Wood Lathe: A Comprehensive Tutorial For Beginners

A wood lathe is your best choice when making circular elements for wooden furniture parts. However, some beginners may think it's hard to use or don't know how to set up it correctly. Thus, it's important for you to understand the woodturning lathe completely.

This post introduces a wood lathe for beginners, including how to use it and how to set up it in an appropriate statute. I hope you have a clear understanding of it after reading. Now, let's start woodturning!

What is a Wood Lathe?

The wood lathe is a machine tool that rotates wood on a central axis and creates cylindrical objects. It can usually be used for cutting, drilling, sanding, turning, etc. Many lathes can also be used to make bowls, plates, spoons, etc.

Like a potter's wheel, the lathe is an ancient tool, dating back to the 6th century B.C. Both have an adjustable horizontal metal rail to position the woodturning tools.

Seeing this, you may want to ask how a lathe works. Usually, it sits horizontally on a bench, legs, or heavy column. The lathe chuck holds the wood on the lathe. When the machine is running, the turning tools are on the tool rest. Push them into the spinning woods to carve the shape.

The wood size that a lathe can hold depends on the length of the guideway, but some lathes have extensions that can hold a longer workpiece; while the diameter of the workpiece depends on the distance between the center of the axis and the bed.

Tools Use On Lathe

The traditional woodturning tools used alongside the woodturning lathe include:

• Roughing gouge: Used for turning square stocks in spindle turning.
• Spindle gouge: Used for crafting detailed designs on smaller projects and creating delicate features such as beads and coves with long-grain wood.
• Bowl gouge: Used for shaping and hollowing out bowls and other projects.
• Parting tool: Used for parting and sizing beads or coves.
• Skew chisel: Designed to create beads, coves, V-cuts, edges, and other designs in spindle turning.
• Scraper: Designed for leaving a smooth internal curve on bowls or platters.

How to Set Up the Woodturning Lathe

After understanding what a lathe is, we will teach you how to set up the lathe in an appropriate statute.

1. First, ensure your working area is comfortable and allows for the lathe height and Mobility of the turner.
2. Fix the spur center and the live center so we can meet in the middle. It is crucial when handling spindle turning.
3. Lubricate the bed to allow for smooth slides. A lubricant must be applied with every turn.
4. Bolt the desktop lathe and make sure it is secure.
5. Ensure the belts are on the necessary speed for the specific project.
6. Start on low speed when a wood piece is set on the lathe then upwards. Be careful when working with wood pieces that have defects as they tend to crack at higher speeds.
7. Ensure protective gear is in place such as safety footwear, safety glasses, mask, respirator, and no hanging jewelry or clothing.

Considerations When Choosing A Woodturning Lathe

While you choosing your favorite lathe, you need to take some components into consideration. Here, we offer you some aspects you can take as a reference.

• Size. Woodturning lathes are available in three categories. The mini lathes are used to turn tiny pieces of wood. The mid-lathes are commonly used to make wooden bowls, pepper mills, pens, and other pieces. And the full-size lathes turn large pieces.
• Power source. The woodturning lathe power source is a vital consideration when choosing a lathe. The size of the motor too. For example, if you plan on turning large wood pieces, it is ideal to pick large-size motors.
• Speed. Direct drive speed and variable speed are important considerations that determine the outcome of your project. The direct-belt driven woodturning lathes have no variable speed control. This means the lowest speed is still fast. Variable speed control is essential for precise wood turning such as bowl turning.

Before you choose the lathe, you need to learn how to measure the lathe so that you can buy the most compatible one.

1. Swing:  This is the radius (distance from the center of the headstock to the bed rails) of the lathe multiplied by two.

2. Headstock thread size: It comprises two measurements namely; TPI (the number of threads per inch) and the width of the threads.  Please note that all threaded accessories must match the headstock thread size.

3. Morse Taper size: The available Morse taper sizes are M1(#1 MT), M2 (#2 MT) and M3 (#3 MT). Accessories are used to fit their respective sizes. Most midi Woodturning M1 Morse tapers while full-size ones use M2.

4. Tool Rest diameter: The receiver size for the tool rest in your banjo is fixed. The tool rest diameter should match the size of the receiver in your banjo.

Bonus Tips

Safety is a fundamental aspect when using tools. It applies to woodturning lathes as well. It is crucial to ensure the lathe is sturdy and has stability. It guarantees effectiveness and efficiency. Using reasonable wood sizes on your well-anchored lathe is important. Regardless of the lathe size, it ensures no issues during turning.

Working with a woodturning lathe is a great way to accomplish goals and projects that other tools cannot handle. There are available woodturning lathes for both beginners and veterans. All you need to do is pick what is best suited for your space, style, and objective. Following the tips highlighted in this article makes it easier to choose and use a wood-turning lathe.

Marchorool released a new wood lathe with a capacity of 12 inches for bowls and 21 inches for spindles. It offers variable speeds with forward & reverse capability for sanding and finishing. The iron body makes it with high quality, minimal vibration, stable turning, and maximum durability. Expect this, we also offer many other products used in woodturning, and if you are interested, go to our official website to look around.

FAQ About Woodturning Lathe

#1 What are the two types of woodturning?

Faceplate turning and spindle turning. Faceplate turning is commonly used to turn bowls; while spindle turning is used to turn pens and pepper mills.

#2 What size do I need to turn bowls?

If you just need to turn a wooden bowl, you can choose the mid-size lathe. An 8-inch lathe might be enough for you.

#3 What is the easiest wood to turn on a lathe?

Any wood is suitable for turning, depending on what you use it for. If you use it to create indoor furniture or cabinets, Walnut is your best choice. If you use to make a wooden bowl, the wet wood is your best choice.