Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 22 of 22

Thread: 1st "Turning" (aka Beaver Attack)

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Erich Weidner View Post
    This is exactly what I was doing. Roughing is now going smoothly.

    I've now had about 5 hours of hands on with a local club member at his shop. I don't know how many hours it would have taken me to get to where just the first 2 hours together taught me.
    Still have limited time to practice, but now that I got the lathe sand mounted on some "workbench casters", muscling it in and out of its storage spot against the wall is much easier which should facilitate practice.

    Doing OK with coves. Beads are still giving me some trouble, but lesson #2 this past weekend helped with that.
    Sounds like you're well on your way. I turned alone without training (other than youtube) for about 3-4 years before joining a club and working with others. It helps so much to see in person how others do things.
    Good luck and post some pics once you have completed some projects!

    Tom

  2. #17
    So that the cost of wood is not a concern, you might consider getting a couple 2x2x8', cut to appropriate short lengths, and practice, practice, practice. My favorite practice wood for spindle turning is poplar, but 2" thick rough sawn poplar may not be as easy to find as 2x2's, and you would have to rip the 2" thick poplar on a table saw which you may or may not have.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Erich Weidner View Post
    This is exactly what I was doing. Roughing is now going smoothly.

    I've now had about 5 hours of hands on with a local club member at his shop. I don't know how many hours it would have taken me to get to where just the first 2 hours together taught me.
    Still have limited time to practice, but now that I got the lathe sand mounted on some "workbench casters", muscling it in and out of its storage spot against the wall is much easier which should facilitate practice.

    Doing OK with coves. Beads are still giving me some trouble, but lesson #2 this past weekend helped with that.

    So valuable to spend time with a mentor!

    I learned to turn from a lathe manual and books by two experts, Richard Raffan and Mike Darlow. Even with access to a mentor I still recommend these books since they are so detailed, show several ways to do things, and you can go back and re-read specifics even years later. (I cringe when I hear of people learning solely from YouTube videos since there are SO many horrible bottom of the barrel videos out there.)

    The books are Turning Wood and Fundamentals of Woodturning. I bought spare copies so I can loan them to students.

    JKJ

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    Erik, I'm glad that it is working for you now. I too had initial trouble using the RG. It was a violent operation and kind of beat me up a bit. I got help from another turner and I was surprised how easy and gentle is was to use the roughing gouge. I was doing it all wrong. Now that I use the a "A, B, C" rule it is a fun friendly tool.

    BTW, I didn't initially catch it in your original post, but you mentioned using a wolverine fixture to sharpen your roughing gouge. The wolverine fixture (IIRC) is used on bowl gouges to create side flutes. Most people prefer that their roughing gouge is ground straight across with no side flutes. That allows you to use the outside to make a crisp cut up to a shoulder. I sharpen my R G on a vertical belt sander and do it freehand. I have a mark on the table at 45 degrees and I hold the tool horizontal then rotate it horizontally. So it is a 45 degree grind. I'm not sure if that is optimum. Perhaps a lesser angle would be better but I haven't experiments (others - - feel free to comment). It is less than a 10 second operation to sharpen - - any longer and I'm removing unnecessary material. It can be sharpened so quickly that I don't bother to turn off the lathe when sharpening.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    3,651
    Quote Originally Posted by Erich Weidner View Post
    That makes sense. I just grabbed this piece of wood from my offcut bin. I was looking for some pine and this was the first piece I grabbed. (I don't have much of anything offcut that is thicker than 1" in one dimension).
    If you have a firewood pile that's a great place to find cheap practice wood. You can even still burn it once you're done. 2-3" branch wood can be (literally) picked up almost anywhere. You don't want the pith in stuff you're turning to keep, but for practice it's perfect.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Brice Rogers View Post
    BTW, I didn't initially catch it in your original post, but you mentioned using a wolverine fixture to sharpen your roughing gouge. The wolverine fixture (IIRC) is used on bowl gouges to create side flutes. Most people prefer that their roughing gouge is ground straight across with no side flutes. ...
    I briefly wondered about that too since I didn't see a picture of the gouge. However Eric said "Wolverine fixture" which generally means the flat platform and the means to fasten it to the table, perfect for spindle roughing gouges. The Oneway Varigrind jig is the one used to easily put a fingernail or side grind for spindle and bowl gouges. None of the roughing gouges I have will fit in the Varigrind.

    Another advantage of the straight across grind when used on roughing gouges that have a flat area on the flute at the corners: the flat can be used exactly like a skew! With a twist of the handle you can transition seamlessly from the curved area of the flute, perhaps to shape a curve in the wood, to the flat near the corners to make smooth cuts on cylinders and tapers.

    I tried sharpening on a belt sander but I like the slightly concave bevel from a grinding wheel better than the flat bevel, mostly since it makes it easier to touch up the edge at the lathe with a fine diamond hone.

    JKJ

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    John K Jordan, thanks for the suggestion about putting a hollow grind on the roughing gouge. I'm going to try that. I know that the hollow grind works better on my skew and bowl gouges.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •