Hi all,
Just received a lathe from swimbo for my 40th birthday pressie........ what
a woman :-)
I have been practicing on pine as its the cheapest wood here in the UK. A
couple of questions for you experienced turners out there. Have started to
turn a bowl from a 12 x 4 blank.
Across grain the finish from the chisels seems very rough. Is this because
the new chisels need honing out of the box or is pine with its open grain
difficult to turn?
Thanks,
Aidan.
Pine end grain tears out easily if the tools are not real sharp. I have
turned bowls and vases from glued up 2x6 stock and they can turn out
very nice. Speed is also a factor, try different speeds until you find
where the tear out is less.
Sometimes you may have to use a scraper to get a little better finish or
even a cabinet scraper. sanding with coarse paper will help also but
tends to eliminate any details you might have. Other woods have less
tear out but have their own issues. Haven't tried any poplar or aspen
but have used soft maple and red oak.
Maybe for Christmas she will send you to a turning course. ;-) I
played with my lathe for about a year and then took a course at NC State
and found that havening someone show you how to hold the tool helped
tremendously in improving my skill.
BRuce
Aidan Place wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Just received a lathe from swimbo for my 40th birthday pressie........ what
> a woman :-)
>
> I have been practicing on pine as its the cheapest wood here in the UK. A
> couple of questions for you experienced turners out there. Have started to
> turn a bowl from a 12 x 4 blank.
>
> Across grain the finish from the chisels seems very rough. Is this because
> the new chisels need honing out of the box or is pine with its open grain
> difficult to turn?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Aidan.
>
>
--
---
BRuce
yep, i was running it too fast until I took the class (but I wasn't
smart enough to be scared!) and now I have slowed down and change speeds
a lot depending on what I am doing at the moment. my next lathe will be
easier to speed change so I will probably adjust more.
BRuce
Bob G wrote:
>
>
> BRuce wrote:
> Speed is also a factor, try different speeds until you find
>
>> where the tear out is less.
>>
> ========================================
>
> Bruce that is an understatement.... LOL
>
> BUT the original poster was new to using a Lathe
>
> was turning a rather large BOWL.....Plus he was using pine...
>
> High speeds are needed for the finishing cuts BUT thinking back 40 years
> ago when I first started using a lathe the higher the speed I set the
> lathe for the more likely I had to change my underware ...
>
> Today it does not bother me in the least...BUT I would advise the
> original poster to forget the bowls for a few months and stick to
> turning some spindles...
>
> We will not even talk about some of my earlier turnings from glued up
> stock.... got to the point I did not even ware underware...just a time
> saver... lol ( at my own learning expereinces )
>
> Bob Griffiths
>
--
---
BRuce
Bob G wrote:
> We will not even talk about some of my earlier turnings from glued up
> stock.... got to the point I did not even ware underware...just a time
> saver... lol ( at my own learning expereinces )
You mean *that's* why they invented Depends? :)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17663 Approximate word count: 529890
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Aidan Place asks:
>Across grain the finish from the chisels seems very rough. Is this because
>the new chisels need honing out of the box or is pine with its open grain
>difficult to turn?
Yes. Hone the chisels as a starter. Then try a decent hardwood...in the U.S.,
I'd suggest poplar, aspen, soft maple as starter woods because all are fairly
cheap. I've got a buddy who used to work in furniture factories who is about
the only one I know who can turn pine decently. Super sharp tools kept sharp
are his only real secret.
Charlie Self
"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without
integrity is dangerous and dreadful."
Samuel Johnson
"Aidan Place" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all,
>
> Just received a lathe from swimbo for my 40th birthday pressie........
what
> a woman :-)
>
> I have been practicing on pine as its the cheapest wood here in the UK. A
> couple of questions for you experienced turners out there. Have started to
> turn a bowl from a 12 x 4 blank.
>
> Across grain the finish from the chisels seems very rough. Is this because
> the new chisels need honing out of the box or is pine with its open grain
> difficult to turn?
Probably a bit of both. Generally turning tools out of the box need a little
honing to get them up to a good cutting standard.
Pine is a 'rough' and difficult timber to turn, but if you can master
turning pine through practice, then most other woods will be a breeze.
Making a finishing cut with the skew chisel (where possible) will give the
best finish on pine, then you have to persist with abrasives going right
through the grades from 80-2000 for pine.
I have turned a number of pine handles and spindles that have come out ultra
smooth when combined with a good polish :)
--
Regards,
Dean Bielanowski
Editor,
Online Tool Reviews
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Latest 5 Reviews:
- Woodworking Techniques & Projects
- Kreg Right Angle Clamp
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------------------------------------------------------------
Pine does not turn well. Try some other woods, such as hard maple.
Also, look for trees that have been cut down. Many times you can get
green wood for free. Small amounts of most hardwood are inexpensive.
It is important to learn to sharpen and hone your tools. Scrapers are
important for a smooth finish.
On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 09:33:43 +0100, "Aidan Place" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Just received a lathe from swimbo for my 40th birthday pressie........ what
>a woman :-)
>
>I have been practicing on pine as its the cheapest wood here in the UK. A
>couple of questions for you experienced turners out there. Have started to
>turn a bowl from a 12 x 4 blank.
>
>Across grain the finish from the chisels seems very rough. Is this because
>the new chisels need honing out of the box or is pine with its open grain
>difficult to turn?
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>
>Aidan.
>
Thanks for the prompt replies. I thought that it was a bit of both.
Pine is the cheapest material to get hold of here so thats why i used it
although i was surprised by my builders merchants wanting £15 for an off cut
of 12 x 4 x 30. Lamination is the way to go i feel.
Thanks again.................... i'm off to sharpen.
Aidan.
BRuce wrote:
Speed is also a factor, try different speeds until you find
> where the tear out is less.
>
========================================
Bruce that is an understatement.... LOL
BUT the original poster was new to using a Lathe
was turning a rather large BOWL.....Plus he was using pine...
High speeds are needed for the finishing cuts BUT thinking back 40 years
ago when I first started using a lathe the higher the speed I set the
lathe for the more likely I had to change my underware ...
Today it does not bother me in the least...BUT I would advise the
original poster to forget the bowls for a few months and stick to
turning some spindles...
We will not even talk about some of my earlier turnings from glued up
stock.... got to the point I did not even ware underware...just a time
saver... lol ( at my own learning expereinces )
Bob Griffiths
When you carve, you move the gouge past the wood. When you turn, you should
strive to "carve" by moving the wood past the gouge. What speed? Any will
get the job done, just look how slowly you carve!
If you scrape, or consistently use dull tools, speed (torque) will allow you
to continue without stalling the lathe, but unless hollowing out those
"closed forms" which the fascinate the artsy set, I'd rather keep it on
lowest.
It was energy equal to one half the mass times the _square_ of velocity
when computing the impact of a poorly mounted or shattered piece on my chin,
wasn't it?
<BRuce> wrote in message news:1063287024.598562@sj-nntpcache-3...
> yep, i was running it too fast until I took the class (but I wasn't
> smart enough to be scared!) and now I have slowed down and change speeds
> a lot depending on what I am doing at the moment. my next lathe will be
> easier to speed change so I will probably adjust more.
>