wood 125
• Turning Wooden Boxes 133
• A Turned Lid from contrasting Woods 137
• Turn a Pad-Foot Leg 142
• Barley-Twist candlesticks 147
• secret to a sheraton Leg? divide and conquer 152
• Turn a classic Floor Lamp 159
Metric equivalents 164
contributors 165
credits 166
Index 168
2
Introduction
More and more people are too, using the lathe to add beauty to their
discovering wood turning, pieces in the form of ornate spindles and
drawn to this fulfilling craft for posts and unique knobs and pulls.
a variety of reasons. For one, you don’t need Although the craft is growing every day, it
a big shop to do it. All it takes is a lathe and is not new to the pages of Fine Woodworking
some way to cut up your rough stock, be that magazine. From the beginning, the editors
a bandsaw or chainsaw or both. or you can have sought out the best turners and teachers
just buy turning blanks in a wide array of to share their practical tips for success. The
gorgeous woods, ready to go. second, you get special collection you are holding comprises
beautiful results fast. Whereas a furniture the best articles on wood turning from the
project might take months, even a beginning last decade. Whether you are wondering
turner can make a curvaceous bowl or which tools and accessories make the most
beautiful platter in an afternoon, from rough sense or how best to finish your piece,
blank to final finish. Most important, like you’ll find the answers here. We’ve included
any woodcraft, turning is a journey. you can articles on basic techniques for every major
start with pens and other small projects and turning tool, advice on turning a wide
end up making amazing hollow vessels, or array of furniture parts, plus a host of other
bowls with ornate carving, or a segmented functional projects, including vessels, bowls,
turning built up from an array of precisely platters, and more. enjoy the journey.
sized pieces. Furniture makers love turning
—Asa christiana
editor, Fine Woodworking
3
4 TOOLS
Skew Chisels
RICHARD RAFFAN
Many people buy a lathe with a
specifi c job in mind. Furniture
The skew chisel
makers want to turn chair
stretchers, drawer knobs, or bun feet.
Skew chisels come in a variety of widths, the
Hobbyist woodworkers might want to turn most common being 1⁄2 in. and 3⁄4 in. They are used
parts for a grandchild’s cradle and make primarily for turning beads and round areas on
bowls. But sadly, many novice turners have spindle work.
Slight radius
their enthusiasm so dampened by the tool
Long corner along edge
catching and digging into the wood and Bevel on
Short
both sides
ruining the job that they give up turning corner
almost before they’ve started.
Edges on
No matter what you want to turn on your
short-
lathe, a few days spent turning grooves and corner side of
chisel are
beads between centers using a skew chisel
rounded over.
will teach you the basic essentials of turning
wood. Th e exercise will help you develop
control and gain a feel for how little force
is required to remove wood if a sharp edge
Begin with a sharp tool
is presented at the proper angle. Master the
skew chisel, and other turning tools become I grind a skew chisel with a very slight radius
comparatively easy to use. along the edge. Initially this was due to
ineptitude, but about 25 years ago I found
several advantages to this grind, not least
of which is that catches are less severe than
Good control comes with
when using a traditional straight edge.
practice. Cutting repetitive
Some skew chisels are rounded on the
beads with a skew chisel teaches
the basic essentials of turning. short-corner side so that they slide more
readily along the average slightly pitted tool
rest. Th e corners of the chisel can be rounded
using a belt or disc sander.
I sharpen my chisels using either an
electric grinder or a belt sander. My grinder
has two wheels—36-grit and 80-grit. Use
silicon-carbide wheels when sharpening
5
