First wood turning project ever

dukecrazy · January 16, 2016, 11:49:13 PM

Recently I decided to give wood turning a try. I've never touched a lathe before in my life so all of it is new to me but I really have enjoyed it so far. I still have a TON to learn but I really like how this project turned out (no pun intended lol). the following shows the results:

beenthere · January 17, 2016, 12:09:45 AM

Good on your first turning.

Your lathe sets on the floor behind your lawn tractor?

yukon cornelius · January 17, 2016, 06:24:50 AM

Looks good! The piece you used has some beautiful character

lowpolyjoe · January 17, 2016, 07:33:11 AM

Nice

.

Looks like a wood-carver's mallet. But given the base, I assume it's a decorative piece, is the top hollowed out like a cup?

How's that Harbor Freight model working out? Did you get your cutting tools from HF also?

I'd love to get a lathe but can't justify it yet. Hope you post some more pics as you spend more time with it. And maybe some comments about what it's like to start turning for the first time.

dukecrazy · January 17, 2016, 09:41:34 AM

Quote from: beenthere on January 17, 2016, 12:09:45 AM
Good on your first turning.

Your lathe sets on the floor behind your lawn tractor?

It is sitting on the floor for right now bc I just bought it and was really excited to try it out haha. I'll be mounting it to a workbench for its permanent home.

dukecrazy · January 17, 2016, 09:50:18 AM

Quote from: yukon cornelius on January 17, 2016, 06:24:50 AM
Looks good! The piece you used has some beautiful character

It did have great designs hiding inside which really impressed me. Thanks!

Quote from: lowpolyjoe on January 17, 2016, 07:33:11 AM
Nice .

Looks like a wood-carver's mallet. But given the base, I assume it's a decorative piece, is the top hollowed out like a cup?

How's that Harbor Freight model working out? Did you get your cutting tools from HF also?

I'd love to get a lathe but can't justify it yet. Hope you post some more pics as you spend more time with it. And maybe some comments about what it's like to start turning for the first time.

Its a "goblet" type cup but it isn't finished yet. I'm waiting on my new chuck to arrive so I can finish hollowing it out.
The HF lathe gets the job done for beginners such as myself but it seems to really have trouble if you start trying to take a decent amount of material out, I don't have any other lathe to compare it to though so all the smaller lathe may all be this way.
I also purchased my tools from HF and they are working out great as well.

I bought the lathe with a HF coupon so total after taxes and shipping was $167 (not bad if you ask me). As I gain more experience with it and turn more projects I'll be sure to post and share!

Andy White · January 17, 2016, 10:02:12 AM

Dukecrazy,
A fine first project for sure. If turning something that large, it will really help cutting the corners off before turning. A table saw will cut it to an octagon shape, and you are almost round, with a lot less vibration and tool chatter. Keep up the good work, and stay safe!! Andy

dukecrazy · January 17, 2016, 10:28:07 AM

Quote from: Andy White on January 17, 2016, 10:02:12 AM
Dukecrazy,
A fine first project for sure. If turning something that large, it will really help cutting the corners off before turning. A table saw will cut it to an octagon shape, and you are almost round, with a lot less vibration and tool chatter. Keep up the good work, and stay safe!! Andy

That makes a lot of sense actually, haha. I didn't think to use my table saw to cut the corners before putting it on the lathe, I'll definitely do that from now on.

I tried my best to find center of the block to help cut down on vibration and it seemed to help but with it not being permanently mounted I did have a good bit of vibration.

Kbeitz · January 17, 2016, 12:12:17 PM

First thing you might want to buy is a 3 foot hogging tool.
It makes your first cuts easy.

justallan1 · January 17, 2016, 02:10:47 PM

Looks one heck of a lot better than my first attempt. Nice job.
Look into carbide cutting tools. I really like them. They stay sharp way longer and for the price of the inserts I'm not going to bother trying to sharpen them.

jueston · January 18, 2016, 08:50:02 AM

thats amazing for a first try... i think i spend 3 months playing on my lathe, turning pieces of wood into wood chips before i made anything that pretty... :D

i had never used one, never even seen one used, but got a jet midi lathe on CL pretty cheap so i purchased it. i used dull tools and had no idea how to ride to bevel so everything turned out horrible, i could never get a decent finish so i spend as much time sanding as i did turning...

i remember when, after watching some youtube videos, i finally held a gouge against the wood in the correct manner everything started making sense....

turning is the best woodworking for immediate gratification. a couple years back when i wanted to work on my lathe skills i decided i would make a Christmas ornament everyday, after work i would chuck up a some small scrap of wood that would work, i'd turn something out, if i didn't like it i would turn something smaller until i get something i liked then i would finish it up with some friction polish... not many other things in the shop that you can finish a project everyday in less then a hour from rough wood to high gloss finish.

keep at it.

dukecrazy · January 18, 2016, 03:33:35 PM

Quote from: jueston on January 18, 2016, 08:50:02 AM
thats amazing for a first try... i think i spend 3 months playing on my lathe, turning pieces of wood into wood chips before i made anything that pretty... :D

i had never used one, never even seen one used, but got a jet midi lathe on CL pretty cheap so i purchased it. i used dull tools and had no idea how to ride to bevel so everything turned out horrible, i could never get a decent finish so i spend as much time sanding as i did turning...

i remember when, after watching some youtube videos, i finally held a gouge against the wood in the correct manner everything started making sense....

turning is the best woodworking for immediate gratification. a couple years back when i wanted to work on my lathe skills i decided i would make a Christmas ornament everyday, after work i would chuck up a some small scrap of wood that would work, i'd turn something out, if i didn't like it i would turn something smaller until i get something i liked then i would finish it up with some friction polish... not many other things in the shop that you can finish a project everyday in less then a hour from rough wood to high gloss finish.

keep at it.

Thank you for the kind words sir!

I had never knew what woodturning was until about 3 months ago, haha. I've been watching all kinds of you tube videos for about a month before I bought my lathe so that helped me out tremendously to watch and see how others did it.

Bark Beetle · January 18, 2016, 11:14:26 PM

That looks really nice dukecrazy.

What kind of center came with the lathe?

dukecrazy · January 19, 2016, 10:51:59 AM

Quote from: Bark Beetle on January 18, 2016, 11:14:26 PM
That looks really nice dukecrazy.

What kind of center came with the lathe?

Thank you sir and it comes with a live center.

Randy88 · January 21, 2016, 04:49:58 AM

Pretty nice for a first project, my first was a plate screwed to a face plate, then onto longer round type work, then up to spindles one at a time for lamps, then matched pairs of lamps, and then matching spindles used on the same project, posts to hold a mirror. Then bed posts and as they say, the rest is history, decades old by now.

Practice makes perfect and its still the best teacher I think.

Don't know what you have for tools, but another quick and safe way to get a rounded start is to use a belt sander and sand off the square sides first before putting the piece on the lathe, not as fast as a table saw technique but gets a similar result to start with.

Kbeitz · January 21, 2016, 06:54:53 PM

friction polish ???

never heard of it before. I had to look that one up...

High Friction Build Polish - Wood Turning > Turning Accessories

Protect and preserve your work with a high gloss finish! After sanding your workpieceand applying Cellulose Sanding Sealer (sold separately), sand the sealer lightly when itis dry. Then apply small amount of High Build Friction Polish with a lint-free cotton clothwhile the wood is turning. Once the desired build is achieved, finish with the edge of acarnuba wax stick (sold separately) and burnish with a dry cloth. 500mL.Caution: Flammable. Keep out of eyes and off of skin. Use in a well-ventilated area.

dukecrazy · January 22, 2016, 08:43:27 AM

Quote from: Randy88 on January 21, 2016, 04:49:58 AM
Pretty nice for a first project, my first was a plate screwed to a face plate, then onto longer round type work, then up to spindles one at a time for lamps, then matched pairs of lamps, and then matching spindles used on the same project, posts to hold a mirror. Then bed posts and as they say, the rest is history, decades old by now.

Practice makes perfect and its still the best teacher I think.

Don't know what you have for tools, but another quick and safe way to get a rounded start is to use a belt sander and sand off the square sides first before putting the piece on the lathe, not as fast as a table saw technique but gets a similar result to start with.

I still have some tools to buy and some different turning tools I want to purchase but for the most part I have a good base now. I've got quite a bit of sandpaper from 150-400 plus some sanding blocks, nice wax and some good sealers so I should be alright until I get a wider range of tools to use. I bought a basic 8 piece ( I think) set of turning tools which came with a good variety of tools to get me started.

I have (so far) in my small arsenal of tools: Combo belt/disc sander, orbital sander, palm finishing sander, table saw, planer, 12" sliding miter saw, lathe, and router table.