Be Kind, first turning attempt in 20 years

[MMUK]

First things first, I replaced the non-original on/off switch with a NVR switch using parts left over from some generator rebuilds I did last year.

It's a momentary action push button wired into a relay. The relay is wired so that once the coil is energised it will stay energised until either the stop mushroom is pushed or the power supply is cut. Once power is lost, the lathe won't start again until the blue push button is pressed again. With the mushroom latched on I can still jog the lathe round by pressing the start button but it won't latch, I thought this feature would help me with centring on a face plate.

Anyway I digress. The last item I turned was a 1" spinning top in senior school, they really broke the bank on materials :roll: So I decided to use an offcut of 4"x4" planed and see what occurred. First I used my cordless circular to turn it into an octogan (I did remember something about the principles of turning then :lol: ). Then I mounted it onto the lathe and spent about half an hour getting it roughly to this.

Using only this.

I don't have any turning chisels yet so all of this has been done with my Dynagrip chisels. Just making it up as I went along with no particular plan in mind, I took about a further two hours turning and then another hour or so sanding with a sheet of 180 grit. Then I mounted it onto the face plate and turned a recess into the top with my 1/4" chisel, anything larger caused the whole thing to judder especially nearer the centre. As it turned out, I'd mounted to the face plate slightly off centre so my recess is about 5mm off Oh well, it was part of the design, honest :wink:

I took a pic at this stage but the file was corrupted :evil:

Anyway, a lack of any normal woodworker's stains or waxes led me to use what I'd got. Cuprinol Garden Shades Ash Black left over from doing my garage doors.

Still mounted to the face plate after two coats. I turned the stain onto it while it was still on the lathe, I thought this would give me a more even coat than brushing.

OK so it's rather big for a tealight holder and it's not perfectly finished but I don't give a smeg, it's my first attempt with a piece of timber that was anything but ideal for turning. And I think my camera lens is a bit dusty :lol:

I have some nice bits of mahogany to play with next (hammer)

 

[CHJ]

Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but please don't continue to use wood chisels on the lathe, if you get a serious catch and a chisel tang bends or worst case snaps you could end up with one or other of the bits adorning your anatomy.
Also it is very unwise to try and work the engrain with a piece so poorly supported on such a narrow base on the faceplate, the chatter you were getting was the precursor to having a catch and the piece flying off the lathe.

 

[MMUK]

Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but please don't continue to use wood chisels on the lathe, if you get a serious catch and a chisel tang bends or worst case snaps you could end up with one or other of the bits adorning your anatomy.
Also it is very unwise to try and work the engrain with a piece so poorly supported on such a narrow base on the faceplate, the chatter you were getting was the precursor to having a catch and the piece flying off the lathe.

Fair enough. I'm here to learn I know I need to get proper turning chisels but I wanted something to do and "I have a new toy so it must be played with", you know how it is :lol:

I bolted the piece onto the faceplate with a 3" screw straight up the middle of it so I thought it would be secure enough. I had the tool rest within 3/8" of the piece and I did wear my welding apron and a full face shield. I guess I should have mentioned that before, I'm not completely reckless

 

[bodge]

Remember kids, safety first!

But that aside, for nothing more than a woodworking chsiel, 20 year old memories and enthusiasm, I am very impressed. =D>

 

[monkeybiter]

MMUK When I got my first woodlathe and before my first crap tools turned up I used ground screwdrivers to practice.

I still use cheap £1 12" screwdrivers ground as captive ring tools, bead tools etc.

You do need reasonably decent turning tools to do most of your work but there is room for improvisation.

Do some more.

 

[johnny.t.]

It's good that you have made something and enjoyed it, but for goodness sake get some proper turning tools before you have another go. Aside from all that Chas has said (which I wholeheartedly agree with), WHEN you get a catch the lack of leverage you have with something as short as a wood chisel is very likely(almost certain) to cause it to be pulled from your hands and go for a fly. There is a fair chance you could find part of yourself being the thing that stops the sharp end..... The same goes for sharpened screwdrivers!

 

[Grahamshed]

I would like to talk about the fun you had trying to do that with the tools at hand but I suppose the dangers raised by the others are always going to take the upper hand.

Still looked like fun though

 

[John. B]

I would be the last one to dampen your enthusiasm BUT like the others .'Safety' ( OH that terrible word) MUST be paramount!

I'm coming from someone who teaches 14 year old's in school to turn and they come on as indestructible. So it's always a problem to teach safety first before turning.

Having said all that, we turners probably have in our time learning, done something stupid hopefully surviving unscathed.

But then try to pass on what we learned from that incident so the next would be turner will not get hurt pursuing our favorite passtime.

Keep going and keep being safe!! (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)

John. B

 

[Rhossydd]

In addition to what others have said about the safety aspects;
Using the correct tools is SO much nicer and more rewarding.
Turning a hexagonal blank into a cylinder ought to take a couple of relaxing minutes at most with a roughing gouge, not an hour of being scared of a accident. Then you'll get a finish that won't need to bludgeoned into acceptability with an hour of sanding and dust everywhere.

The final aspect is that when turning is going well you can concentrate on the important aspect of design and be in control of what you're making.

 

[winemaker]

Keep it up nice try after such a long time please do try to get some better tools for safety

 

[woodndrum]

Well done, tea light held -check
Tealight lit - check
Pleased - check
Had fun - check
Ok Lessons learnt as well, good for you. PM me your PayPal address and I'll drop a dime with you for your first tool purchase. Come to that if all the replies could then you'd be a lot closer to starting the battle of what tools are needed, and if it is worth buying a set, or individual tools. I bet that will spark some more help from members here. My turning is quite specialised so my advice on tools wouldn't help much.
8PC HSS Wood Lathe Turning Chisel Set - High Speed Steel at Amazonia dot co etc is ok for spindle work, but if you go for bowls a 10mm bowl gouge and a large round nose scraper for sheet cuts might be enough to start. Good luck man.

 

[Harry 48]

Congratulations you've joined the wood turners. The next thing to watch out for is WOODITES you will catch this disease very quickly it starts by looking at any piece of wood and thinking what can I Turn that it to. I am in the advanced stages SWMBO wont let me take my chainsaw in her car when we are out and I drag wood back to the car I get THE LOOK .As above with the elf&safy first rule no blood in the workshop.

 

[MMUK]

woodndrum, that's a very kind offer however I kicked Poopal into touch a few months back after they took over £200 of my money after a fraudulant buyer claimed they hadn't received goods even though I provided proof that they had signed for it.

I think I'll be trawling car boot sales for a few turning chisels. No point in spending £60+ on a half decent set until I know what I'm likely to need and if I'll be any good at it. At least with car boot jobs it won't cost a fortune and I shouldn't lose anything selling on what I don't use.

 

[procell]

Try fleabay. you can pick up individual tools fairly cheap there. Go for recognized names though as there are a lot of cheap tools for sale that are false economy. I am no expert having been turning for all of 5 months but the advice on this site has steered me right on several occasions already.
For the tools you had at you disposal that's a good first effort.

 

[woodfarmer]

In any enterprise success normally equals survival. So you have been lucky probably enthusiasm overcoming caution. I admire what you have done with what you have. I will give a little advice coming from the great store of learning I have gained from a months experience with a woodlathe
I bought a complete set of tools plus a 1/2 bowl gouge as I aspired to making bigger bowls.
90 % of my turning is with my 1/2 bowl gouge. It is perfectly safe to use as a roughing gouge and spindle gouge and the only one strong enough to deal with nasty situations inside a bowl. So take procells advice and find one of those, maybe a 3/8 if you never expect to need a 1/2 one. It will spindle turn, face off, hollow and cut curves and tapers and leave a good finish.
for a skew and parting chisel go to a steel stockists and get an 18 inches to 2 ft length of EN16T 3/16" (ish) by 1 inch (ish) flat bar. May need metric equivalents)
You can grind both these tools easily but make sure only grind a quick little bit at a time and let it cool. the steel is already heat treated so dont get it hot. The edge will do for the work they do. you will need to touch them up lighly fairly often (more so than HSS)

to make scraper do the same but get thicker bar, say 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch. These tools will look crude but will work and be much safer than using a wood chisel. For the scraper you will get a slightly better cutting edge if you bone the edge, If interested pm me.