Learning to turn

[Travis Porter]

Well, I have taken the plunge and pulled out the $50 lathe (not even good enought to be harbor freight) that my father bought me with two complete sets of tools and turned a mallet like so many others have.

I downloaded the plans from Wood magazine, glued up my parts and got started. The first 3/4 roughing gouge I had to use was a true POS, but the second worked pretty well, and then I got the urge to buy a tool so I went and bought a crown 3/8" roughing gouge. I learned good turning tools are not cheap.

I have learned a few things, like it is fun to turn, but some bad as well. The tool rest on this lathe is dinged up pretty bad and although it wasn't noticeable with the 3/4 gouge, it was definitely noticeable with the 3/8 so I will need to do a bit of filing to smooth out the tool rest.

Sanding was a bit more tedious than I would have thought (boy does the paper get hot quick), but I believe some of that was because of the tool rest.

My copy of the mallet from Wood isn't a perfect match, but it is around a 95 percent match, and for my first real turning attempt, I consider that pretty good. I won't be doing bowls or pens like many others here do for a while I expect, but it is fun, I will say that. Now I need to find a better lathe at some point and a place to put it. Oh well.

One question/issue I still have is when I was trying to shape the end grain areas of the mallet. The instructions said to use the 3/8 gouge, but it would catch/bite when I tried to do that a lot. Are you supposed to hold the gouge at a lower angle or not hold the gouge offset or something? Any advice or suggestions?

 

[cskipper]

Congrats on joining us on the slippery slope. About sanding, when you get the knack, you will be smoothing the surface pretty much with your turning tools so that you won't need to sand as much. If you learn to use a skew I'm told you will get a smoother surface. I haven't been successful with a skew. Heat is bad for the piece you are turning. Be sure to keep the sand paper moving whenever you sand.

Is the 3/8th gouge a fingernail profile? You'll learn that rolling the tool and gradually changing the angle to decrease the catches. Sorry, but it takes practice - something of which I still need a lot of practice.

Pictures?

 

[Eaglesc]

After roughing turn fast, sand slow,
If the sandpaper is getting hot I would suspect too fast a speed,too "heavy" a hand.
Hot sandpaper isn't good for the piece or the fingers

 

[Monty]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Congrats on the mallet - it's nice to actually turn something useful the first time. Figuring out how to cut on the bevel is tough at first. You have to take a close look (with the lathe off) at how the cutting edge is meeting the wood so you can see how best to hold the tool. I would then start "high" (so that only the bevel is contacting the wood) and slowly drop the tip of the tool down until the cutting edge starts to make shavings. Then just practice a lot. Remember, if you tearout a big chunk, that means you get to practice more!!!

 

[michaelgarner]

congrats on the malet, I have yet to make a one,,lol. Good info monty.

 

[Travis Porter]

Here are the pics

First, my $50 lathe. Nothing special, but it works.

Next, the tools that came with the $50 lathe. 3 different sets of tools, all made in Taiwan or China. The ones on the right seem to be pretty good.

Then, here is the $50 3/8" gouge I bought. Eaglesc has me rethinking buying anymore turning tools based on his comments on what he uses and seeing what he turns out with his pens. I did buy a set of outside dividers as I didn't have any, and it is something you need for this. I expect I will be going to harbor freight to pick up several of these if they stock them.

And finally, here is my mallet. I still need to put some finish on it.

 

[jeff...]

looks like you been turning a little cedar there Travis. I'm in the pink when I work with cedar :icon_thum

 

[Travis Porter]

Not cedar, Padauk, and I got more up my nose than I got on the floor.:-(

 

[sapwood]

Dang Travis, you learn fast. The mallet looks good and I'm sure the finish will look better. I thought the head was purpleheart . . .so much to learn :lol:

Roger

 

[DaveO]

I thought the head was purpleheart . . .so much to learn :lol:

Roger

I thought the same thing. :BangHead: :BangHead:

Dave

 

[DaveO]

Not cedar, Padauk, and I got more up my nose than I got on the floor.:-(

Face shield or at least nose plugs..and try to stand more upright :lol: :lol: :lol:

Dave

 

[michaelgarner]

thats some nice work there friend, I had a grizzly machine that I used for years that was almost identical to that one. Its a great starter. Good job and keep up the awesome work.

 

[cskipper]

Padauk is a mess to turn or saw and pretty unhealthy for you. Be s ure to wear a mask.

 

[Travis Porter]

Unfortunately, you are right on all counts, including stand more upright.:cry:

 

[DaveT]

Nice mallet. I remember reading the article, and it looks pretty close to what the article showed. Good job!