Learn Wood Lathe Basics: Beginner's Guide

[@robertlevine2152]

It would be a lot easier if you redu ce the size of your blank prior to turning. For instance, shorten the length. Next, instead of square, try reducing the cross section to a hex shape Buy a stone such as, Norton India Gouge Slip, for sharpening gouges. Learn to sharpen your lathe tools. Dull tools are dangerous. There is an inherent flaw in your $200 lathe, and that is the lack of mass. Soft pine is one thing, hard woods as ash, maple or hickory, are different. Lathes should be fixed (i.e., bolted) to a base. Turning pen blanks is one thing, turning bowls or table legs is another.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Love this, thank you so much for sharing Robert! I am truly a newbie and all of these comments are really valuable. I appreciate you sharing. After filming this video, I have been continuing to watch more videos on turning and I saw a lot of people trimming down the blanks to an octagon. It sounds like I'm going to need to upgrade fairly soon, as I really enjoyed using it this first time. I'm actually thinking about using it to make some christmas gifts, etc. Thanks again for sharing and watching!

[@robertlevine2152]

@@FlynndoggWoodwork I am 71. The last time I used a lathe was in 7th grade. You heard me regurgitate almost everything I know about turning. Don't sell yourself short. Rely on what you learn elsewhere. Bob

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@robertlevine2152 Haha! :)

[@mikec2810]

Looks like you had some fun turning on the lathe! Great video!

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Thanks so much Mike! It was pretty fun! I appreciate you watching and commenting as always! :)

[@patcross5799]

I don't need a lathe, but I want one... I have fond memories of turning things on my dad's lathe as a kid. I keep hoping I get a project that requires a lathe so I have an excuse to buy one. Thanks for the video and have a great weekend.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Thanks so much Pat! I had a lot of fun using this one, except for the tool rest not being stable. Sounds like from a lot of the comments, there are a lot of options out there so I'm going to continue to keep my eyes open!

[@markglabinski526]

Great post! You always remember your first time.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Oh you aren't lying, although it wasn't perfect, it was a lot of fun. And i think there is a joke in there somewhere about it being the first time! :)

[@Buffy1967]

I've looked at this vevor lathe for a long time and it's a good entry point lathe to start out with so I was happy you bought and try it out . I'll be buying it now . But definitely agree the steady rest is wonky lol. The carbide insert turning tools are the way to go. Your not limited either to diameter or length . So many cool projects you can turn now. Look forward to many more lathe projects. Thank you again

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

I appreciate it Buffy! I've come to find I really enjoy turning. I am still very concerned with that tool rest though. I turned another project last week and it was not stable at all. I'm going to have to get a new tool rest or come up with a better solution! Thanks for commenting and watchign! :)

[@plandry3]

Glad 2 c u finally got one. I originally bought my first lathe to turn spindles for tables. Now I do nothing but turn. It's like a drug. I'll be on vacation with the wife for a week, and am constantly thinking about what I'll turn when I get back lol. Keep us posted. I can't wait to see if the lathe is your drug of choice lol.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Haha! That is too funny! You aren't the only one that has said that, I really enjoyed turning, and I anticipate it will be a part of my woodworking going forward. It's really quite a fun little tool. Thanks for watching and commenting planndry3!

[@DinoBiondo]

Great Video! I just started turning myself and am liking it for many reasons. The first is its Quiet (Quiet is good for me). I am starting with turning Pens. At first, didn't think Id like turning pens, but am starting to get hooked on them. I have a mini (Grizzly Lathe). I will be adding a larger lathe next year. Keep up the great videos.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Thanks so much DinoBiondo! That is awesome you are enjoying the pens! I'm kind of thinking the next lathe I will get will be something medium sized. I think the width of the lathe is more important than the length. To be honest, I don't see myself using the 40'' capacity of this lathe and would gladly give up the length for width! Have fun turning. I totally get what you mean about the quietness of the lathe. Woodworking is a form of meditation for me! :)

[@michaelkelley6905]

Good video and very timely for me. I recently picked up an old lathe on a base. It has heavy rails, and the tool rest won’t be sloppy. It has a pulley system as well, but I think the max diameter is 12” length is 36”. I’ve got some old turning tools from a long time ago, I just haven’t had the gumption to chock up a piece of wood yet. I’m excited to try it out now. I got it with the intention to turn spindles for chairs. I also built a shave horse to make riven spindles. Working green wood with a drawknife is very different from the lathe. So much to learn. Great job on the video and looking forward to hear more about the shop renovation. 👍🏽

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

That's awesome, you know I may do some research and see if I can find an older lathe like that. I would really like to look into one of those variable speed lathes, as changing the pulleys can be a really pain sometimes. Love the fact that you are doing some green woodworking. I've always thought that would be amazing to try! Rex Kruger was talking about that on a video I was watching of his a few weeks ago. Best of luck to you. Now I want a draw knife! :)

[@patbeatty7116]

If you remember when we talked about lathe work I suggested you find a woodturning club and go to a few of the meetings. I agree with most of the posts about the tool rest, an accident waiting to happen. I feel that you were VERY lucky that it didn't turn into the wood and have you ducking the flying piece. Have carbide tools, but they become common after I had been turning and using the normal tools that need to be sharpened. After a lathe upgrade you will be looking a chucks. Mike Peace has some good videos regarding buying your first chuck, also many good videos on turning different projects. Welcome to the world of woodturning, it's an addictive and expensive habit. Remember that the favorite wood of most turners is "found". Get to know the people in your area who remove trees and see if they will save wood for you. Good luck.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Love this Pat, and oh yes, I remember our discussion. I actually went over to rockler shortly after we had it and asked about classes. I think I will eventually sign up for one and upgrade. This lathe is good for me now, but I'm not using it until I do something about that tool rest. Thank you so much for watchign and sharing!

[@patbeatty7116]

Just to let you know, if you talk to to 10 different turners on how to do a project, you will get 11 different answers. There is really NO right way to do something, except for an unsafe way, everyone turns in a way that works for them. Also I have found that the faster I have the lathe operating, the cleaner the cuts. The old adage is turn as fast as you are comfortable with. @@FlynndoggWoodwork

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@patbeatty7116 Thank you so much for sharing this Pat. Sounds like it's similar to about everything else in life! :) I appreciate the advice and thanks again for watching!

[@agdtec]

Woodcraft and Rockler have classes for beginners. Wood lathes can launch wood at your face if you do not know what your doing. You do not have to worry about blades spinning at high rpms but the wood spinning when not yet rounded makes the chisels bounce and chater. So taking a class can be very useful to learn how to safely use the lathe. Also ther are many wood working clubs across the county that give classes if the big 2 are not in your area.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

THanks so much agdtec! Excellent advice. I've already made a trip to rockler and intend on taking a class in the near future. I'm hesitating on turning anything else, until I get that tool rest issue resolved. I appreciate you sharing and watching!

[@lyleeggmolesse5330]

Hi I have the same Lathe and have been having troubles but I think your video has helped me a lot. I was wondering did you drill a hole on the other side of the wood where the winding point chuck is? please excuse my terminology i'm still a beginner

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

I totally understand what you are sauijg Lyleeggmolesse as I am a beginner as well. I didn't drill any holes to mount the wood, but I did put it in the lathe rather firmly. Be very careful with that tool rest. It actually scared me so much that I ended up upgrading this lathe about 3 months later. Mine was moving quite a bit on me. Thanks so much for the question and thanks for watching!

[@lyleeggmolesse5330]

@@FlynndoggWoodwork Did you get a new lathe?

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@lyleeggmolesse5330 Yep, I went ahead and got a Jet lathe. But this is the lathe that got me interested in turning so I'm very happy that I got this one!

[@lyleeggmolesse5330]

@@FlynndoggWoodwork That's good, How much was the jet lathe?

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@lyleeggmolesse5330 great question. I got mine for about $800 it was on sale at the time. That's what I try to do at least is wait to those woodcraft sales with free shipping and buy them online. Really quite a huge difference between the jet and the vevor, but the vevor was great to start out with .

[@NathanTalbertWoodworking]

I just wish I had the space to set up my lathe. well technically its a shopsmith mark v, but i mainly got it for the lathe. Got lucky and the neighbor asked if i wanted to trade an old busted down van for a shopsmith with tons of accesories. The downside is all the stuff stored in the van is now stored in my 8x12 workshop with a shopsmith that I can no longer set up.....

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Oh man, that is too funny. You should have raised the price and told him the van comes fully furnished with everything stored in the van! :) Very cool that you got a shopsmith though! Hopefully you can make some space for it!

[@jimrosson6702]

Great video as always good luck with your new venture stay safe my friend. There are some amazing wood turning guys out n KZbin that I watch you should look at some of them they do some amazing stuff.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

That's awesome Jim, yeah, I've just started to go down the turning rabbit hole with the turning guys and been pretty impressed. My ultimate goal is to make some bowls and things like that, but I have a lot of practice ahead of me. Thanks as always for watching!

[@richpeggyfranks490]

Now that you turned a piece, are you ready to upgrade? That flexing tool rest caused me to "pucker" everytime. I can't imagine how it made you feel. But, the machine does spin wood and has 4 speeds. That is enough to see if turning is what you like to do. I sold my lathe and scroll saw years ago and focused on joinery and finishing. Scrolling and turning were too "free form" (for lack of a better way to explain) for my taste. Good luck. Be careful with that thing. Thanks for another video.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Oh yes, it made me pucker for sure! Especially for having basically no experience with it. I think I'm going to try and do some candle holders in the future. It's a good started lathe, and it made me realize that I like turning, which I guess is what I really wanted to know. And I will definitely be upgrading once I have a little extra cash laying around. The shop upgrade has put a real dent in my woodworking budget (probably for a couple of years!)

[@Ted_James]

Nice demo! I've thought about getting into wood turning. Looks like if I do, I'll need to do it outside because of all of the sawdust. I wonder if you can rig up some dust collection for it. I remember a cartoon, I think it was Tom & Jerry (Itchy and Scratchy?), where one character chopped down a tree, cut it up, and ran it through a lathe to make a baseball bat, You should do that.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Love the idea of making a baseball bat! I actually was talking to one of my sons about that! :) For dust collection that's a great question. I have not yet researched how that is done on a lathe! One more thing to learn! Thanks for watching Ted!

[@themeat5053]

Dogg, man, you will be upgrading that lathe in a matter of months, because size does matter. Once you're comfortable turning wood, you'll be getting a Rikon, Grizzly or Jet lathe soon because it will be so much more you. Already you've moved up to the carbide tipped turning tools. That will save you hours in sharpening time. Good luck turning. For some, turning, itself, becomes an obsession. I can't see that happening with you though because you don't get wrapped up in anything...hum, bub?

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Yep! That sounds like the consensus on this lathe. That moving tool rest really is concerning for me. I'm glad I chose to use pine for this first time. I'm wondring if I would have used a hardwood if that tool rest would have caused even more problems. It's funny you mentioned rikon. That was one that I was looking at for a long time, and almost bought a few years ago, they seem really nice. I'm also obviously a fan of Jet as 1/2 my tools in my shop are made by them. I think i would like to get a variable speed one when I do my next upgrade, as the belt changes on this one aren't exactly easy. Hope your surgery went well!

[@themeat5053]

@@FlynndoggWoodwork Dogg, man, it won't take you long to get that sweet, sweet Jet lathe. They are nice. If you wanted a cheap alternative to the variable speed, you might consider just getting a variable speed switch (like a lot of us use for our routers), you know it is basically a rheostat that you can adjust. Just saying... BTW, thank you so much for your concern and well wishes, but as is typical here for the old Meat, surgery was rescheduled and now, may, happen this coming Wednesday 11 Oct. Fingers crossed. Still loving your stuff.

[@RightHandShot]

You will outgrow that lathe quickly. Get one with a VFD, then comes better tools..... sharpening grinder with sharpening jig....the list will get longer. The way the tool rest moves around would make me nervous. Good luck

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Totally agree with you on both points. I tried to change the belts a couple of times, and got it done, but man it wasn't easy! That tool rest is by far my biggest concern. If that thing shifted and hit the workpiece in the middle of a cut It would go flying. Thanks so much for watching DoctorPing!

[@justinfletcher7630]

Hopefully it works out for you but I know that exact lathe. Vevor, mophorn, like, and few other companies buy those and sell the. Under their name but their identical. But ive heard horror stories. Especially about the spindle

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Oh yes, 100% agree with you Justin. I've since replaced this lathe because I felt it was too dangerous. I have a jet lathe now. Much better tool. I will give this lathe kudos though for allowing me to see if I even liked turning. Turns out I did..

[@JeffDM]

Good video. I’m surprised it worked that well with a 1/2 horsepower motor.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Yeah, it seemed to work just fine with that much power, however I have nothing to compare it to, so not sure what I was expecting. Thank you so much for watching Jeff

[@tpaulsmith7194]

Don’t forget your cup. Safety third.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Haha! You're joking but I'm serious, I may need one for that moving tool rest! :) Thanks for watchign as always Paul!

[@tektrixter]

Lots of bad reviews for that lathe on Amazon. Seems QC isn't up to par.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Yeah, it sounds like from the comments I've read so far on this video, I will be outgrowing it quickly. It did the trick for this project and working with pine. But that tool rest thing really scares me. Thanks as always for watching tektrixter!

[@justinfletcher7630]

Idk if u said but are those Benjamin's best chisels

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

The chisels are vevors as well. I still use them today, pretty decent for the price.

[@justinfletcher7630]

@@FlynndoggWoodworkoh ok. Yea I have a three piece vevor carbide. Those work pretty well

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@justinfletcher7630 yep, I'd like to eventually get some with longer handles.. but for now they work!

[@justinfletcher7630]

@@FlynndoggWoodwork yea sharpening station is my next step on the journey of turning ,I went bass akwards and bought multiple sets of each kind of tool from Amazon. Them found penn state Industries online and that's by far where I found the best value for most things. Definitely chisels because Benjamin's best are as good as any high quality ones and the price is less than half. And they sold me a conversion kit that turned my half hp multi speed delta into a 3/4 horse variable speed for like 170 bucks. I strongly recommend using them for turning products. Just not their chucks

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@justinfletcher7630 nice! I'm checking them out today!

[@brianhmonks]

Be careful my friend. That lathe looks like an accident waiting to happen. The tools that came with the machine, just throw them out. Look forward to seeing your video when you purchase an upgraded lathe. 😢

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Thanks so much for sharing Brian, It sounds like you aren't the only one with this suggestion. My guess Is I will be upgrading soon! Thanks so much for watching!

[@peteg4526]

That tool rest makes me cringe every time you move past the center of it. You’ll fight the lathe mechanicals more than learning how to turn. Carbide tools are a great way to start. This was a fun video but buy a safe lathe. Go to your local woodworking store. We have a Rockler and a Woodcraft here in town and they love to talk about wood turning. I have literally spent hours there on a single visit. If you don’t have a store like that in town take a road trip to a nearby city that does. Just bring your wallet and a car that can fit a big box (lathe boxes are big). Good luck with the most addictive hobby you’ll have have the joy of doing.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

I think you got the nail on the head. I spent some time at rockler a few weeks ago when my interest began and they even told me just to email them when I’m interested in a class and they would set one up around my schedule I’d no one else signed up. Great advice, and I think im going to take it. I’m glad im not the only one who thought the tool rest movement was a big concern. Thanks for watching Pete!

[@barryirby8609]

Been turning for 60 years. Welcome to the slippery slope. You are in the vortex. That lathe is dangerous. Please be careful. Join a local turning club. Wear your face shield. Watch some videos on turning. Richard Raffin make a skew look like magic. You Really need a Better lathe, that one might kill you.

[@jamesbrunk9817]

Ditto.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

Thank you so much for sharing this Barryirby! This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. That tool rest, really concerned me, it doesn't move forward and backward but it was moving up and down. Once I tightened it, it worked better, but still concerned me. Thank you so much for sharing and watching!

[@larryengstrom3892]

Try using some locked tight on the bolts for the rest. Where you put the tool on? I usually destiny one finger To make sure that You keep your wood straight plus I use a slow grinder to shathen the tools that came with the machine there are some pieces out there. The you can get help sharpening or you can make your own.

[@FlynndoggWoodwork]

@@larryengstrom3892 great ideas Larry Thanks for sharing!