My favorite woodworking tool is the lathe. I love the sights and sounds of turning. The wood lathe has a potter's wheel like artistic nature in that you start with a plain lump of material and end up with something symmetrical and pretty. My lathe is a vintage Craftsman model that belonged to my father. I estimate it's age to be around 50 years. I recently got it out of storage and set up in my garage/workshop. It's so relaxing I can waste away the hours easy!
Cherry wood blank chucked up and ready.
Rounding off the blank with a gouge.
Sometimes I have an idea in my mind's eye and other times I just let the shapes come out of the wood on their own.
I love the look of the wood as it spins.
In this photo you can see a scale on the edge of the tool rest. The piece is only about 3 inches long. Larger spindles are easier to work with but for some reason I like turning little pieces.
I picked up a tip from somebody on this forum about wet sanding with the finishing oil while the piece is still in the lathe. I tried this with some wet/dry paper and olive oil and it does work great. Because I can machine down the wood very smooth with the tools my starting grade of sandpaper is 320. Then I went right to the wet sand with 400. I like the wet sanding technique and I will continue that method from now on.
Cherry wood blank chucked up and ready.
Rounding off the blank with a gouge.
Sometimes I have an idea in my mind's eye and other times I just let the shapes come out of the wood on their own.
I love the look of the wood as it spins.
In this photo you can see a scale on the edge of the tool rest. The piece is only about 3 inches long. Larger spindles are easier to work with but for some reason I like turning little pieces.
I picked up a tip from somebody on this forum about wet sanding with the finishing oil while the piece is still in the lathe. I tried this with some wet/dry paper and olive oil and it does work great. Because I can machine down the wood very smooth with the tools my starting grade of sandpaper is 320. Then I went right to the wet sand with 400. I like the wet sanding technique and I will continue that method from now on.
