Woodturning is easy. First you mount a piece of wood between the pointy things on the lathe called centers. Then you take a chisel with a deep U-shape and beat the wood until it is round. It helps to turn on the lathe so you get it beat round on all sides. At least that is what I do.
Then you choose another chisel and beat the wood with it. You keep beating the wood with different chisels until you get a shape that you like. Most turnings look something like a bumpy stick. Once you are happy with the shape get some sand paper and rub the wood with it to get the chisel marks out. After a while and with enough sand paper the wood will be smooth.
Once the wood is smooth you need to finish your turning. Finishing consists of slopping some varnish or oil or lacquer on your bumpy stick. This helps make it feel smooth and brings out the grain so people can ooh and ahh over it.
After the finish dries take your bumpy stick off the lathe and show it to your wife. If she lets you keep it in the house you know are a wood turner. If she doesn’t let you keep it in the house try drilling a hole in one end and telling her it is a candlestick. If that doesn’t work go back to the shop and beat enough pieces of wood with enough chisels until she does let you bring a piece into the house.
You now know all you need to know about woodturning or as I call it the fine art of wood bludgeoning…
After a while you will need a bigger lathe and lots more chisels, lots more sandpaper, lots more finish, wax, photo booths, digital cameras, sharpening grinders, diamond stones and a myriad of other expensive gadgets. Heck, you will even start to wear fancy woodturning aprons, booties and Darth Vader helmets while turning. Who wouldn’t like to do that?
Sooner or later you will not be happy with the tools that you can buy and will want to make your own tools. I know wood turners who skipped buying tools all together and just made their own tools from the beginning. Look at how much money they saved. There are other turners who quit turning just to make tools to sell to other turners. You can never have enough tools and sooner or later you will find the right tool for the job if you buy enough. Your tool collection will grow to include exotic steel alloys, carbide tipped cutters and tools of every size, shape and description.
After a while you will not be satisfied with just beating your wood round on the outside and will want to make it hollow and round on the inside. That is called hollowing and opens up a whole new world of wood turning that requires a huge new assortment of turning chisels, captured tool systems, lasers, compressed air lines, vacuum chucks, steady rests and funny shaped measuring tools called calipers.
As your desire for more and more wood to beat round increases most turners find it necessary to buy four wheel drive pickup trucks, chain saws, chaps, peaveys and all sorts of logging equipment. Your best friend may become the neighborhood tree surgeon. No forest or tree will be safe from you and your lathe.
Me, I am just happy to beat my wood mostly round. My best advice is to find an American Association of Woodturners chapter near you and join and seek the advice of an experienced turner for instruction.
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