Left-handed Turners?

[Juan Rivera]

Hello guys,

I'm a lefty and would like to start turning. It seems that all lathes are setup for right-handed users. Can a lathe be setup for lefties or am I just better off to start right-handed?
Any suggestions on mini-lathes?

Thanks,

Juan

[Nancy Laird]

Hello guys,

I'm a lefty and would like to start turning. It seems that all lathes are setup for right-handed users. Can a lathe be setup for lefties or am I just better off to start right-handed?
Any suggestions on mini-lathes?

Thanks,

Juan

Juan, I'm not a lefty and can't give you any guidance there, but as far as mini-lathes are concerned, you might want to look at the Woodtek midi. It's a 1/2hp 1 phase, 6 speeds, 10" swing, 15" between centers, and takes a #2 Morse taper. It's cast-iron (head, tail stock, and bed), and has a serpentine belt. I have one and it's just ideal for my purposes - pens, bottle stoppers, small turnings. When I get comfortable with this one, I'm moving up to the old Atlas that's sitting in the corner. The Woodtek midi is now $243.99. Take a look at www.woodworker.com (http://www.woodworker.com).

Nancy

[Jonathon Spafford]

It really doesn't seem it should matter... the only difference I can think is the placement of the switch! Don't see why it would be hard to use though! You can still use your left hand as the lead hand... actually it is good to learn to turn using both hands... it makes it easy for some work to use the opposite hand!

[Phillip H Smith]

Juan...

I don't think that handedness should cause you much of a problem. I'm also left-handed -- and while not an experienced woodturner -- I've found that hasn't impeded my learning. Granted, I've only had my lathe for a couple of weeks and have only practiced on scrap pieces learning to become comfortable with the tools.

I've found that guiding the tool on the rest with my left hand is a bit more natural for me. But on some cuts, I do it the other way round, and enjoy controlling the tool that way too. Since I naturally reach for things with my left hand, I find that my Rikon midi lathe (70-100) works well for safety reasons, because its switch is on the left. My band saw switch is on the left, too, which is good -- and even after years of use, I wish my table saw's switch wasn't on the right!

Again...as a disclaimer, I have no real experience yet, but in watching a lot of videos on turning, it appears that the veteran turners often lead with either hand, depending on how and what's being turned.

Jump in the water's fine...I hope to learn from you as I, too, learn to turn.

Phil

[Jason Slutsky]

Juan,

I agree with Philip...I'm a lefty and I don't think I have completed a project yet without using both hands. When I started turning, I never really gave much thought to which hand to use. It's more a matter of using the right hand for the cut that you're making.

Jason

[Mark Pruitt]

Juan, I wouldn't worry about it. I find myself switching from time to time which hand holds the tool at the rest and which supports it at the rear. And I'm definitely NOT ambidextrous.:rolleyes:

[Dick Strauss]

Juan,
You can always approach the piece from the other side of the lathe to make it more comfortable. Make sure that you are always turning into the material as it travels downward.

[Pat Salter]

Hans Wiesflog demonstrated at our club about two years ago and someone mentioned that he seemed to be able to work either right or left handed. He said that wood turners should work on developing their skills in both directions. That way it doesn't matter what you are working on you shouldn't have a problem. His sugguestion was that which ever is easiest for you, you should practice working in the other direction as much as possible. Roughing things out is probably the best time for that.

[Bob Hampton]

hmm ...guess i never really thought about it when i started...im a lefty and don't see any problem with it ..but in realation to holding the tool my left hand is always on the tool rest and right on the handle ...gee am I being corrupted to the other side....of righties?...lol:D
Bob

[Carol Reed]

My turning mentor is Wally Dickerman. He is a leftie and owns a Nichols left-handed lathe. One day I had a lesson on his Nichols in the morning and on a Jet-mini (right hand lathe) that same afternoon. Later he mentioned that he thought it remarkable that I didn't seem to have any difficulty making the switch. Frankly, I hadn't noticed. It was sort of instinctive. It is all about the presentation of a sharp edge to the turning surface of the wood. Those bevels will ride nicely whether the revolutions are clock-wise or counterclockwise.

Wally also is a huge proponent of the thought that turners need to develop complimentary skills with either hand.

Wally's lathe was not inexpensive. Seems I remember something about 'specially built!" So like those before me have said, go forth in joy, fret not about which hand you favor, and yield lovelies from your lathe.

[Kurt Whitley]

Hello guys,
Any suggestions on mini-lathes?

Thanks,

Juan

Juan,
In the last year, Rikon ($250 retail) and Jet ($300 retail) have both come out with lathes with 12" swing that are priced at or below what a 10" swing lathe would have cost a year ago!
Unless variable speed is a "must-have", I'd recommend one of these two lathes over the 10" swing models.

Cheers,
Kurt

[Kevin McPeek]

Juan, I'm a lefty also and have found that it does make a difference, although it is no hinderance to turning. On spindle turning it is not a big deal but bowl turning it is more noticable. I really like my Nova lathe so I can swing the headstock out a little. I have heard of lefties standing on the "wrong" side of the lathe because it was more comfortable, but that seems a little extreme to me.
IMHO the best thing to do is practice right handed a lot so you can switch easily (you'll need to do that anyway).
One thing that helped me when I first started was watching a Mike Mahoney video. He is left handed so the things he was doing made a little more sense since they were what felt right to me but not demonstrated by other people I had seen.

[Juan Rivera]

Thanks for all the input. It seems that I'm going to need to turn from both sides but I agree with Kevin point that it will be harder when turning bowls. If this a fact could I just change the direction of the motor and work on the other side? Any problem with attempting this?

Thanks,

Juan

[Jim Becker]

Cuts are made in both directions, so for many things, a lathe is relatively speaking "un-handed".

The issue with changing the motor direction for turning is that the threading on the spindle is not going to hold whatever is screwed on it unless it has a set-screw arrangement such as OneWay provides for their machines and accessories. (There is a special flat on the spindle to engage the setscrew...the screw does not sit on any threads as it would on most lathes)

[Kevin McPeek]

...<snip> (There is a special flat on the spindle to engage the setscrew...the screw does not sit on any threads as it would on most lathes)

Unless you don't loosen the set screw far enough, then it makes a mess of the first thread or two. DAMHIKT (Nova's have the same feature)

[Jim Becker]

Unless you don't loosen the set screw far enough, then it makes a mess of the first thread or two. DAMHIKT (Nova's have the same feature)

Ya...that's very true. So many little things to remember!! LOL :o

[Philip Duffy]

Juan, Any turner worth his/her salt goes both ways with both hands. If I could not do that, half my stuff would be full of big catches! Ignore your advantage and get with the program! Phil