Before you start
- A blank. A straight-grained square of a close-grained hardwood about 2 in square and a little shorter than your lathe's distance between centres, free of cracks, knots and nails, as WEN and Grizzly both require. Square its ends.
- Tools. A roughing gouge, a skew or spindle gouge and a parting tool; what each does is in woodturning tools.
- Protection. A face shield and safety glasses, as Grizzly requires; no gloves, ties or loose sleeves; long hair tied back.
- The manual. Your lathe's speed chart and its own instructions for the centres, rest and controls. The machine is explained in the lathe guide.
Setting the tool rest: where makers differ
| Maker and tool | Distance from the work | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Grizzly G0844, high-speed steel tools | About 1/4 in; as close as possible without touching | About 1/8 in above the centre line |
| Grizzly T25920 | As close as possible without touching | 1/8 in above or below centre, by turner, tool and cut |
| WEN 34034 | About 0.1–0.2 in (3–6 mm) from the corners | Just below the centre line |
| Easy Wood Tools, carbide tools | Not stated | So the cutter's top is at spindle centre |
Each maker's instruction for its own lathe or tools. They do not agree, and none is a universal setting; start from your own lathe's and tools' manuals. Not a ranking.
Turning a first spindle
From square blank to finished spindle
Mark and punch the centres
Mark the centre of each end — WEN uses a combination square — and make a dimple in each with an awl or punch. Accuracy matters most if part of the blank is to stay square.
Seat the spur centre
With the spur centre out of the lathe, tap it about 0.1 in (3 mm) into one end with a wooden mallet — WEN warns never to drive the work onto the spur while it is in the spindle — then fit the spur and blank into the headstock.
Bring up the tailstock
Slide the tailstock up, lock it, and wind the quill until the live centre is seated; Grizzly pushes it at least 1/4 in in. Use enough pressure to hold, but WEN warns that too much overheats the centre's bearings. Lock the quill.
Set the rest and check clearance
Set the rest parallel to the work, close to it and at the height your maker gives (see the table), lock it and the banjo, then turn the blank by hand through a full turn to prove it clears.
Set the speed and start
Choose the roughing speed for the blank's size from your lathe's chart — the corners sweep a circle as wide as the square's diagonal, so size the speed to that. Stand to one side of the work's path, switch on at the lowest speed and bring it up once it runs true.
Rough to a cylinder
Rest the gouge on the rest before it meets the wood. WEN starts about 2 in from the tailstock end, lifts the handle until the edge cuts with the bevel rubbing, and works downhill towards the ends, never starting at an end, to within about 1/8 in of the final diameter. Stop and move the rest closer as the blank shrinks.
Smooth and shape
Plane the cylinder with the centre third of a skew's edge, or a spindle gouge, at a higher speed if your chart allows. Mark beads and coves in pencil, cut to depth beside each with a parting tool, and shape between the cuts with a spindle gouge or skew.
Sand
Lathe off: remove the tool rest, as Grizzly requires. At a slower speed, sand from 120 to 220 grit with the paper folded into a pad, never wrapped around your fingers or the work, as WEN instructs.
Finish
Stop the lathe to apply finish, wipe off the excess, and run at the lowest speed to buff, as WEN does — high speed can throw a fresh coat. Finishes in general are in how to use wood finish.
Part off
At a slower speed, cut down beside the waste with a parting tool. Easy Wood Tools says never to part right through between centres — stop at about 1/4 in, switch off, and finish with a handsaw; WEN's manual parts through, holding the piece loosely. Stopping short is the more cautious of the two.
Safety— The tool on the rest, the lathe off to adjust
Grizzly requires the tool to stay on the rest the whole time it touches the work, the work measured only when stopped, and the work left to stop on its own; WEN turns the lathe off and unplugs it before any adjustment, including moving the rest. Stand out of the path of the work whenever the lathe starts. See woodworking safety rules.
Tips that prevent catches
- Rest close. Grizzly sets it as close as possible without touching, so the tool has little leverage if it catches. Move it in as the diameter shrinks.
- Bevel first. Let the bevel touch, then lift the handle until the edge begins to cut, as WEN describes; never push the edge straight in.
- Downhill only. Cut from the larger diameter towards the smaller.
- Points away. Keep a skew's points off the spinning wood, using the centre of the edge.
- Sharp tools. Dull tools need more force and are more likely to grab, Grizzly warns.
Ready-made first projects, with drawings and cut lists, are in wood lathe projects and wood turning projects. The terms used here are explained in woodturning basics.
Lathe setup checklist
- Blank sound, centres marked and punched
- Spur seated off the lathe; live centre seated and quill locked
- Rest set to your maker's distance and height; rest and banjo locked
- Work turned by hand and clear
- Speed from your lathe's chart, for the blank's diagonal
- Face shield on; standing out of the work's path to start
Sources
The order of work is WEN's and Grizzly's for spindle turning; where makers disagree — rest height, and whether to part right through — both are shown and attributed. No universal speed, clearance or rest height is given; speeds come from each lathe's own chart.
- 1.
Model 34034 14" x 20" Variable Speed Wood Lathe, Instruction Manual. WEN Products (store-hosted copy), 2019.
Used for: Spindle stock straight-grained and free of defects; centres marked on both ends and punched; the spur centre driven about 0.1 in (3 mm) in with a mallet, never while on the spindle; the live centre seated with enough pressure to hold without overheating its bearings; the tool rest parallel to the work, just below the centre line and about 0.1–0.2 in (3–6 mm) from the corners; the work turned by hand; roughing at low speed, starting about 2 in from the tailstock end, cutting downhill and never starting at an end, to within about 1/8 in of size; smoothing with the centre third of a skew; beads, coves and V-grooves; sanding at slower speed from 120 to 220 grit with the paper folded, never wrapped; finish applied with the lathe off and buffed at the lowest speed; slower speed for parting.
- 2.
Model G0844 14" x 20" Benchtop Wood Lathe, Owner's Manual. Grizzly Industrial, 2019.
Used for: The live centre pushed at least 1/4 in into the work; the rest about 1/4 in from the work and 1/8 in above the centre line, as close as possible without touching; the banjo locked on both sides of the bed; the slowest speed when starting and stopping, while standing out of the work's path; the speed chart by diameter; the tool on the rest the entire time it touches the work; the rest removed for sanding.
- 3.
Model T25920 12" x 18" Benchtop Wood Lathe, Owner's Manual. Grizzly Industrial, 2020.
Used for: Many turners set the rest 1/8 in above or below centre depending on their height, the tool and the cut; for most spindle work the tool contacts the work slightly above centre.
- 4.
Easy Turning Tools — product information and safety. Easy Wood Tools.
Used for: For carbide tools, the rest set so the top of the cutter is at spindle centre, the tool flat and level, the handle never below level.
- 5.
Easy Parting Tool — product information and safety. Easy Wood Tools.
Used for: Never part completely through between centres: cut to about 1/4 in and finish with a handsaw.
- 6.
Woodturning Safety Guidance. Association of Woodturners of Great Britain.
Used for: Spinning the work to prove it clears the rest, and the tool on the rest before it engages the wood.
About this tutorial
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