Left Handed Turning

[Rob Cunningham]

My youngest son,17, is showing interest in turning. We were out in the shop for a few hours tonight. He is left handed. He says it feels natural to hold the gouge with his left hand on the handle. Do other left handed turners hold the tools the same as right handed turners? I wasn't sure what to tell him.
Thanks for any insight.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rob,

It is my humble opinion that a good turner should be ambidextrous. My favorite tool is the skew. I practise my skew using both hands. There are times when I can't contort my fat body to make a good cut while holding the skew in my right hand.

If it was me...I would encourage him to learn to use both hands.


Of course, you could use a lathe with reverse, making sure that your faceplate and chuck have set screws that can be tightened to prevent them from spinning off and turn from the back side of the lathe.

[Richard Madison]

Rob,
With experience one switches right/left or left/right almost automatically, according to the needs of the turning. Just takes some practice. Granted it is harder for a lefty, since lathes are designed for rightys.

[alex carey]

i agree with ken, i use both hands, feels pretty natural by now.

[Jeff Nicol]

I agree with Ken also, I use both hands and just get things done however feels right at the time. So keep him turning and things will come naturally.

Have fun,

Jeff

[ROY DICK]

Rob,
I turn with both hands also. Can get a catch with either.

Roy

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rob,
Can get a catch with either.

Roy


You have that talent too?:eek:

[Bernie Weishapl]

I taught my nephew to turn and he is a lefty. He turns either way. It is good that they learn that way. If you think about it we righties turn both ways.

[Darryl Hazen]

I'm a lefty and don't have a problem. Took some "getting used to" at first but he should be able to master it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I'm right handed but find I do most all my shear scraping on the outsides of bowls or hollow forms using my left. Feels weird at first but a heck of a lot better than trying to contort myself using my right hand. I think that once you get used to how a tool is supposed to be held to get the best cut - it doesn't take much effort to be able to switch hands. Main thing is to get to turning - he will find what works for him!

[Ken Glass]

I am a lefty and I most often use my left hand to guide the tool and my right to hold the handle, but with lots of exceptions as others do.

[Jim Burr]

Regrettably, I'm 100% ambidextrous in everything. I think Mahoney says it's the difference between turning uphill and downhill. Forget the masses and turn. If it's safe and appropriate…really, what’s the difference?
I don’t think to many here are “Classically” trained turners and techniques vary all over the world. If it produces positive results most of the time…mine never come out 100%…get busy and make some shavings, learn and move forward.

[Larry Lukens]

I'm also a lefty. My first turning experience was Memorial Day weekend this year at David Ellsworth's class. My first ever cut on a lathe was right-handed. I wasn't even thinking about it: it just felt right.

At home, I mostly work left-handed; that is with the handle in my left hand and my right hand guiding the tool.

As others have said, I try to practice using the tools from both sides. One of the things I learned at Ellsworth's is that hollowing a bowl is easy for a lefty standing on the back side of the lathe and spinning the tool rest around to the back as well. It's a left-handed hold and the geometry of the cut is perfect.

[Todd Reinbold]

I'm a lefty too. I turn with my left hand on the handle most of the time. When I turn the inside of a bowl, I stand on the other side of my lathe.

[Paul Atkins]

Does anyone have a left handed lathe? Outboard turning on a 'normal' lathe is left handed which seems to work. I'd think it would be worthwhile for a lefty to have a tool that just works the 'right' way.

[Tom Collins]

Wally Dickerman who posts on this forum is a left handed turner. He had a lathe modified for a left handed turner for sale awhile back. I believe it was a Nichols but not sure. Last I heard it had not sold. Haven't seen him post lately so he may be up north.

TC

[Thom Sturgill]

Another lefty here. I think most lefties are somewhat ambidextrous - either equally capable or equally clumsy with both hands :D, thou I have seen a few strongly left handed individuals. We HAVE to learn to do certain things right handed.

I mostly turn right handed, but I do many things right handed. I find that I put more importance on what the left hand and tool tip is doing than what the right hand is. For many cuts, the right hand is just supporting the tool handle and helping keep the tool moving smoothly. For others, it controls attack angle and is critical. The whole key is practice and developing body memory so you don't think about what each hand is doing.