turning small spindles

[jacques nolin]

i need advice i am trying to copy small spindles on my lathe but the darn things keep breaking when i get to the small diameters they are about 10 inches long by 3/4 any suggestions ? thank you ! jacques

[Reed Gray]

Well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to turn spindles with those dimensions. They might flex and whip/wobble, but shouldn't break. If they are breaking, are you turning them long/end grain wise, like a billet you split off a log?

robo hippy

[Mark Levitski]

They just need a little support as you get thin. Usually with a hand. There are some good web videos. Just do a search. Better yet, find a local turner or club to get it shown to you.

[Brian Kent]

What tool and mounting system are you using?

[Jim Underwood]

Several suggestions:

If you have a chuck with small jaws (or even a chuck with med. size jaws), turn a tenon on the piece and hold that end with the chuck to help "rigid-ise" the spindle.
If you have a tailstock center with a removable center pin, remove it and turn that end of the spindle to fit the hole/taper. This will help "rigid-ise" the spindle from that end.

The worst thing you can do is turn a small spindle between centers. It tends to bow up as you tighten the tailstock quill, and then it really gets squirrely.
Ideally you'd have a chuck on each end, and pull tension on the thing with your tailstock quill. But absent that, the above will work.

If you can't do any of the above, you can steady the back side with a finger. If you make a string steady or leaning board steady that will help also.

It is imperitive when turning small spindles that you have a very sharp tool, the proper cutting technique, and a light touch.

Also, I find it very helpful to turn it down to diameter a section at a time from the tailstock to the headstock. Another approach is to turn the center section to diameter first and work outwards to the tailstock and then the headstock. Either way you're trying to leave enough "meat" on the spindle to keep it from whipping or vibrating until you absolutely have to turn it away. And you leave the most stable parts of the spindle for last.

Hope that helps.

[John Keeton]

All good advice, and Jim alluded to what may be the problem - too much tailstock pressure. If you have the headstock end chucked, you need very slight contact with the tailstock - only enough to keep the end secure.

[Robert Henrickson]

Based on my experience turning a fair number of spindles from stock the same size as yours, I would say that Jim's advice covers the most important points. I'll add a few comments and slight contrasts.

Do use a chuck. If the stock you are starting with is square (as mine has been), simply hold one end in the jaws -- I haven't used a tenon. At the other end I simply use a live center, with very moderate pressure. I leave the center pin; you could use an awl to make a hole for the center pin.

A string steady or backing with a finger may help if you start getting a lot of vibration. That said, in turning 10" lengths of 3/4" square stock I have not had to use either a string steady or my finger as backing (and in many parts of what I was turning, I simply could NOT use my finger -- sharp-edged or square-edged elements).

Definitely work a section at a time. As counter-intuitive as it might seem, doing the center, then working toward the tailstock and finally from the center to the headstock may well be easier and smoother than simple progression from tailstock to headstock. I've found this to be true even when (perhaps even *especially* when) there are numerous sections in the center which are only 1/4" - 5/16" in diameter between other elements which are larger diameter or even left square; in such cases, I've found working from the center outward is definitely preferable. In an 8-9" finished length the pieces I've turned may have as many as a dozen places this thin along the length of the spindle.

I have also had comparable success working from tailstock to headstock, but problems with vibration definitely seem to be lessened by working from the center outward -- you're always working toward the relatively more 'fixed' ends.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Jacques, Jim's and John's advice is very good.... Go with it........ Jerry (in Tucson)

[jacques nolin]

i would like to thank every one of you for the advice i think you have nailed it for me i was holding the square end in a piece of wood with a square cut out to receive the spindle and it seems i applied too much pressure at the tail end and this is probably why it buckled ,i will fit a chuck to my wood lathe ( CHEAP ONE ) and follow your advice . i will let you know how i do . regard, jacques.

[charlie knighton]

Jacques, you also might want to try some english boxwood root, when it is green is best to turn, but still nice when dry------for small spindles