Woodturning is more of an art than science. Unlike normal woodworking, in woodturning it is the piece of wood that is moving, or rather turning, while the tool is stationary. The lathe is the primary woodturning tool. It rotates the workpiece and woodturning tools are used to shape the wood. Here is a short woodturning overview.
Before getting into woodturning itself, it is important to point out that woodturning requires some safety precautions. First of all, no loose clothing around the lathe. Needless to say, if something get stuck in the lathe, serious injury is very likely. Always wear safety goggles, or even better a face mask. Although the lathe itself is not very noisy some of the woodturning activities are noisy so hearing protection can be worth considering. Before using a lathe for the first time, always read the manual carefully.
Woodturning is a pleasurable pastime. Even if it may take a lifetime to master woodturning, a beginner can after a few hours of training create simple but beautiful objects. Woodturning is both fun and fascinating. And it may even be possible to make some money.
Basic woodturning requires three main groups of tools. The lathe is the most expensive piece of woodturning equipment. Additionally, you need a set of woodturning tools and a grinder. As mentioned earlier, you need a face mask or safety goggles. Hearing protection and a dust mask are also useful investments.
The most expensive investment in woodturning is the lathe. Unfortunately, a good lathe is expensive. It may be worth looking for a second-hand lathe. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the lathe, the better. But generally, the bigger lathe, the more expensive it is. A variable speed lathe is the best. Electronic variable speed is better than pulley systems and mechanical variable speed systems, but also the most expensive.
You have an enormous amount of woodturning tools on the market. You can spend a lot of money buying tools. If you are a beginner, it is best to buy only the most necessary tools and learn how to use them before buying additional tools. Woodturning tools are either made of carbon steel or HSS (High Speed Steel) steel. HSS tools are better, they are harder and can be used much longer than carbon steel tools. In most cases, buying HSS tools will be cheaper in the long run. That said, carbon steel tools are very good for tasks such as scraping.
Woodturning tools can be divided into cutting tools (chisels and gouges) and scrapers. The term parting tools refers to narrow chisels that are used to separate a finished piece of work from the waste wood. Buying a set of turning tools saves you some money and you get everything you need to get started. One or two spindle and bowl gouges should be included in every set. A roughing gouge and a nose scraper are essential as well. A parting tool is also needed in the beginner’s tool set.
A grinder is very important. It is not used for woodturning but is essential to keep your tools sharp. A bench grinder with two wheels, one coarse and one fine, is the easiest way to sharpen your woodturning tools. Most of the grinders are cheap.