FALL

S ETTING U P A T URNING S HOP 2013

WOODTURNING
Woodworker's Journal SIP

PROJECTS & TECHNIQUES

The Ultimate
Fall 2013

Guide to
Woodturnin
g!
Woodturning Projects & Techniques

• Choosing a Lathe
• Turning Green Wood
• Jam Chuck Turning
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• Textures and Patterns
• How to Turn Pens
• Friction Polish
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Table of Contents
As with most aspects of woodworking,
woodturning requires some hardware. If you’re
new to turning, this section’s articles will
present you with a “soup to nuts” overview of
what you need to get started. Whether you’re
choosing your first lathe or sorting out your
“must-have” list of cutting tools and personal
safety equipment, our authors share their
tried-and-true, practical advice.
Getting Started in Woodturning . . . .8-12
Guide to Choosing a Lathe . . . . . . .14-18
Hollowing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-23
Common Misunderstandings . . . . .24-26
Friction Polish — Fast & Friendly . . . .28
4 Table of Contents
Spinning a piece of wood and shaping it with a
sharp tool can yield a rich variety of projects.
But, there’s much more finesse to the turning
process than applying sharp blades to chunks
and billets. In this section, you’ll learn the
nuances of turning tiny pen spindles, shaping
green wood into bowls and even turning a ball
perfectly round. We’ll also show you how to
keep your turning tools keen and ready.
How to Turn the Write Stuff . . . . . .32-36
Jam Chuck Turning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38-41
Sharpening Curved Edges . . . . . . . . . .42
Turning Green Wood . . . . . . . . . . . .44-46
Carving Textures into Bowls . . . . . .48-51
 Woodturning: Fall 2013

Chris Marshall Special Projects Editor

Larry N. Stoiaken Publisher

Rob Johnstone Editor in Chief
Joanna Werch Takes Senior Editor
Jeff Jacobson Senior Art Director
Joe Fahey Associate Art Director
Zestful Turnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54-56 Matthew Hocking Internet Production

Turned Fishing Lures . . . . . . . . . . . .58-61 Ann Rockler Jackson Founder and CEO
Mary Tzimokas Circulation Director
Japanese Kendama Game . . . . . . .62-67 Laura White Fulfillment Manager
Kelly Rosaaen Circulation Manager
Mastering Turned Eggs . . . . . . . . . .68-71
Advertising Sales
“Counter Cat” Holiday Gifts . . . . . .72-74 David Beckler Advertising Director
dbeckler@woodworkersjournal.com
Shaker Candlestand . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-80
(469) 766-8842 Fax (763) 478-8396
Longworth Bowl Chuck . . . . . . . . . .82-84 Alyssa Tauer Advertising Operations
atauer@woodworkersjournal.com
Coming-of-Age Bottle Opener . . . .86-88
Subscription Inquiries
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Q&A and Write Woodworker’s Journal,

P.O. Box 6211, Harlan, IA 51593-1711.
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Readers’ Tricks Woodturning: Projects & Techniques
is published by Rockler Press Inc.,
4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340.
Single copy price, $9.99. Reproduction without
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Websites:
Questions & Answers . . . . . . . . . . .94-96 www.woodworkersjournal.com
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Tricks of the Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 ©2013 Rockler Press Inc., Printed in USA.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 5

6
 TURNING

Woodturning requires three primary investments: a lathe,

some turning tools and a method for keeping their edges
sharp. This section’s articles will address aspects of all three
of these “action items,” plus give you a short course on the
latest hollowing tools and woodturning’s fastest finish:
friction polish.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 7

Getting Started in Woodturning
woodturning is easy to learn and fast
to do. So, what’s keeping you from
taking it up? Probably one of these
three common roadblocks.

Three Major Stoppers

W
oodturning might just
be the perfect baby-
boomer woodworking
niche. It’s fun and relatively easy,
doesn’t take a bunch of room, and
you don’t need a big pile of
money to get started. And here is
the kicker: you can turn a project,
from start to finish (you know,
the kind you wipe on) in an
evening! Even more complex
turning projects don’t take as
long to make as a big piece of fur-
niture does. Think of it as “instant
gratification” woodworking.
We here at Woodworker’s
Journal know that there are
many woodworkers who are
interested in woodturning, but
they have yet to make the move
(or more likely, moves) to begin
turning. While there are
probably lots of good reasons
why you may not be ready to
jump into the turning orbit just
yet, don’t let the “big three” road-
blocks keep you from joining the
ranks of satisfied woodturners.
At its heart, woodturning is very
simple. You really only need
three major components to do
remarkable work: something to
spin the wood — a lathe; some-
thing to cut the wood — gouges
of sufficient quality for the
task; and here is perhaps the
biggest stopper for some folks ...
something to sharpen those
curved gouges — a super-easy
sharpening system.
On these pages, you will find
our recommendations for simple
solutions to meet those three
basic turning needs. There are,
of course, many other high

Start out with a benchtop lathe. It will cost you less than a full-size machine while
providing a very capable lathe for general turning. This JET JWL-1220, for example,
will allow you to turn a vessel up to 12" in diameter. It sells for around $550.

8 Getting Started in Woodturning

quality options for these compo-
nents. But the three we suggest
here will get you across the
turning threshold at a minimum
of out-of-pocket expense and
with the opportunity to grow
your skills and the scope of your
turning challenges.

There is a Season:
Turn, Turn, Turn! This five-piece turning set from Crown comes pre-sharpened, so they’re ready to use
right out of the box. It is a very serviceable group of tools that will get a beginner
As with any shop upgrade, you can
turning in no time and allow your skills and craft to grow. Rockler Woodworking and
approach it in a variety of ways Ñ Hardware sells the five-piece set for around $228.
buy new, buy used, try out your
buddy’s lathe to get the feel of
turning ... it’s up to you. But if you
are going to start turning wood,
you need a lathe, and it doesn’t
have to be a big one. The JET
JWL-1220 Wood Lathe, for
example, is a mini-lathe with a
3/4hp motor and 12" capacity.
That means you can turn bowls
and other objects up to 12" in
diameter. Small lathes are great
for turning pens, spindles, duck
calls, bowls, flat turning Ñ all the
stuff you can do on a big lathe, just
in smaller scale. You can buy it
new for about $550. If you fall in
love with woodturning, it will
likely not be the last lathe you
buy. But you will probably keep
the mini-lathe around the shop
anyway, even if you step up to a
full-size lathe later on.
The Work Sharp WS3000 is one of the easiest
systems we’ve found to sharpen those tricky
curved-edge gouges. It also does a great job with
flat surfaces. Keep it close to your lathe so you
can sharpen as you turn, just like the pros do it.

www.woodworkersjournal.com 9

The Cutting Edge
Now that you have your wood
spinning, you’ll need something
to change its shape. The Crown
Five-piece Turning Set (item
27754) from Rockler is a good
choice if you are starting out. It
contains full-sized roughing and
spindle gouges, as well as a part-
ing tool, skew and a round-nose
scraper — really all the cutting
tools you need to get into wood-
turning in a big way. The steel is
of very good quality and the han-
dles are sufficient; they could be
longer, but at around $228 for
the set, this is a very good deal.
An added bonus is that the tools
come properly ground and well
honed. Not only can you start
turning with them right out of
the box, but you also get a good
idea of what a sharp turning
edge looks and feels like.
10 Getting Started
As you progress in woodturn-
ing, this is one collection of tools
that will likely grow. While the
variety of different turning tools
is not endless, it is vast, and turn-
ers seem to develop strong pref-
erences regarding grind, gouge
shape, handle length ... you
name it. But you’ve got to start
somewhere, and this set is just
right to get you up and running.
Honing In On a Sharp Tool
Even if your turning tools are
sharp right out of the box, soon-
er or later they will get dull — all
cutting tools do. Then you have
to sharpen them. The challenge
with sharpening turning tools is
that many of them are not a
simple flat edge (like a bench
chisel or a plane iron). Bowl,
spindle and roughing gouges are
cur ved. Sharpening those
in Woodturning
It is easier to gauge how the sharpening
process is going if you can see it
happening. That’s the concept behind
the slotted-wheel feature on the
Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool
Sharpener. Beginning sharpeners often
find this system especially useful when
it comes to sharpening curved-edge
tools like spindle and bowl gouges.
curved edges has long been one
of the roadblocks for folks look-
ing to become woodturners. And
while it is not impossible to learn
to sharpen those edges on
traditional grinding-wheel style
systems, they can be tricky for
beginners. The main reason is
that on a grinding wheel system,
the edge you are sharpening
is turned down, where it’s
harder to see. For that reason we
recommend the Work Sharp®
WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener
for start-up turners. It is an abra-
sive-paper based system as
opposed to a grinding-wheel type
system. By using the see-through
slotted wheel you can actually
view the surface you are grind-
ing (see photos, above). This
function allows immediate visual
feedback and enhanced control
as you sharpen a gouge. If you
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“black out” the grinding surface
before you start, using a black
marker, you can see the metal
revealed as you lightly grind the
surface. When the black is all
gone, your gouge is sharp and
ready to take back to the lathe.
It’s that simple.
If you turn a lot of wood, you
are going to need to get good at
sharpening your cutting tools.
Turners sharpen their tools all
the time. In fact, many experi-
enced turners keep their sharp-
ening systems right next to the
lathe. Often they don’t even turn
off the lathe as they turn to the
grinder and put a new edge on
their tools. One obstacle that
new turners often put in front of
themselves is that they over-
think the sharpening component
Saving Face: Don’t Forget the Face Shield!
Compared to the entire continuum of
woodworking power tools, lathes
(and by extension, woodturning) are
generally considered fairly safe.
With that said, one important piece
of safety equipment every
woodturner should own is a face
shield. While it may seem too
obvious to mention, the goal is to
12 Getting Started
of turning. They are concerned
about not getting the tools sharp
enough, or maybe too sharp. Do
they need to raise a “wire edge”
on their tools that they’ve read
about? The quandaries go on.
Perhaps that’s because, as Ian
Kirby is fond of pointing out,
sharpening is not woodworking
... it is metalworking. So it’s logi-
cal why we woodworkers are a
bit uncomfortable with the task.
The curious thing is that when
you talk to experienced turners,
they don’t get worked up about
sharpening. It’s something they
just have to do. Priced at $200,
the WS3000 is a user-friendly
system that can get a newbie to
that “no big deal” sharpening
mindset quickly, which is a good
goal. Remember, the less time
protect not only your eyes, but also
the rest of your face from flying
chips, chunks and even entire bowls
that may come loose from the lathe
from time to time. Shields come in a
wide range of cost and quality. The
basic shield, shown on the bench
above, is sold by Rockler
Woodworking and Hardware for
in Woodturning
you spend sharpening, the more
time you’ll spend turning.
Knock Down the Roadblocks
and Have Fun!
Getting started in woodturning
is easier than it seems. Once you
get past the three roadblocks
identified here, you will be spin-
ning stock and making shavings
in no time. As with any new skill,
it is good to learn the basics and
understand the safety concerns.
One great thing about turning is
that it is a forgiving hobby and
lends itself well to trial-and-error
learning at no great expense.
The most important thing to
keep in mind is the advice
offered by turning expert, Betty
Scarpino: “Don’t forget to have
some fun!”
around $15. On the other end of the
spectrum is the Trend® Airshield Pro,
a top-of-the line, power-ventilated
and padded face protection system,
that sells for around $350 (see inset
photo above). Whichever face shield
you buy, don’t take chances with
safety. Wear it whenever you are
working at the lathe.
As turning grows in popularity,
the options for lathes continues
to increase. You can certainly
invest in a new machine, but
don’t dismiss the option of buying
used — a well-cared-for machine
could be an excellent bargain.

14 An Expert’s Guide to Choosing a Lathe

An Expert’s Guide to Choosing a Lathe
Shopping for a lathe shouldn’t be
stressful, especially if it’s keeping you
from turning. Our author’s tried-and-true
advice will help.
F
or those of you who don’t
yet own a lathe, this guide
will help to answer ques-
tions you may not even know
you have. The main point to
remember is to go ahead and
buy a lathe. Don’t be afraid to
take the plunge: your first lathe
will train you. Besides, most of
us will own more than one lathe
in our lifetimes. The first lathe
is often a “starter” lathe; the
second is the one you won’t
want to share with others!
Counting the Cost
Lathes are priced from a few
hundred dollars to more than
seven thousand dollars.
Generally speaking, you get
what you pay for. More expen-
sive lathes are heavier, they run
true, and they are machined so
that the parts work and move
easily. They are equipped with a
larger spindle size, which
means they can handle large
chunks of wood with relative
ease. Within your price range,
try out different brands. It’s sort
of like deciding whether you
like to drive a Ford or a Chevy.
My guess is whatever you get,
you will be thrilled to have.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
My current lathe cost more
than the car I owned at the
time. Ten years ago, following
my own advice, I bought the
best lathe I could afford. The
$6,000 I paid has been worth
every penny in enjoyment and
satisfaction. It fits my needs, it
has abundant capacity for me to
increase the size of my turn-
ings, and it’s a top quality
machine. Twenty-two years
before that, the $1,500 I paid for
my first lathe seemed expen-
sive. I used it extensively and
happily. At the time it was a
good lathe for me.
Needs, Abilities
and Interests
Lathes are fairly straightfor-
ward machines. There’s not
much that can go wrong with
them, and what does wear out
or break is easy to fix or replace.
If you are handy with fixing and
restoring machines, consider
buying a used lathe. Provided
Before you purchase a lathe, it helps to
it hasn’t been abused, a well-
know what sort of turning you plan to
cared-for used lathe can offer
do most. For tiny work, a mini-lathe may
excellent value and the opportu- be all you need. Bowl-turning and
nity to “trade up” in quality or general spindle work will require a full-
features over what you’d get by sized lathe. Either way, dive in! Your first
buying new. lathe probably won’t be your last.
Fall 2013 15
 If you are going to turn only
small items, consider buying a
miniature lathe (see sidebar,
below). Some turners prefer to
make only bowls. If this is the
case for you, buy a bowl-turning
lathe. One large-capacity bowl-
turning lathe has a 2"-diameter
spindle. That’s heavy-duty for
sure! If spindles are what you
will be making, you will want to
make sure that the point of the
live center in the tailstock lines
up with the point that’s in the
drive center. If it doesn’t, your
turnings will be compromised.
While you are in the woodwork-
ing supply store, check out the
quality of different models of
lathes by lining up the tailstock
center with the drive center.
That’s often a sign of the quality
of manufacturing.
Most of us want a lathe that
will turn bowls and spindles.
Fortunately, most lathes on the
market are designed to do both
quite nicely. Consider the size
of work you want to make, then
shop around accordingly. It
may be that a midi-lathe —
larger than a mini-lathe and
smaller than a regular size — is
right for you.
Electronic variable speed is a helpful
If you can afford it, buy a lathe feature for turning. You can dial in low
with a variable-speed control. I speeds for initial roughing work, then
had to change speeds on my first progressively higher speeds for shaping
lathe by moving the belt on the and sanding stages.
pulley. The range of speeds was
limited. As a result, I could turn
only smaller-scale bowls; the
slowest speed available was 800 ket have swivel heads. This
rpm. If you are going to turn allows a person to turn the inside
large bowls, you will definitely of a bowl without leaning over
need infinite control of the the bed of the lathe. This feature
speed, as you will sometimes won’t provide enough support to
need to start out at very few rpm. keep the lathe balanced with
You may be able to convert an large turnings, but for medium-
older lathe to variable speed, and small-scale work, it’s fine.
depending on the model. Another option for someone who
For woodturners with bad has back problems is to buy a
backs, several lathes on the mar- bowl lathe. The beds of these are

Mini Lathes: Great Things from Small Packages

If pens, ornaments or small bowls are your goal, consider
buying a mini-lathe instead of a full-sized machine. You’ll save
considerably on the initial purchase but still get a tool that’s
sturdy, precise and built for many years of reliable service.
Though small in stature, mini-lathes are definitely not toys.
As turning has grown in popularity over the last
decade, manufacturers have responded by creating a
whole new class of machines. Dubbed “mini-lathes” by
turners, some of these small machines are surprisingly
capable critters. Many are priced to sell as entry-level
tools for around $300 to $350, and yet are well designed.
They are, of course, limited by such factors as bed length,
swing diameter, speeds and horsepower. But within these
limits, they can do a good job. Their advantages are
apparent: they are low-cost, they require little space, and
they can do many of the jobs for which their big brothers
are designed. They are also, to some degree, portable,
which can be a real benefit for the small shop. They’re
ideal if you’re a beginner wanting to turn smaller projects
like pens, bottle stoppers or small vessels.
If you’re planning on making four-poster beds for the
entire family, this is NOT the way to go. There are bed
extensions available for many models, and you can do the
occasional 40" turning. However, little lathes lack the
muscle for a steady diet of furniture turning. Likewise,
trying a lot of bowl turning on these small machines
would quickly become frustrating due to limited
horsepower, speeds and swing. But for the occasional
small vessel or box, the very high speed ranges (3,000
rpm plus) incorporated into their design are perfect.
They’re also great for making miniatures.

16 An Expert’s Guide to Choosing a Lathe

short, so the turner can stand at
the end of the lathe bed and turn
from there. No twisting required.
Quality Considerations
For handling big chucks of
wood, you’ll need stability. Look
for a lathe that has at least a 1"-
diameter spindle. The spindle
shaft is where most of the
vibration gets transferred to
other parts of the lathe. A lathe
with a 3/4"-diameter spindle is
fine for smaller work, but if you
are making large bowls, a
thicker spindle will keep things
spinning smoothly.
The stand for the lathe is also
important. A lightweight stand
will allow more vibration. Up to a
point, weight can be added to
these lighter-weight models. The
limiting factor is the weight of
the material the stand is made
from. Lightweight metal stands
are intended for smaller-size
turnings. They will twist with
heavy, out-of-round turnings,
even if weighted down. Your
better bet is to invest in a lathe
stand made of cast iron.
One measure of lathe quality is the
ability of the drive and live centers to
line up accurately. If the two center
points don’t meet in the middle, it will
be difficult to turn on a single axis.
18 An Expert’s Guide
Accessories
Most lathes come with a face-
plate, a tool-rest, a drive center, a
tailstock center and whatever
wrenches and implements you
need for removing the drive
center and faceplates. To begin
with, that’s all you will need, so
stop there. After turning for a
while, you will figure out what Most lathes are outfitted with the basic set
other accessories would be of accessories you will need to get started.
helpful. Some lathes come with Acquire more as your skill increases.
a control panel that you can
move Ñ a handy thing. But a
word of caution: those of us with
short memories might have a When you’re ready to buy,
problem reaching for the Off shop around. Most woodwork-
switch in a hurry! ing stores have demonstration
lathes. Try them out. When you
Setting Up Your Lathe buy a new car, I’ll bet you test
When you set up your new lathe, drive it before you buy it. Do the
try to put it in an area of your same with a lathe to see how it
shop where there is plenty of fits you. Have fun turning!
light. Add light fixtures if you are
in a dark corner. It amazes me Betty Scarpino served as a contributing
that so many turners I meet work editor to Woodworker’s Journal.
in poor light! I believe it must
have been a gradual event. Their
younger eyes didn’t need as
much light, but as they aged and
required more light, somehow
they haven’t added the wattage. I
use full-spectrum fluorescent
light bulbs, which offer even
lighting and minimal shadow.
For both safe and accurate
operation, it’s important to stabi-
lize your lathe as much as possi-
ble. If yours has leveler feet, they
can help provide a solid platform
on uneven floors. Even better,
choose a location where your
lathe can stay put permanently,
and bolt it directly to the floor.
For small shops you may have
no choice but to move your lathe
around. In that case, mount it on A beefy, cast-iron stand with a wide
a heavy and sturdy wooden stance will absorb vibration and
stand with locking casters. overcome instability much better than
one made of thin lightweight steel.
to Choosing a Lathe

Getting Started with Hollowing Tools
Turning hollow forms is easy once you
get the hang of it, but you’ll need a
few specialized tools and some practice.
A
bout 35 years ago, a
young turner named
David Ellsworth moved to
our Pennsylvania neighborhood.
He was a rising star in the
woodturning world, known for
his delicate “hollowform” vessels
— as light as a feather, with walls
as thin as 1/8" and just one small
hole at the top.
I was mystified as to how any-
one could remove all that wood
through such a small entry hole.
20 Getting Started
The secret, it turns out, was the
combination of specialized tools
and techniques that David had
devised — straight tools for
plunging into the center of a
vessel and bent tools of various
curvatures for excavating the
rest of the interior.
As I discovered for myself, the
actual hollowing process is not as
difficult as it might seem. There’s
definitely a learning curve,
though, and you can count on
with Hollowing Tools
Several hollow turnings
created by the author
some occasionally dramatic fail-
ures, so don’t forget to wear eye
protection when you work. Once
you’ve hollowed a few pieces,
you’ll begin to get a feel for the
tools and techniques. The results
are worth the investment.
The Beauty of Hollowforms
The outward appearance of any
turned object depends on the
character of the wood itself, its
shape and any decorative treat-
ments you care to add. On an
open bowl, the inside is the
most visible part, though if you
lower your point of view, you can
see the outside shape and the
figure of the wood as well.
Hollowforms, on the other hand,
are visible everywhere but the
inside, so you can really show-
case a dramatic piece of wood.
They also provide an excellent
canvas for further decoration,
such as piercing, car ving or
woodburning. Segmented ves-
sels, stack-laminated from sever-
al species of wood and hollow-
turned, are also very popular.
Types of Hollowing Tools
As hollow turning has become
more popular, quite a few manu-
facturers — including several
well-known turners — are serv-
ing up a bewildering array of
tools for hollowing. Despite the
variety, they all hark back to the
same basic principles: straight
tools for turning the center
and bottom of a form, bent
tools for the sides and
shoulders, and shanks
of varying lengths and diameters
depending on the depth of the
vessel being turned. Where they
differ is in the design of their cut-
ting tips, which fall into three
general categories depending on
their shape and cutting action:
Scrapers come in a variety of
shapes and sizes, many with
interchangeable or replaceable
tips. (See photo, right.)
Typically, scrapers are flat on top
and have relatively blunt relief
angles. They cut by a scraping
action against the inside wall of
the workpiece, leaving a rough-
ened texture on most woods. Scrapers
Scrapers are generally presented
dead horizontal to the center of
the workpiece. The straight
scraper is always held horizontal
during cutting, while the bent
scraper can be dipped downward
a few degrees on finish cuts to
give a shearing action.
Carbide insert tools have a
razor-sharp, cup-shaped cutter
screwed to the tip of the
tool shank. (See photo,
next page, top left.)
Turning wood over a moving lathe to shape
it into various designs has existed since at
least the time of the ancient Egyptians.
—Association of Woodturners: Great Britain
Fall 2013 21
 Carbide
Insert Tools Ring and
Hook Tools

The replaceable cutter tip may
be rotated to expose a fresh edge
when needed. These tools are
usually tilted at an angle to the
surface being cut to create a
shearing action that leaves a
smooth surface, even on stringy
or difficult wood.
Insert cutters should never be
presented in a level orientation
because their aggressive cutting
edges will almost certainly
catch, sometimes dramatically.
Instead, the tip is cocked or
skewed downward and then
brought up gradually into the
work until the edge begins to
engage, so the cutting is always a
shearing action.
Ring and hook tools are the
most aggressive of the cutters,
with edges that are more acute
than the other styles of tips (see
photo, top right). The acute cut-
ting edge makes them best suited
to slicing endgrain and less
appropriate for cross-grain work.
It also makes these tools grabby
and apt to dig in and catch if you
aren’t careful. For this reason,
many of the tools in this category
come with adjustable shields over
the cutter to limit the depth of cut.
The Hollowing Process
Whichever tools you use, the
basic approach for creating a hol-
lowed vessel is straightforward:
Turn the outside shape of your
vessel first, then hollow out the
inside until you’ve reached the
desired wall thickness. There
are other factors involved,
of course, and some turning
experience is a must, but here
are some general pointers to get
you started:
Mount the Workpiece: Mount
the piece securely on a faceplate,
screw chuck or scroll chuck. It’s
a good idea to use a live center in
the tailstock to help support the
piece as you turn the outside
shape, usually with bowl gouges.
I prefer to turn green wood,
because it cuts a lot easier and
generates less heat than dr y
wood, but plenty of people turn
dry. You can orient the work-
piece with the grain either
parallel or perpendicular to the
axis of the lathe. Most turners
prefer perpendicular, or “bowl,”
orientation, with or without the
pith included. Green wood that
is turned from “green to fin-
ished” in one session tends to
shrink to a slightly irregular or
ovoid shape after you’ve hol-
lowed it, which can be quite
interesting. Dr y blanks, of
course, will stay more circular
after they’re turned.
Open the Center: Begin the
hollowing process by creating a
hole in the center of the work-
piece, either with a drill bit
mounted in a chuck in the tail-
stock or with a straight scraper
tool plunged in from the end.
You don’t need to bore all the
way to the bottom until after
you’ve hollowed the upper areas
of the form.

Captured Hollowing Systems

Hollowing with handheld tools has its limitations,
because the leverage exerted on the tool gets stronger
the farther you cantilever the cutting tip out over the
tool-rest. A less intimidating, more controlled
alternative, especially if the piece is deeper than 6” or
so, is to use a “captured” hollowing system.
These systems have a second tool support that
prevents the back of the tool from lifting up in the event
of a catch and ruining your work. You can add longer and
heavier boring bars to extend the cutter for deeper
hollowing. At the business end, captured systems use
the same types of tips that you find on handheld tools,
and replacement cutters are often interchangeable.
Another advantage of captured hollowing systems is
that most of them offer a laser attachment that shows
you exactly where the cutting edge of your tool is at any
given moment. The laser pointer is attached to an arm
With a heavy-duty additional tool support and a laser that exactly
mounted on the tool shank, with the beam aimed either
locates where your cutter is, a captured hollowing system has its
directly at the cutting edge or offset by some known
advantages. (Note ... the lathe is not turned on for this demo photo.)
distance, so you can gauge the wall thickness precisely.

22 Getting Started with Hollowing Tools

Work Your Way Down: Hollow
the inside of your vessel with a
combination of straight tools
near the bottom and bent tools
on the sides and in the shoulder
area. Begin near the top and con-
tinue downward in increments,
working the tip of the tool in
whichever direction works best
for you. (See Drawing, right.)
You’ll have to stop frequently to
clear the chips that accumulate
inside the vessel; otherwise they
will eventually seize up around
your hollowing tool and could
result in damage to your vessel or
worse. I stop the lathe whenever
the chips need clearing, and then
blow them out with a long-nosed
air gun attached to my compressor.
Many turners like to hollow the
upper neck and shoulder areas
before continuing to the lower
sections of a piece. This method
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Hollowing reduces vibration and chatter and
a Vessel provides the best support for the
delicate walls of your vessel as
Faceplate you approach final wall thickness.
4. Remove It’s a good idea to check that
the nib in wall thickness frequently, especial-
1. Turn the center ly when you get close to your tar-
outside and refine
first. the side get thickness. A piece of stiff wire
walls. bent into a rudimentary caliper
works fine for this, although more
elaborate gauges are available.
Once the inside of the piece has
been more-or-less cleared out,
you can clean up the inside walls
of the vessel with very light and
careful passes until you reach the
uniformity you want. Then,
2. Bore out
reverse-chuck the piece in a
3. Remove bulk of
the center. waste, working vacuum or jam chuck to finish-
from top to bottom. turn the bottom.
The basic steps in hollowing a vessel are Ellis Walentine is the originator and host
laid out in this diagram. As always, practice of WoodCentral.com and a long-time
is the key to mastering any new technique. compulsive woodturner.
Fall 2013 23

Common Misunderstandings
It happens too often: you learn
s o m e t h i n g n e w, m i s a p p l y t h e
knowledge, and bad things happen.
F
ortunately, I’ve sur vived
my “misapplied knowl-
edge” events, mostly
intact. I would like to share some
easily misunderstood woodturn-
ing concepts with the hope of
decreasing confusion and adding
to your enjoyment and safety.
Some of these misunderstand-
ings result from the plethora of
new turning items currently
available. Many new gadgets are
excellent, but if you don’t take
time to understand their proper
use, they’ll cause problems.
24 Common Misunderstandings
Faceshields and Goggles
I wish I could decree that no
lathe would start until the opera-
tor is wearing a face shield!
Goggles are for preventing
splinters from entering some-
one’s eye. A 9" bowl, spinning at
2,000 rpm, is much larger than a
splinter. If it, or some portion of
it, flies off the lathe, it will smash
your face. Enough said?
Tool-rest Height Confusion
The most common question I get
when I demonstrate spindle
Safety glasses and goggles are not
sufficient when turning wood. You
must use a face shield of some sort
to protect your face.
turning is, “At what height do I
set the tool-rest?” My answer: set
your tool-rest height so that the
cutting happens at or above the
center line of the spindle. If it’s
too high, the tool won’t cut but
it’ll still be safe, and all you need
to do is lower the tool-rest. If it’s
too low, that’s when it’s unsafe. If
the tool-rest is positioned at or
above center, there’s resistance
between the wood and the tool’s
cutting edge. If the tool-rest is
too low and the cutting action
happens below center, there’s no

resistance, and in fact, the rota-
tion of the wood pulls the tool
away from the tool-rest. If a catch
happens, the tool could be pulled
away and flung at an innocent
bystander.
A word about those “S” curved
tool-rests. Well, two words: bad
design. They don’t work for their
intended purpose, so don’t waste
your money. Instead, buy that
chunk of figured wood you’ve
been coveting.
Gouges Galore!
There are so many new turning
tools on the market, even I’m some-
times confused — and I haven’t
even mentioned different grinds!
Let me offer this to help you get a
handle on the differences:
Spindle gouges have a profile
that is flatter than bowl gouges,
and they have a flute that is more
shallow. Conversely, the profile
of a bowl gouge is round and the
flute is deeper. A combination
gouge is somewhere in the mid-
dle, and depending on how you
grind the bevel, it can be used
for turning spindles or bowls.
Roughing gouges are only for
spindle turning. Their tang is
generally narrow, yet the size of
the cutting edge is large. This
disparity between tang and
Occasionally clean and check
the chuck jaws for wear and
tear. Those jaws do loosen over
time, and that slippage can
cause problems.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Spindle gouges (left) have
a profile that is flatter
than bowl gouges (right).
They have a round
profile, allowing for a
deeper flute. Don’t use
spindle gouges on bowls.
A combination gouge
(not shown) has a profile
somewhere between the
two and can be used for
spindle or bowl turning.
cutting edge puts a lot of torque remember to reduce the speed
on that tang. That’s fine for setting? If he’s quick enough, he
spindle turning; however, for can reach for the dial or the
bowl turning, with diameters power plug and avoid disaster,
much larger, that downward but if not, he’s in the way and
pressure is greater, and those becomes target practice.
tangs can break. Always check the speed dial,
Here’s where beginners get especially before mounting any-
confused: instructors use the thing to your lathe.
phrase “rough out a bowl.” Not
knowing about torque and tang Chuck Envy
size, a student grabs his rough- Here’s my theory of why there
ing gouge to attack a large bowl are so many chucks on the
blank. Bad things happen. For market: when woodturning first
bowl turning, use a large, sturdy became popular, demonstrators
bowl gouge. toured around, stopping at
various local clubs. Each club
Variable-speed Challenges had a different make and model
Here’s another example of new lathe. In order to be able to easi-
technology causing a potential ly attach wood to those lathes,
hazard. With variable-speed the demonstrator invested in a
dials, it’s easy to crank up the chuck that had a good variety of
speed and forget it was set for spindle adapters.
spindle turning. Imagine what The demonstrator attaches a
happens when a large bowl is hunk of wood to the lathe to
subsequently attached to the show different cuts, and at some
lathe and the operator doesn’t point during his demo, someone
asks, “What kind of chuck are
you using?” The demonstrator
answers the question but doesn’t
think to tell the attendee why
he’s using a chuck or that a
chuck isn’t necessarily the best
solution for bowl turning.
The rookie turner ends up
thinking he needs that particular
chuck, so he orders one. His
friend, not wanting to be without
the latest toy, also buys one.
Manufacturers see growing
interest in chucks, so they begin
manufacturing new and
better ones. And so it goes ... we
now have plenty to choose from.
Fall 2013 25
 Old School
Use in headstock Some chucks are excellent.
Some are more useful as paper-
weights! You can figure out
which one you like best by
taking a class where chucks
are used.
Personally, I find that chucks
are excellent for roughing out
and re-turning green bowls.
They’re also useful for spindle
Spur Drive Center turning, especially when turning
boxes and production items.
Use in tailstock There are large- and small-capac-
ity chucks — select accordingly.
Occasionally clean and check
the jaws for wear and tear. Those
jaws do loosen over time, and that
slippage can cause problems.
Remember to keep the speed
of your lathe reasonable —
chucks aren’t designed for 100
percent secure holding, especial-
Dead Center ly with large-diameter bowls.
Drive and Live Centers
Recently, a student sent me a
New School message asking why the piece of
wood he’d attached to the lathe
Use in headstock between centers wouldn’t stop
spinning when he was trying to
make a cut, no matter how much
he tightened the tailstock. After
a series of messages back and
forth, I finally figured out the
problem. He was using a live
center in the headstock instead
of a drive center.
A drive center directs a lathe’s
Safety Drive Center power to spin the wood. They
are inserted into the spindle of
Use in tailstock the headstock and have two pur-
poses: 1) they hold the wood
onto the lathe, and 2) they grip
the end of the wood so that the
lathe’s power can turn it.
For turning between centers, it’s
a good idea to use a live center in
the tailstock (instead of old-fash-
ioned dead centers). Live centers
rotate because they are equipped
Live Center with bearings. This allows the
26 Common Misunderstandings
center to rotate as the wood spins,
preventing it from burning, yet
still holding it onto the lathe.
With the now widespread use
of live centers for the tailstock,
manufacturers turned their
attention to centers for the head-
stock: what could be invented
that would not only be useful but
generate sales? I’d have to say
that the spur drive center is on
its way out — safety drive cen-
ters are the current favored
gadget. The problem: some of
these new drive centers look a lot
like the live centers. It’s confus-
ing for beginners and for most
woodworking stores. They are
not yet savvy about the new safe-
ty drive centers. When my stu-
dent went into his local wood-
working store to ask for a drive
center and came home with a
live center, the mistake was
understandable.
Spur drive centers are certain-
ly all right to use, but they can
hold the wood so securely that
when a catch happens, the “give”
could be the tool instead of the
wood. Safety drive centers also
hold the wood securely (and
rotate it properly), but allow for
the wood to release its spinning
motion when a catch happens.
They also teach students to use a
more controlled cut while keep-
ing them out of trouble.
Skill Versus Technique
If what you are doing while turn-
ing isn’t working well, step back
and analyze things. Perhaps the
solution isn’t that you aren’t
skilled enough. It could simply
be that you are misapplying a
technique or using the wrong
tool. Be safe and have fun!
Betty Scarpino served as a contributing
editor to Woodworker’s Journal.
Friction Polish — Fast and Friendly
A rag and a few minutes is
all you need to create a
finish with friction polish.
I
just can’t deny it Ñ I am an
instant gratification sort of
woodworker. So, when I am
looking for a clear finish on my
turned pieces Ñ and I predomi-
nantly turn bowls Ñ I almost
always reach for a friction polish.
They are easy to apply, build up
quickly and look great.
What’s a Friction Polish?
A friction polish is designed to
be applied to wood and then bur-
nished to make the product flow
Ñ to be smoothed out over the
prepared surface. Burnishing
(rubbing vigorously with a cloth
or piece of ultra-fine steel wool)
can be hard work on a flat piece
of wood. But it’s pretty easy if
the wood is spinning on a lathe.
28 Friction Polish
For that reason, friction polish is
a real favorite for turners.
Common formulas for friction
polish feature a combination of
shellac and a wax of some type.
They can be formulated in a
liquid or found in bar form Ñ
like the widely used HUT©
Products Bar.
Just Do It
There are a couple of ways to
apply a liquid friction polish. You
can wipe on a light coat while the
piece is stationary on the lathe
(or off of the tool), then spin the
piece and use a cloth dampened
with the polish to smooth out
and flow the finish evenly across
the piece. This is an instance
where light applications are
better than heavy coats.
As a Òplunge right in thereÓ
type, I prefer the second method:
applying the finish with a soft
— Fast and Friendly
The author applies his
liquid friction polish to a
spinning maple bowl. As
the friction spreads and
polishes the product, a
smooth, shiny finish
begins to appear.
cloth right to the spinning bowl. I
use a moderately fast speed and
just wipe it on. I like to have a
strong directional light aimed at
the piece, so I can see the change
as I apply the product.
Different brands of friction
polish var y a bit as to the
proper mode of application Ñ so
read their instructions and
experiment in order to get your
best results.
Rob Johnstone is the editor in chief
of Woodworker’s Journal.
Friction polishes are a
woodturner’s secret
weapon when it comes to a
fast, beautiful finish. They
work well on natural (clear
finish) or stained wood.
 RELY ON NORTON
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“With Red Heat, I can take off 25 years of finish with the first
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www.nortonconsumer.com © Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. 2013

30
 TURNING

Pens and “green” bowls are two categories of projects

woodturners pursue with relish. Both require their own set of
techniques to be learned, and we’ll cover the basics on pages
32-36 and 44-46. You’ll also discover how to incorporate a jam
chuck into your projects, sharpen curved-edge turning tools
easily and embellish your bowls in this section.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 31

How to Turn the Write Stuff
Here’s a simple step-by-step guide
to perfect pens.
Shopping List
• Pen mandrel with bushings
• Pen blank you cut or buy
• 7mm carbide brad-point drill bit
• 7mm pen kit
• CA (cyanoacrylate) adhesive
• Finishing supplies

32 How to Turn the Write Stuff

 TIP: Not all kits come
with directions or use
the same length brass
barrels. So, when you’re
just getting started, stick
with one brand of kit to
make things easier.

I
turned my first pen about
eight years ago when I took
the very pen turning class I
now teach. I’ve been hooked on
turning ever since. Making pens
is a great introduction to basic
spindle turning. Turning your
own pens results in beautiful,
custom, no-two-alike master-
pieces that make great gifts,
each having their own character
and charm. What a great excuse
to sneak out to the shop for a
little fun.
There are a few specialized
pen-turning tools you’ll need to
get started: check out the
Shopping List, previous page.
Key among the products is a
pen turning mandrel. It is a steel
bar with a Morris taper on one
end; the other end is threaded,
holding a knurled nut. The pen
blanks are turned on the man-
drel. If you buy just the basic
pen-specific items and cut your
own wooden blanks, you’ll
spend about $40 to get going.
For one-stop shopping, Rockler
sells a nice starter package that
includes the mandrel and drill
bit, CA glue and three pen kits
with blanks.
You’ll need a few basic shop
tools: a handsaw or band saw for
cutting the blanks to length,
a drill press for drilling the
holes in the blanks, a bit of sand-
paper and, of course, a lathe for
doing the turning. A 3/8" or 1/2"
spindle gouge is sufficient to
take a pen from roughing
to completion.
The pen kits include two brass
tubes called barrels, a pen mech-
anism, a pocket clip and various
brass rings used to connect the
brass barrels for final assembly.

Pen Blank Options

Pen blanks can be made from just about anything you can turn ...
from antlers to synthetics to wood salvaged from your favorite
tree. Once you start turning pens, you’ll probably find suitable
pen blanks every place you look. Since the blanks are so small,
they’re good projects for using the tiny scraps you can’t bear to
throw out. I collect those small-but-precious scraps in a bin in
my shop. Once I’ve accumulated a pile, I cut them to pen size
(3/4" x 3/4" x 6" works well).
If you want to take a shortcut, you can purchase pen blanks from a
variety of places (see Sources on page 37). I’ve also picked up some great
blanks on eBay. Pre-cut blanks are a nice convenience for getting pens turned
in a hurry, and they are also a good way to get cool materials you wouldn’t
otherwise use for woodworking. They can cost as little as 50 cents each or as much as
$25 for really exotic blanks such as prairie rattlesnake. Some pre-cut blanks even come drilled and already round.
However, here’s a word to the wise: Be careful when trying a new tropical hardwood for the first time. Some species
can cause allergic reactions, especially members of the rosewood family. Always wear a dust respirator, safety glasses
or a face shield and long sleeves to protect yourself from the dust you create during the sanding stage.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 33

Pen Turning Process
Pages 36 and 37 cover the basics
of pen turning. There are four
main steps: preparing the
blanks, mounting and shaping
on the lathe, applying finish and
assembling the parts.
Once you complete your pen,
it’s time to find it a suitable
home. After all your hard work,
it would be a shame to store it
in a plastic bag. There are a
number of different pen boxes
and plastic cases available for
displaying or gifting your pens.
The companies mentioned in the
Sources box on page 37 offer
some options.
In addition to a nice box, I
sometimes customize my pens
by having the recipient’s name
laser-engraved on the pen. Cost
varies, but I can usually get it
done for $5 to $10 per pen.
Pens First, then the Sky
is the Limit
Mastering the technique of
using a brass barrel and mandrel
is the gateway to numerous
great small projects that are well-
suited for ever ything from a
mini-lathe to a full-size rig. The
number of projects that fall into
this category is nearly endless:
key rings and bottle stoppers to
plumb bobs and scratch awls
await you. One of the things I
love most about pens and other
small turning projects is how
little time it takes to create them.
From start to finish, most can be
completed in less than 30
minutes. Gotta love that kind of
instant gratification!
Tim Nyberg wrote this article for
Woodworker’s Journal. Turn to
pages 36 and 37 for step-by-step
photos of the complete pen
turning process.
34 How to Turn the
More Specialized Tools
There are countless gadgets that can simplify turning pens. If you get as
hooked on pen turning as I have, you may find yourself turning many more
pens. I often turn as many as five to 10 pens at a time. Here are a few things
that can speed up this production process a bit. You can find them at the pen
supply sources listed in the Sources box on page 37.
Pen Press
While a clamp will work for assembling
your pens, a dedicated pen press applies
more even and consistent pressure. It will
help prevent pressing your tip advance
mechanism too far into the barrel.
Rockler Pen Blank
Drilling Jig
Although I prefer using a hand screw
clamp for holding my blanks on the drill
press, there are a variety of great shop-
made and commercial solutions for
holding the tiny blanks straight. Rockler
sells a helpful drilling jig for pen blanks.
Sorby 3/8"
Spindlemaster Gouge
I prefer to use gouges to do as much
work as possible before I switch to
sandpaper. This little time-saver from
Sorby will allow you to make nice beads
or coves, and it cuts a smooth finish. I
generally use it as the last gouge I run
over the piece before sanding.
7mm Barrel Trimmer
Occasionally, you may need to trim the
brass barrels shorter, and nothing works
better than this barrel trimming tool.
With carbide cutters and a 7mm shaft
holding the cutters perpendicular to the
blank, you’ll get perfectly flush ends
every time. It also cleans out glue that
may have ended up inside the barrel. You
don’t have to own a barrel trimmer to
turn a few pens, but it would be one of
my first pick-ups if I were going to make
more than a couple of pens.
EEE-Ultra Shine Paste Wax
Not a necessary part of your finishing
process, but EEE-Ultra Shine adds a
very nice luster to your pen projects.
It’s a wax polish containing fine
abrasives that bring your 400-grit
sanding job to the equivalent of a
2,000-grit sandpaper finish.
Write Stuff
Bridges to a better finish
There are many ways to finish a woodworking
project, and our new Bench Cookie® Bridges rise
above the rest. These handy supports snap onto
Bench Cookie® Work Grippers to provide sturdy
work holding with minimal surface contact, so
you can finish all sides of your project without
damaging the finish when you turn it over.
Now you can finish with confidence!
$
15 50 o f f $
Simply place your order at Rockler.com
by entering promotion code 494 at
checkout or call 1-877-ROCKLER.
Or bring coupon to a Rockler
store near you.
One-time use only. Minimum purchase of $50 in qualifying mer-
chandise required. Cannot be applied to sales tax or shipping. No
cash value. Cannot be combined with other offers or coupons. Not
valid at Independent Resellers. Excludes sale items, power tools,
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Click-N-Carve, and Rockler Gift Cards. Offer Expires 10/31/13.
For a store near you or free catalog:
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First, Prepare the Pen Blanks
Drill 7mm-diameter
1 2 centered holes through
the blanks. Hold them
firmly with a handscrew
clamp. If both the blank
and the clamp are flat
against the drill press
table and the table is
square to the chuck,
your holes will be
straight. TIP: A carbide-
tipped brad point bit is
preferable, although any
7mm bit will do. The
carbide will stay sharp
much longer, especially if
you graduate to more
Use a band saw or hand miter saw to cut the blanks to length. abrasive pen materials.
The blanks should be 1/16" longer than the final barrel length. The brad-point tip keeps
The ends don’t have to be perfect; you’ll trim them later. the bit from wandering.

3 4

Glue the brass barrels into the blanks with CA glue. Before
applying glue to the barrels, rough them up with 120-grit
sandpaper. Twist the barrel while quickly pushing it completely
into the blank. Don’t dawdle, or you can get stuck with a barrel
glued halfway in.
Clean out excess glue from inside the barrel using a 15/64" drill
bit or a barrel trimming tool. Bring the ends of the blank flush
to the barrels by rubbing them against a piece of sandpaper on
a flat surface.

Third, Apply A Finish To the Turning

Before applying finish, clean off the bushings with denatured
alcohol. This removes the abrasive dust that may have
accumulated while sanding. The dust can stain your pen blank
during finishing. Now, apply your finish. Use a small piece of
folded paper towel, wetted with finish and held against the
back of the turning. Any finish, from furniture oil to shellac or
lacquer, will work on pens. The author prefers to use lacquer
turner’s finish, known as padding lacquer. It dries almost
instantly so you can move right into assembly. Avoid using
cloth applicators: a paper towel will tear if it catches on
anything spinning — a good safety feature. A rag could pull
your fingers into the turning. Work in a well-ventilated area
and wear eye protection when applying finish.

36 How to Turn the Write Stuff

Second, Mount and Shape the Blanks
1 2
Slip the blanks onto the threaded
mandrel, and start by separating them
with a bushing. Install the other two
bushings on the opposite ends of the
blanks. These bushings are the same
diameter as the pen parts, so they’ll
serve as guides for arriving at the final
diameter of your turning. Lock the
blanks and bushings onto the mandrel
using the threaded nut supplied with
the mandrel. Chuck the mandrel
between your lathe centers, and
you’re ready to start turning.
Finally, Assemble The Pen Parts
1 2
Assemble your pen parts in this order:
pen tip first, pocket clip second and
then the pen twist mechanism (see
photo 1). Insert the twist mechanism
until the indented ring on it is nearly
even with the end of the barrel, then
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Turn the blanks by making light passes
with a sharp gouge. (A 3/8" spindle
gouge works well.) Start at 1,200 rpm
and ramp up to 2,200 rpm as the
blanks become round. Turn the ends of
the blanks to match the diameter of
the bushings. Leave the middle of each
blank fatter than the ends, at least on
your first pen or two. If you cut too
aggressively, or your gouge is dull, it’s
possible to go through the wood and
expose the brass barrel. There isn’t
much you can do at that point. Don’t
cut into the bushings; if you reduce
their diameter, you won’t have
accurate guides for the pen blanks.
test the fit of the ink cartridge. The
pen tip should come out far enough
to write, while still retracting fully
back into the pen when the
mechanism is twisted closed. If the
pen tip doesn’t come out far enough,
3
Sand the pen. With your first couple
of pens, there’s no shame in sanding
the blank to its finished diameter
instead of turning it. This more
conservative approach will guarantee
you don’t cut through the wood.
Start with 150-grit sandpaper to
remove gouge marks. Progress to
220- and then 400-grit paper.
SOURCES
3
remove the ink cartridge and press the
twist mechanism a little farther into the
brass barrel. Now add the center ring
(see photo 2), which simply slips on, and
press the top and bottom halves of the
pen together (see photo 3).
Fall 2013 37
Jam Chuck Turning
Our author pulls an old technique out of
his bag of tricks to solve the challenge
presented by this project. Versatile and
economical, his technique is the perfect
solution for hard-to-hold pieces.

PVC pipe for this project’s plastic

cylinder will be easy to find at your
local hardware store. The wood for the
top and base is probably already lying
around your shop.

While building this simple project, you’ll learn how to use a

jam chuck — a technique turners have been using for ages.

38 Jam Chuck Turning


Base
W
hether it is a summer
barbecue or a tailgate
party in the fall, you
need to convert your masterful
hamburger mixture into patties
to put on the grill. This patty
press will help you create per-
fectly formed patties that stay
together better while grilling and
fit nicely on those buns. You can
make this press in an evening
using materials you probably
have lying around in your shop.
Find and purchase the PVC pipe
that makes the plastic cylinder at
a local hardware store or a big
box type store. It’s important to
get the PVC before you start
turning so you can fit the other
wooden parts to it.
Selecting the Wood
Choosing a wood species for this
patty press is limited by only a
couple of considerations. Because
it will be used in food preparation,
it is better to be safe than sorry.
Some people have extreme aller-
gies to nuts. These allergies can
actually be life-threatening.
Although unlikely, nut woods like
walnut, hickory or pecan may
transfer some oils that could
spark an allergic reaction. I rec-
ommend using a close-grained
non-nut wood: cherry, maple or
even yellow poplar would be good
choices. The press you see here
was made from alder, another
good species choice.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Using the Patty Press
1. Prepare your ground meat mixture using your favorite recipe.
2. Place the cylinder loosely onto the tenon on the base.
3. Spoon meat mixture into cylinder. You may need to adjust the amount
to achieve desired patty thickness.
4. Using a twisting motion with the top, compress the meat into the press.
5. Using a twisting motion to break surface tension, lift and remove the top.
6. Remove the cylinder from the base, leaving the patty in place.
7. The patty will usually adhere to the base, which will allow you to move
it to the platter. Turn the base over and use a knife to break the tension,
thereby dropping the patty.
8. Use wax paper or equivalent to separate the patties.
9. Repeat steps 2 through 8 until the meat mixture is gone.
10. Put ‘em on the grill and enjoy.
When it comes to finishing the
wood for this project, choose a
nontoxic, oil-based product like 1
Salad Bowl Finish or even
mineral oil. A coat of food-safe
paraffin wax will help to seal the
wood and keep hamburger from
sticking to it. Clean your press
with mild soap and hot water
after use, and reapply finish if
needed. Or, you can leave it with-
out a finish. A curious but impor-
tant fact to note is that wood has 2
been proven to have a natural
resistance to growing bacteria,
making it a good material for
cutting boards or, in this case, a
patty press.
Getting Started
The steps to making your patty
press are as follows.
3
Find and then mark the cen-
ters of two 6" x 6" x 15∕8 " blanks.
Mark the centers on both sides.
These will become the top and
base pieces of your press.
Cut one blank — the base — to
a circle about 51∕2 " in diameter.
Cut the other — the top — to
about 41∕2 " in diameter. If your
plastic cylinder pipe has an inner 4
diameter other than 4", you will
have to adjust the blank sizes
accordingly.
Mount the base blank between
centers (Figure 1). If you use a
serrated Stebcenter for the drive
and live center, there will be less
damage to the surfaces that will
Fall 2013 39
 5
Cylinder
need fixing later. Using a bowl
gouge, rough the blank down to
round (Figure 2, previous page).
6 Remember, this is not spindle
turning. You will need to cut in
from the sides just like turning
a bowl.
Smooth the surface toward the
tailstock and make a dovetail
tenon (Figure 3, previous page)
sized to fit in your scroll chuck.
Reverse the blank and mount it
into your scroll chuck, grasping
7 the dovetail tenon. Move the tail-
stock out of the way. Turn the
face of the blank flat and smooth
(Figure 4, previous page).
Measure the inside diameter of
your plastic cylinder (Figure 5)
using a pair of dividers. Transfer
this measurement onto the face
of the base blank, marking it.
This circle should be exactly the
8
same diameter as the inside of
your PVC cylinder.
Cutting in from the edge of the
blank, form a tenon slightly larg-
er than the marked circle (Figure
6). The height of the tenon
should be about 1/4". Leave the
side of the tenon very slightly
tapered. By trial and error, care-
9 fully reduce the diameter of the
tenon until the cylinder fits tight-
ly onto the tenon (Figure 7). In
effect, you are using the base as
a jam chuck to mount the cylin-
der for shaping. The tenon must
fit tightly in order to securely
hold the cylinder.
40 Jam Chuck Turning
Note: a jam chuck is a piece of
wood attached to a faceplate.
The wood is machined to allow a
friction fit on another piece of
wood (or, in this case, the PVC
cylinder) that will hold the work-
piece tightly enough to turn. You
“jam” the workpiece into or onto
the wooden chuck — hence, the
term, jam chuck.
If you overshoot the mark and
make your tenon just a little too
small, place one or two layers of
paper towel over the tenon and
then mount (jam) the cylinder
onto the tenon.
Now that the cylinder is held
securely by the base, use a
scraper to smooth and round
over the exposed end. Reverse
the cylinder and reduce its
height to about 11∕4". Shape the
exposed end as you did before.
Scrape a small cove into the side
of the cylinder so it will be easier
to handle when in use (Figure
8); the cove acts as finger grip.
Next, remove the cylinder and
trim the tenon on the base to
achieve just a light friction fit
when the cylinder is placed over
it. Shape the outside edge of
the base as desired (Figure 9).
Sand the base up to 320-grit,
then set the base and cylinder
aside for now.
Starting the Top
Grab the top blank you marked
earlier and mount and turn it

Top
between centers as you did with
the base blank. After you raise
the dovetailed tenon, mount the
top in your scroll chuck. Now
turn the top down so it fits
smoothly within the cylinder
(Figure 10). It should move
freely. Sand the face and sides
of the top and set it aside for
the moment.
Mount some wood to be used
as a jam chuck onto your scroll
chuck or on a faceplate and turn
its face flat. With your calipers,
measure the diameter of the top
and mark the face of the jam
chuck. Cut a recess in the jam
chuck so that the top fits tightly
in place (Figure 11, top right,
and Figure 12).
With the top mounted in the
jam chuck, turn a tenon, forming
it into a shape that can be easily
grasped and handled (Figure
Learning to tightly fit these parts to
one another is a skill that will serve
when fitting lids, stoppers or other
turned components.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
10
11
13). Do the final finish sanding
and set the top aside.
Take a moment to carefully
enlarge the recess in the jam 12
chuck to fit the tenon on the face
of the base that you had set aside
earlier (Figure 14). Turn off the
dovetail tenon that was used for
mounting in the scroll chuck,
leaving the surface flat (Figure
15). Finish-sand the base and
unmount it from the chuck.
You can leave the surface of
the wood bare or use an oil finish 13
as mentioned earlier. Don’t use
vegetable or salad oil since they
will likely turn rancid with time.
Now that you have mastered
using a jam chuck by making
this simple project, you can take
your turning to the next level
by using the technique in a
variety of turning situations.
14
Happy turning!
John Giem is a long-time woodworker
living in Fort Collins, Colorado.
15
Fall 2013 41
Sharpening Curved Edges
Sharpening those curved edges on your
turning tools is critical for success. A
g o o d s h a r p e n i n g s y s t e m w i l l m a k e i t e a s y.
“J
ust grab a piece of black
pipe, take it to the grinder
and practice putting an
edge on it!” is the advice a turning
expert gave to his new-to-turning
daughter. He said it to address
one of the issues a person must
confront when they begin turn-
ing. Sharpening a flat edge like a
chisel (or a skew) is not difficult
to master, but when it comes to
sharpening curved edges, like
the ones you find on the gouges
and scrapers, it’s a different story.
And, while some folks can master
the “freehand” method, others,
like yours truly, need a bit of an
assist. The good news is there is
plenty of help out there.
Is Your Grinding Wheel
Well-Dressed?
Dressing a grinding wheel
refers to the process of
removing the top layer of
the wheel to expose a
fresh and sharp layer.
42 Sharpening Curved
One advantage to the Work Sharp system
is that you can see the edge of your curved
tool as you sharpen. The slotted wheel
allows you to see through it as it spins.
You can sharpen curved tool edges by
adding a special sharpening wheel and
a Wolverine Jig to a grinder.
No machine will give you a sharper edge
than the Tormek system. Among the
wide variety of add-on jigs and
accessories is a top-notch jig system for
sharpening curved turning tools.
Edges: Three Solutions
Three Basic Options
There are three general types of
machines and/or accessories to
help sharpen those cur ved
edges. Dedicated sharpening
machines divide into two cate-
gories: wet grinding and dry-
abrasive sharpening — those
categories are represented here
by the Tormek® and the Work
Sharp®, respectively. The third
general option is a jig attached to
a standard grinder; a good exam-
ple of that is ONEWAY’s
Wolverine Jig.
Any of these options will get
you past the roadblock of sharp-
ening curved edges — but each
has pros and cons.
The Tormek will give you the
sharpest and best edge, hands-
down. It is very versatile and has
a long track record of quality.
But it is also expensive, and its
complexity demands a moderate
learning curve.
The Work Sharp is also
versatile, certainly less expen-
sive and, many think, a bit more
intuitive to use. But you need to
keep a supply of the abrasive
discs on hand, and they cost
money to replace.
The Wolverine Jig works with
a standard grinder, but for best
results you’ll also need a preci-
sion balanced grinding wheel
from ONEWAY and a grinder
that has variable speed.
Rob Johnstone is the editor in chief
of Woodworker’s Journal.
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Turning Green Wood
Tools cut green wood fibers like hot
knives through butter! Here’s how to
transform a chunk of wet wood into an
elegant bowl in a matter of minutes.

T
urning green wood is a wet
and wild adventure, but
there are pitfalls to be
avoided when working with or
acquiring it. In this article, I will
provide background information
about preparing, storing and
working with freshly cut wood so
that you will have better success
with nature’s bounty.
Green wood is wood that has
not yet been dried. It’s actually
not green in color, but rather not
yet seasoned by either kiln-dry-
ing or air-drying. It can range in
wetness from dripping wet (cut
in springtime) to only slightly
wet (cut in fall or winter). This
“free” wood can come your way
throughout the year, so it’s best
to understand how to effectively
deal with what ends up littering
your driveway or overtaking
your shop.

As the cracked, rotting logs in the author’s

yard show (above), painting the ends is only a
stopgap measure before correctly processing a
turner’s stock of “well-managed” green wood.

44
Cut each log into two sections, lengthwise, for bowl blanks. For best results, remove a small slab down the middle, making sure it
contains the entire pith and the small surrounding cracks. After cutting to remove any early cracks, paint each end with end grain
wood sealer. Some turners like to date and label the wood they save.
Air-dried wood is much nicer
to work with than kiln-dried
wood. It cuts more smoothly and
cleanly; the color is often more
vivid; and, for us woodturners,
grain patterns are more
varied. I have become more
selective when acquiring “free”
wood. Everyone has a prefer-
ence. My favorite species are
persimmon, dogwood and Osage
orange. These woods are not
available commercially, and per-
simmon and Osage are difficult
to successfully air-dry without
cracking, but they are lovely to
work with, so worth the effort!
Whatever you prefer, however,
make sure the wood you acquire
is sound. Even experienced
woodturners have been hurt by
a chunk of wood flying off the
lathe. This happens for two main
reasons: either the wood has a
large, barely visible crack
and/or the speed of the lathe
was set too fast. Be careful when
using found wood.
Before you bring fresh-cut
wood into your workshop, be
aware that it might contain small
critters, which, if left to their own
www.woodworkersjournal.com
devices, will infest your entire
life. Leave the wood outside until
you are sure it is free from pests.
I generally debark pieces that
will be air-dried. If you’re
interested in making green-
turned, natural-edge bowls,
leave the bark on.
Most species of wood will
begin to crack right after being
cut, so attend to your logs as
soon as possible. Keep them out
of direct sunlight — cover them
with a tarp or haul them to a
shady spot. Some species, such
as persimmon and ash, immedi-
ately begin to attract insects. On
the other hand, perhaps you like
wormy ash or persimmon?
Some turners have a large
freezer in which they deposit
choice turning blanks. Freezing
the wood keeps it from cracking,
retards the growth of mold and
protects from insects. And, it’s
immediately available for green-
turning. If you have only a few
chunks, you could place them in
large plastic garbage bags, but
make sure you turn the bags
inside out every few days. You’ll
be surprised at the amount of
moisture early in the dr ying
stage! Turning the bags helps
prevent mold from growing,
which can cause the wood to
become spalted. Dark lines of
mold create beautiful patterns in
many species, particularly maple.
A word of caution, however. This
mold can have active spores,
which will be released during
the turning process. If you are
not wearing proper dust protec-
tion, they can get into your
lungs. Personally, I avoid using
spalted wood; some turners
grow it on purpose.
To make the best use of a log
for bowl blanks, cut each section
several inches longer than the
diameter of the log to provide a
bit of trim wood on the ends. If
not possible, don’t worry: you
can use short and thick sections
for a different style of bowl or for
other projects.
When you’re ready to process
a log into bowl blanks, the first
step is to mark where to make
your initial cut. This decision is
as individual as your preferences
and the grain and configuration
of each log. Cutting each log will
Fall 2013 45

require two cuts with a chainsaw
or a band saw. After halving each
log section, look for checks and
cracks. Paint each end with end
grain wood sealer — it’s an emul-
sified, water-based wax, easy to
apply with a paintbrush. Set
aside the prepared sections,
somewhere out of the elements.
Depending on where the wood
is stored, the size of the sections,
the species and the crook of your
nose, these sections will take
anywhere from a year to five
The quickest way to use green wood:
turn a bowl while wet. Mount the bowl
blank; take care with turning the outside
and bottom to achieve a pleasing shape.
Turn the inside and let the shavings fly!
46 Turning Green Wood
You can use a cardboard
circle template to cut a round
turning blank from a half log
on your band saw.
years to lose all their moisture. Preparing wood for successful
To speed up the process, I air-dr ying is a delightful
remove the bark and, if the blank challenge. You will make new
isn’t too large, I cut it into a round discoveries, like three persim-
shape using my band saw. Then I mon logs in the back of an
apply end grain sealer. unheated, dirt-floor garage. I
For an even speedier process, heaved them there three years
cut the half-log into a round ago, totally unprocessed. To my
shape, then mount it on your amazement and delight, there
lathe to rough-turn a bowl. Screw was sound wood in all of them.
the top side of the bowl to a face- Start collecting now, and have
plate and rough-turn the bottom fun experimenting!
and the outside form of the bowl.
On the bottom, turn a recess to Betty Scarpino served as a contributing
accept a chuck, or make it flat to editor to Woodworker’s Journal.
glue to an auxiliary block.
Remove it from the screws.
Mount it to a chuck or glue it to
an auxiliary block, using medium
or thick cyanoacrylate glue.
Turn your bowl blank. Leave it
fairly thick, but uniformly so. It
will warp, so you need plenty of
wall thickness for turning after
the blank dries. Remove it from
the chuck or turn it off the auxil-
iary block, then set it aside. I
have had good results letting the
blank dry on its own. Some
people place them in paper bags
or in shavings or coat them
entirely with end grain sealer.
The quickest, most satisfying
way to use green wood is to turn
it into a completed bowl while
it’s wet (see photo, left). Your
bowl will warp as it dries, so make
sure you have time to finish the
project in one session. Let it dry
completely before finishing.
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Fall 2013 47

Carving Texture and Patterns into Bowls
Transform ordinary bowls into
eye-catching keepsakes by adding
carved shape and texture.
I
n their drive for the perfect art
form, bowl turners are con-
stantly experimenting with
shape. This can range from
entirely functional to pure art
that is not very usable at all. An
artistic technique that I really
like is carving designs into the
outside or rim of a bowl. You do
not have to be an “artist” to do
this sort of carving, you just need
to be able to lay out a pencil grid
and to tap a gouge with a mallet.
48 Carving Texture and Patterns into Bowls
Likely the first contemporary
turner to work with carving as a
design element was David Pye,
professor of furniture design at
The Royal College of Art (1948-
1974). He developed a machine
called the "fluting engine."
Carving breaks the absolutely
circular nature of a turning, lend-
ing pattern, texture and beauty
to the finished vessel. It does not
require many fancy tools, carv-
ing patterns or textures; all you
need is a gouge or two, a veining
tool and a mallet. (The mallet
you can spindle turn yourself
from a piece of firewood!)
In general, I get by mostly with
a #8 x 25mm (1") gouge and a
veining tool.
 I learned the techniques I out-
line in this article from Al Stirt of
Enosburg, Vermont. Al pioneered
the use of carving and texture to
accent bowls. If you ever have the
chance to take a workshop class
with him — do so! His website is
http://alstirt.com
For successful carving, you
have to think about shape.
Traditional half-round bowls do
not lend themselves as well to
carving, for you have to have a
low viewing angle to see the out-
side wall. Bowls that form a cone
have steep, nearly vertical walls
or are closed forms (the rim is
smaller than the interior), which
will display carving much better.
Here, I will demonstrate on a
closed form, which has a raised
doughnut look. The interior
under the rim must be scraped,
for you cannot get in this area
with a bowl gouge. Scraping the
area found just under the rim
(down to the largest diameter) to
a constant wall thickness is
Mark the upper and lower limits of your carving space as well
as a center line (above). Then use the indexing stop on your
lathe’s headstock to help draw a grid pattern.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
The author finds that he does the lion’s
share of his bowl carving with a #8 x 1”
gouge and a veining tool.
challenging. Most beginners
leave the wall too thick in this
area, giving the bowl a clunky
feeling. The wall should be at
least 3/8" thick, with 1/2" being
better for deep carved flutes.
Sand the bowl to about 120-grit.
Although you can carve dry
wood, it is much easier to tap a
gouge through green wood.
Luckily, many bowl turners start
with green wood. Carving green
wood means that you can even
car ve rock-hard maple with
ease. Do not complete the bot-
tom of the bowl; rather, leave the
chucking recess or glue block
and faceplate you turned it on in
place. If your lathe has indexing,
draw as many pencil lines verti-
When the grid pattern is completed, use the pattern to form
S-shaped curves onto the side of the bowl. Don’t worry about
perfect curves — you’ll adjust them as you carve.
cally up the wall of the bowl as
you can. I do this by using the
tool-rest as a straightedge at
each index point. If your lathe
only has 12 index positions, you
can lay out more lines by raising
or lowering the tool-rest. Next,
draw a band by spinning the
bowl against a pencil to delineate
the point above the base where
the carving will start. I also draw
a band at the largest diameter
(bottom left photo) and just
under the rim. Then use the
grid marks to draw an “S” curve
(bottom right photo). Draw them
freehand, and do not worry if
things are not perfect. Carving
will fix everything.
Shop-made Bowl Vise
Holding a bowl during carving is
always a challenge. These days I
have a patternmaker’s vise at the
end of my bench that is well-suit-
ed to the task. I cut a board to go
against the rim of the bowl and
interpose a piece of leather
Fall 2013 49
This simple setup for holding your bowl while carving is made from a plywood piece with threaded rods going through it, and a
smaller board drilled for the rods, as shown above. Squeeze the bowl between the pieces. The plywood extends below the
circumference of the bowl so that it can be captured in a vise, securing it for carving.

between them before tightening
the vise. Previously, I used a
right-angle plate built out of
veneer-core plywood and held
the bowl against it with a wood
strip secured by threaded rod
and wing nuts. You can see that
setup in the top photo. Notice
that I leave the faceplate and
glue block on the bowl until after
the carving is done.
Carving gouges are sold by
sweep and width with #1 being
straight and a number 10 being a
highly dished gouge. As I said
earlier, a #8 by 25mm does about
90% of my carving. I make most of
my flutes about 3/4" wide
(“about” is the key word here),
but don’t be afraid to experiment
with other flute widths and gouge
sweeps. There is as much room
for artistic expression in carving
as in the turning process itself!
Carving is pretty straightfor-
ward, as long as the tools are
razor-sharp. Do not try to take
too much material with any pass.
Cut a shallow trough up the cen-
ter of your layout, then deepen
and widen it gradually. Final
passes may have to be on oppo-
site sides and in opposite direc-
tions to get crisp, smooth carv-
ing. You must pay careful atten-
tion to grain direction, for as you
carve around a bowl, you alter-
nate from pure end grain to pure
face grain and every combina-

Keep track of grain direction as you carve. Carve “uphill” and Sometimes refining the shape requires you to carve on the
don’t try to take too much wood off with each cut, refining opposite edges of the same trough from different directions
the shape as you go. to get a clean cut.

50 Carving Texture and Patterns into Bowls

 tion in between. Carving direc-
tion is usually the same as out-
side faceplate turning: from less-
er diameters to greater diame-
ters. That being said, once a flute
is to almost final size, you often
have to make a final pass on one
side of the flute in one direction
and a final pass on the other side
of the flute in the opposite direc-
tion to get clean cuts (bottom
photos, previous page). Think of
it as shaping the opposite sides
of a U-shaped trough. To get the
best results, you carve one direc-
tion on one side of the trough
and the other direction on its
mate. Stopping the carving just
shy of the rim looks nice and is
an effective beginner’s approach.
Ernie Conover is the author of The Lathe Book, Turn a Bowl with Ernie Conover
and The Frugal Woodturner.
Veining Alternative
If this sort of carving daunts you,
try creating simple texture with
a veining tool. Simply take paral-
lel straight cuts to create texture,
as shown in the photos at right.
Start it close to the edge and
then continue down for any dis-
tance below the rim to create an
interesting look. You can even
cut across the rim if you wish.
Carving pleasing shapes onto a
bowl is a great way to take your
pieces to the next level. As with
almost all aspects of woodwork-
ing, practice will improve your
results. Take your time and start
with simple forms and experi-
ment. Who knows where you Adding a simple repetitive texture around
might end up? the rim of a bowl is an easy thing to do
and can be a great first step into the
technique of carving turned bowls.

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52
 TURNING

While woodturning offers its own rewards in terms of

relaxation and artistic expression, it also delivers a lot of bang
for the buck in the way of project options. This collection will
have you making everything from kitchen helpers to games,
and from holiday gifts to an heirloom for the den, plus much
more — all from wood you may already have on hand.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 53

Zestful Turnings
Start with a dash of scrap cherry and
maple, stir well on your lathe and trim
off the excess to produce this classic
salt and pepper set.

L
ike recipes, turning projects
have an organic quality to
them. Most are best present-
ed as ideas so each turner can
make changes to suit a project to
his or her own tastes. Our salt
and pepper set is a good exam-
ple. If you enjoy contemporary
tableware, these shapes will
blend right in with that look. You
can follow the Full-size Drawings
on page 56 to make exact dupli-
cates, or take off with your own
ideas to create a unique style.

54 Zestful Turnings
 The construction of the salt
shaker includes a useful ring
joint that you may want to try out
on other sectional designs
like candlestick holders, vases
or vessels that are made with
separate pieces of wood.
Making the Pepper Mill
The first thing you should take
care of before starting this proj-
ect is purchasing the salt and pep-
per mechanisms, available from
Rockler and other turning supply
sources. Having the hardware in
hand when you begin cutting will
save you from possible mistakes.
Cut your pepper mill wood
blanks slightly oversize, and
begin working on the cherry top
first. Drill a 3/4"-diameter by
1/4"-deep hole in one end of the
cherry block, then mount it on
the lathe with the hole facing the
tail stock. Turn the block into a
cylinder with a roughing gouge,
then use a parting tool to form
the neck. Continue with the
gouge to round over the top, and
smooth the surface with a skew.
Increase your lathe speed to
sand the cherry to 220-grit, then
dismount the top and drill a 1/4"-
diameter hole through the wood.
Now put the maple between
centers on the lathe and turn it
to shape with the roughing
gouge. Again, use a skew and
sandpaper to refine the surface.
Part off the maple piece from the
lathe and drill three holes into
the mill: First, a 11∕2 "-diameter by
1/2"-deep hole in the bottom of
the piece, then a 11∕4 "-diameter by
3/8"-deep hole in the top end.
Use the indents from the lathe
drives to find the drilling centers
for these two holes. The third
hole is 1" in diameter and passes
from the top end all the way to
the bottom. To get greater

Essential Spindle-Turning Tools

Roughing Gouges are heavy-duty tools, manufactured to withstand the impact This salt and pepper set is a great
involved with the four rotating corners of square stock. If you’ve never used one, opportunity to practice your spindle-
you’re missing out on a splendid way to go from square to round. Simply hold the turning skills. Turning a spindle isn’t
gouge on the tool-rest and advance the cutting edge into the wood near the end of difficult, and it requires only four different
lathe tools. Here’s woodturning expert
the stock, cutting gradually toward that end. Reduce the diameter of the wood
Betty Scarpino’s advice about each one.
until you achieve the desired dimension.

Spindle Gouges work great when they’re sharpened with a long, steep bevel and
a more pointed end in comparison to a bowl gouge. This type of edge profile
allows for a clean cut and also enables you to get into tight areas between
elements of the turned object. But, I’ll confess that I sometimes get lazy and use a
bowl gouge when I ought to use a spindle gouge. It’s perfectly safe, but the bevel
on a bowl gouge is at a shorter angle, which makes for a less grabby cut.

Skew Chisels: If what you are making requires an abrupt division between
square stock and round stock, here’s where a skew chisel is a necessity. Use either
the heel or the toe of the skew to cut into the square stock. Arch the tool into the
wood and begin with light, small cuts. When using the skew chisel, remember that
there are potentially four cutting edges and four bevels. When you are using one
edge, stay away from the other three or you’ll surely catch the wood!

Parting Tools are actually not for parting the wood off the lathe but for parting
through the wood to mark a specific diameter. They are often used in conjunction
with calipers, preset to measure a correct diameter. Parting tools are Parting
Tool Roughing
straightforward to use. Simply arch them into the wood and push gently. They do Gouge Spindle
Gouge Skew
the cutting work almost automatically. Chisel

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 55

control and accuracy while
drilling this hole, clamp a wood-
en handscrew to the mill (see
right photo).
Once these holes are drilled,
insert the grinding mechanism in
the mill, drill pilot holes for the
screws and secure the retaining
plates. The top should turn freely
when you loosen the nut, which,
by the way, also allows the pep-
percorns to slip into the teeth of
the gears so they can be ground.
Turning the Salt Shaker
Mount your curly maple salt
Full-Size Drawings
3
/4"
56 Zestful Turnings
shaker blank into the lathe and
rough it with a gouge into a 2"
cylinder. Next, make the ring
joint by turning one end of the
cylinder down to a 11∕2 " diameter
with a parting tool. Take your
cherry block over to the drill
press and drill a 11∕ 2 " hole
through it. Remove the maple
from the lathe and use yellow
glue to secure its ringed end
inside the cherry block.
Once the glue dries, remount
the shaker on the lathe and turn it
to final shape. Sand the piece to
220-grit, then part off the top end.
1
/2"
1"
When you’re ready to drill the cores,
a wooden handscrew clamp will help
keep the mill from spinning during
drilling as well as align the workpiece
for an accurate through hole.
Take the shaker back to the drill
press to bore the holes, making
sure to use the handscrew clamp
again to control the turning. Drill
a 1"-diameter hole 1/2" deep in
the bottom of the shaker, then
turn the piece over and drill a
3/4"-diameter hole through the
full length of the body.
Finishing Up
Dismantle the pepper mill to give
it and the salt shaker a final bur-
nishing with fine steel wool. Apply
three coats of tung oil to the out-
side of the set to really bring out
the curly pattern in the maple. Let
the finish dry for two days before
reassembling the mechanism in
the pepper mill and adding the top
to the salt shaker. Once this is
done, pour in your salt and your
peppercorns, and cap off the
openings. Your salt and pepper set
is now ready for your next
culinary project. Bon appetit!
Craig Lossing is a woodturner based
in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Turning Fishing Lures
Why pay tackle store prices for
store-bought lures? Turn your
own custom lures from scrap.
P
rior to World War II, most
fishing plugs were made of
wood, and even today most
consider the wooden Rapala the
world’s most effective lure. But
can an average woodworker
make wooden lures and thus
combine two hobbies? The
answer is yes! With minimal
turning skills and an eye on
design, you can make your own
topwater, floating and sinking
plugs at pennies on the dollar
and in sizes from 1/2" fly rod
plugs and poppers up to 10" surf
and saltwater or even muskie
plugs. Add to those advantages
that your finely crafted plugs can
be hand-tuned and
tested to maximize
your catch.
58 Turning Fishing Lures
Shape and Design Factors
Check your local tackle shops
for one of the two massive vol-
umes of “Fishing Lure
Collectibles” by Beany and
Dudley Murphy, and you’ll see
that there are few new plug
shapes. For that reason, you’ll
need to decide which lures suit
your fishing needs best. Short,
subsurface plugs with wiggling
scoops oscillate faster than long,
skinny plugs; streamlined long
minnow plugs create less sur-
face noise and splash than blunt-
nose models. Note that lure size
is often the most critical factor
where gamefish prey on schools
of bait. Remember to vary lure
length to match the growth of
baitfish over the season.
Buoyant Wood Choice
The more buoyant the wood, the
faster the action, so balsa is
tough to beat for fat plugs. Plan
to finish your plugs in durable
epoxy and use sharp tools with a
light touch. Other wise, pine,
cedar and easy-to-turn woods
with reasonably tight grain are
your best choices. For “one-off”
designs, shop scraps do the job,
so keep an eye out for wood with
contrasting heartwood and
sapwood, as lures with natural
lighter bellies are effective with
only a clear sealer and top coats.
Basswood is wonderful if you
plan to carve details such as
gills. Note that dense woods
improve casting distance and
stand up to pike and other
“toothy” species. They also sink
faster when weighted.
Spindle Turning Practice
Plugs offer excellent spindle-
turning practice. To get going,
square up your material, cut it to
21∕2 times the plug length, mount
it on the lathe, and shape it at
high speed with a small gouge or
even a scraper. Eliminate the
cylinder stage and turn plugs
two at a time for faster results.
Poppers and most other shapes
can be turned as a single unit
and split after shaping on the
band saw — see the upper
Drawing on the next page.
While templates produce con-
sistent shapes, it’s more fun, and
better practice, to turn freehand.
Just leave the square section in
the chuck until the first plug tail
is shaped. The hole from the tail-
stock will provide both support
for the nail used as a handle
when finishing and a centered
starter hole for the rear hook
eye. So advance the tailstock
after the first plug is parted off.
It’s possible to drill these holes
on the lathe, too.
Finish the shaping by sanding
the body down to 400-grit, and
part off the head. Leave a small
flat nose section that can be eas-
ily drilled (you’ll sand the nose to
shape later). Repeat on the sec-
ond plug. When splitting dished
plugs, cut diagonally and then
use a spindle sander to shape the
lip. Belt or other sanders can
also be used to flatten the sides
of minnow plugs for a more
realistic minnow shape on plugs
that imitate shad and shuck.
Then drill any remaining holes
for the nose, eyes or hook hangers
and remove the plug for finishing.

This is a great mini-lathe project, requiring a minimum Sources for

of turning tools ... just a small gouge or even a scraper. I Lure Parts and Paints:
use an oscillating spindle sander to shape the ends of my
poppers, but you could carve those shapes using chisels Jann’s Netcraft:
and a shaped sanding block just as easily. (www.jannsnetcraft.com)
Optional but important supplies include plastic skirts free catalog, 800-346-6590
of various colors, wiggling scoops and lead weights. Barlow’s Tackle:
Epoxy and super glues are very helpful and, more (www.barlowstackle.com)
importantly, waterproof. Painting the free catalog, 800-707-0208
lures will require dipping containers,
hobby paints, small brushes and Lure Components:
waterproof sealers. A hobbyist (www.lurecomponents.com)
airbrush is really useful, but optional. info@lurecomponents.com

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 59

Begin with an appropriate blank Turn at high speed to shape the blank. To make painting easier, sand the plugs
between centers. You may be able to Here the author is using a skew to all the way up to 400-grit.
turn several at a time from one blank. shape the plug.

Hooks, Hangers and

Separate the two poppers with a band saw.
Screw Eyes
Shape the curves with a spindle sander or carve them with chisels.
If you live in an area where
Òsingle barbless hooksÓ are the
law of the land, I would go with
Siwash open eye single hooks.
(And by the way, in Òside-by-
sideÓ trolling tests, they produce
the same strike-to-hookup
ratios.) Just remember to use a
single thatÕs two sizes larger Equatorial-skirt
than the usual treble. Double Full-size groove
hooks are an easy-to-add or Equatorial-skirted
change alternative worth consid- Vertical Popper
ering on some designs. Quality Pattern
treble hooks from Gamatsu,
Mustad or Eagle Claw sized to
match the hooks on commercial
plugs work, too.
While commercial plugs use This blank makes two
hook hangers, good lure design, poppers. See the photo
which spaces hooks far enough sequence above.
apart so they canÕt snag each
other, allows screw eyes super-
glued into place at big savings.
Open screw eyes let you crimp
hooks on Òpoint downÓ for gener-
al use or Òpoint upÓ for weedy
fishing spots.
Some folks attach hooks to
eyes with split-ring hook hold-
ers. I prefer a direct connection
with a smaller than usual screw Use these patterns as a starting point.
eye for less hook swing and Be creative and develop your own “secret” lure.
fewer line snags. Moving the
screw eye towards the plug top Full-size Topwater
makes lures run deeper; moving Minnow Pattern
it down on a flat or slanted-face
popping plug increases noise.

Wiggling Scoops, Hardware

and Skirts If you plan to use your lure in salt water,
A variety of wiggling scoops can stainless-steel hardware is a must.
be screwed into wooden lures

60 Turning Fishing Lures

Cut the popper blanks apart on the
diagonal using a band saw or scroll saw.
and then bent to change the plug
action. Sometimes, however, it’s
cheaper and faster to just cut a
slot and epoxy in a flat scoop
(clear acr ylic, polycarbonate,
metal or wooden) for subsurface
action. Tongue depressors or
plastic sheets from the model
shop work well. Just remember
that waterproof glue is a must.
Surface lures generally do not
require scoops. Action is provid-
ed by their design and/or rod
manipulation. The classic “verti-
cal popper” (see facing page)
uses an “equatorial” rubber skirt
and sits and pops in place, tempt-
ing bass and other species.
You can also dress rear hooks
with skirts, add propeller or spin-
ner blades fore and aft, or, for
superior spins, add a bead.
Rubber skirts and tails or soft
“jewelry box” plush skins on
mouse-type lures will improve
craft fair sales, too.
Small strips of lead glued to
the lure bottom create “zero
buoyancy” so lures will suspend
when you stop a retrieve — tank
test in the bathtub.
Paint, Eyes and
Other Oddments
A coat of waterproof sealer or
white waterproof finish thinned
20% is basic. Hold lures by a nail
www.woodworkersjournal.com
The author uses his spindle sander to
shape the front scooped curve of the
poppers.
jammed into the back of the lure
and dip or spray before the
screw eyes are installed. Dry
lures by inserting the nails into
holes on a block of wood. Two
base coats are recommended.
Color coats offer contrasting
heads and bodies. For example,
dip lures in white paint and, after
drying, dip red heads. You can
also dip a second, darker coat on
the lure back or add a red gill
stripe, etc. Paint kits with
one- ounce bottles will increase
your color options. Spraying
through mesh (top right) adds
fish-scale details, increasing fish
and sales appeal.
Spraying allows the use of tulle
and other materials to produce
desirable patterns. As a rule,
dark backs and light bottoms are
typical of baitfish that fall broad-
ly into silver and gold divisions.
Adding eyes will also improve
your luck. To apply painted eyes,
cut the point off a large-diameter
nail and use it to apply a white or
yellow spot on each side of the
head. After this dries, use a
smaller nail to add a black pupil.
Like most procedures, this is
best done a dozen lures at a time.
Painting creates the
details that catch
the fish’s and the
fisherman’s eyes!
One easy trick is
to use a mesh
material to create
a “scale pattern.”
Finally, add two
clear coats for protection
and eye appeal. Epoxy outer
coats will foil pike for a bit, too.
Finish up with a “tank test” at a
full tub. Tie the lure to a short
stick with a couple of feet of four-
pound test line. Add strips of
very light lead to the hooks for
fore-and-aft balance. Take notice
of the most effective speed for
top-action lures, and if it runs off-
line, bend the forward eye side-
ways to adjust. Note: offline
lures are effective under docks
and weed beds.
Louis Bignami wrote this article for
Woodworker’s Journal.
Fall 2013 61
 Japanese
Kendama Game
Make this challenging game, and
while you’re at it, learn how
to make and use a jam chuck.

O
ur editor in chief, Rob Johnstone, suggested to me
that an article on turning a Japanese kendama game
would be fun for all. This child’s game is pure spin-
dle turning (“child” being defined as anyone from nine to 92
years of age in the case of this addicting game). A variation
on the age-old ball-and-cup toy, the player uses the ken
(handle) to capture the wood dama (ball) attached to it by a
string in one of four ways. There are two cups, one larger
and one smaller, attached to the ken at right angles. There
is a third cup in the base of the ken that is still smaller.
Finally, the ball may be captured on the spike at the busi-
ness end of the ken. The ball has a hole in it, which is flared
at the mouth, to facilitate this most difficult of captures.
A kendama game is mostly straightforward spindle turn-
ing, but turning the ball and scraping the cups to the correct
radius to catch the ball is a small challenge for most. You
will need some firm, durable wood to make your kendama
set. I chose hard maple for price and durability, but oak, ash,
hickory and walnut are other good choices. You do not need
much wood for this project, but large-diameter stock is nec-
essary for the ball if it is to be done without gluing up. I was
able to make mine from cutoff scraps I had squirreled away.
I will not elaborate on the turning of the handle and the set
of cups that mount on the spike at the end of it in a “T” fash-
ion, for they are straight spindle turning. The only tip I will
give is that it is best to drill the cross-hole for mounting the
cups on the handle before turning. Drill a 7/16"-diameter
cross-hole in the exact center of the 13∕4 " by 23∕4 " billet. The
turning of a perfect ball might seem to be impossible, but it

62 Japanese Kendama Game

 The Top 10 Kendama Tricks
Moves you can perform with a kendama are called “tricks.” A Japanese Kendama Association
book lists 101 tricks, but new ones are constantly being invented, as are variations. For
competition purposes, there are 11 required tricks for a “kyu” ranking (rated at 10 kyu to 1 kyu,
with one the highest); plus about 10 additional for a “dan” rating (also rated at 10 dan to 1
dan). Here are some of the "kyu" tricks (you also need “moshikame” — see page 65).

Oozara (Big Cup): Start from a still, vertical position and land the ball in the big cup.
Kozara (Small Cup): Same as above, except land the ball in the small cup.
Chuzara (Middle Cup): Catch the ball in the middle cup on the end of the ken.
Rosoku (Candle): Same as above, but different grip: hold the ken by the point.
Tomeken (Spike Catch or Pull Up/In): Start the ball from a still, hanging position and catch
it by the hole on the ken’s spike.
Hikoki (Airplane): Hold the ball and flip the ken to impale the ball
with the spike.
Furiken (Swinging Spike Catch): Similar to Spike Catch, but
you swing the ball up instead of starting from a dead hang.
Nihon Isshu (Trip Around Japan): Catch the ball Dama
in the small cup, toss it to the big cup, then spike it. (Ball)
Sekai Isshu (Trip Around the World):
Like above, with the Big Cup
Ken (Sword)
addition of a toss to the
center cup after the large
cup and before the spike.
Toudai (Lighthouse):
Grip the ball; jerk ken from Crosspiece Spike
a dead hang and balance
Center Cup Kendama tricks involve
it by the center cup on the combinations of catching,
ball, keeping it stationary. spiking, juggling and balancing.
Small Cup

is actually well within the capa-
bilities of any competent spindle
turner. The method I am going
to describe was used to turn bil-
liard balls from ivory up until the
1920s. I gleaned this information
from an original volume in my
library: The Lathe & Its Uses by
Claud Lukin, published by John
Wiley & Son in 1868.
The trick of
turning a ball is in
the chucking. You
must use a jam chuck, which is
no more than a piece of wood
screwed to a faceplate. For
strength, the piece of wood you
construct your jam chuck out of
needs to be at least one-and-a-
half times the diameter of the
work (it can also be larger). Like
the kendama itself, the jam
chuck needs to be made from
durable wood of one of the
species I’ve previously men-
tioned. The grain of the chuck
needs to run between the
centers of the lathe (spindle
turning), so the screws to hold it
on a faceplate need to go into the
end grain of the billet. It is possi-
ble to generate a perfect ball by
how you manipulate the work in
your jam chuck. The photoessay
you will find on pages 66 and 67
will explain the process for
making the jam chuck and
turning the ball.

A spiked handle, three cups of varying sizes

and a tethered wooden ball are the total of the
parts to a kendama game — but the variations
of kendama “tricks” go on and on.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 63

Making the ken is a straightforward exercise in spindle turning. Chuck your ken blank between centers, and use a sharp spindle
gouge to turn it to a comfortable handle profile and smallest end cup. Scrape the spike end of the ken down until it fits the
7/16"-dia. hole in the opposing cup piece.

It’s best to drill the 7/16”-dia. cross-hole that facilitates mounting Scrape the cups to shape with a scraper while the work is held
the cups on the handle before turning the cups to final shape. in a smaller version of a jam chuck.

You will need a scraper for this
project that will allow you to
shape the depression of the cups
to a slightly smaller curve than
the 21∕4 " diameter ball. (You want
the ball to seat perfectly.) I used
a shop-made scraper to help me
achieve this. You will need to jam
chuck the cup twice to hollow
each end. Scrape from the out-
side to the center in an ever-
increasing circle until you have
removed wood along the entire
edge, and there you have it. Do
the other end of the cup, then
jam chuck the handle to make
the base into a cup. If you fol-
lowed the Drawings, your game
now has three progressively
smaller cups to catch the ball in,
plus a spike to spear it on. Go
ahead and glue the cups on the
spike, cross drill for the string
through the center of the
cup/spike, and connect a
sufficiently long string to have
153∕ 4 " of string between the
handle and the ball.
Playing the Game
The trick of playing kendama is
not necessarily to swing the ball
around into the cup! Rather, you
can flick the ball straight up with
a snap of the wrist, such that it
reaches its apex just above the
cup. Simultaneously, in the
version I have been playing, you
must skillfully place the cup in
the perfect alignment under the
ball. To spike, you hold the han-
dle at about a 45-degree upward
angle and then snap the ball

64 Japanese Kendama Game


You may choose to purchase a 2 1∕4"-dia. hardwood ball
(item 29753 at rockler.com) instead of turning your
own. If you do choose to make your own, see the
photoessay on the following two pages for
step-by-step instructions.
Material List
Item Billet Size
Ball 23⁄ 4" Square
Handle 11⁄ 2" Square
Cups 13⁄ 4" Square
Jam Chuck 4" Square
upward, smartly spiking on the
hole in the ball. Achieving this,
for me, takes driving the spike
upward, as allowing the ball to
simply settle on the spike has
not seemed to work very well, in
my experience. (There are many
videos of young people using a
kendama on the Internet.)
I can tell you that writing this
article has taken much longer
than usual because of all the
time I have spent playing with
this addicting game. When
you’re building yours, you
should make at least five to 10
of these wonderful toys, as
everyone likely will want to try it
and will be particularly slow to
relinquish it to another person.
History of the Game
Various ball-and-cup games,
including the Mexican balero,
French bilboquet and English
cup and ball, have been common
traditionally throughout the
world. One theory for the appar-
ent independent development of
such similar games in diverse
geographical areas is that it
helped develop hand-eye coordi-
nation among children in hunt-
ing cultures — some places
used animal bones (such as
rabbit skulls), animal hair or
grass for the “ball.”
The modern Japanese version
of kendama likely traces its ori-
gins to the 18th century, when it
started out as a drinking game
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Full-Size
Patterns
Dama
Spike
Length
31⁄ 4"
61⁄ 2"
23⁄ 4"
51⁄ 2"
To turn your own “dama,” see
the article on the next page.
for adults (whoever made a mis-
take had to drink more). Over Ken
the next hundred years or so, it
morphed into a children’s game.
One basic trick, “moshikame,”
which involves juggling the ball
between two cups, is also a folk
song, based on the legend of the
tortoise and the hare, that chil-
dren have traditionally sung
while doing the trick — the
musical rhythm is supposed to
sustain their physical ability.
While kendama continues to
be a popular toy and a casual
children’s game in Japan, begin-
ning in the 1960s, some
Japanese began approaching
kendama as a more serious
sport. Issei Fujiwara founded
the Japanese Kendama Center Cup
Association in 1975. For the
sport, Fujiwara established stan-
dards for the kendama itself and Big Cup
groups of tricks that must be
completed for moving to certain
levels of kendama rankings.
“Freestyle” creation of tricks,
incorporating elements from Crosspiece
games such as juggling, contin-
ues, with interest from people of
all ages and countries. Among
the Western fans of the game
are inline skaters, who have
helped to spread its popularity.
The first European Kendama
Open was held in 2008.
Ernie Conover is the author of The
Lathe Book, Turn a Bowl with Ernie
Conover and The Frugal Woodturner.
Small Cup
Fall 2013 65
1 2
How to Turn a Perfect Ball
S
tart with a piece of wood slight-
ly bigger than the ball. Since
we want a 2 1∕4"-diameter ball,
start with a 23∕4" square billet that is
about 3 1∕4" long. Mount it between
centers and turn it to a 2 1∕4" cylinder
(see Fig. 1).
Make a jam chuck by screwing the
4" square by 5 1∕2" billet to a faceplate.
Turn it to a cylinder, face the
exposed end flat and drill a 1/2"-
diameter hole through it (see Fig.
2). The hole will facilitate getting a
knockout bar through from the
headstock to eject the work.
Using a scraper, scrape a 21∕4"-diame-
ter opening that tapers inward at about
a 3-degree angle (see Figures 3 and 4).
This is about the same taper as the
Morse tapers in your lathe. I use an
ancient turning tool called an armrest
to support my scraper. It negates my
having to constantly move, and read-
just, the tool-rest each time I check the
fit. Tap the 21∕4"-diameter piece of stock
we turned in Fig. 1 into the tapered
5 6
9 10
66 Japanese Kendama
3 4
pocket we just created. Turn the spin-
dle by hand and tap at the appropriate
edge until the billet runs true.
Face the end of the ball billet with
a scraper. It should be dead square,
and all dimples left by the spur or live
center should be removed. Chamfer
the corner 1/16". Set a compass to
the radius of the work, and mark
what I will call the equator of our
emerging ball. Put a dot at what I will
call the pole as well (see Fig. 5).
Using a spindle gouge, turn away
the area between the equator and the
pole to an arc that is outside a sphere.
You do this by starting to the right of
the equator and turning shy of the
pole (see Fig. 6).
Use a long dowel or metal bar as
an “extended” knockout bar to eject
the work from the chuck. Now flip
the piece 180 degrees and seat the
spherical end in the chuck with a
mallet again (see Fig. 7). You may
have to hollow out the chuck a good
bit to accept half the ball. While slow-
7 8
11
Game
Turning a ball is a matter of starting with a
cylinder mounted in a jam chuck, then
turning each end of the cylinder into a
hemisphere, reversing it in the jam chuck
from one end to the other. When the ends
are spherical, rotate the elongated ball
again so its initial equator is in line with the
lathe’s centers and turn away the remaining
waste to bring the shape into perfect round.
ly turning the spindle by hand, adjust
the piece until the equator runs true
and is just outside the chuck face.
Using the same compass setting as
in Fig. 5, mark a line at one radius
from the equator (see Fig. 8). Cut the
work off at this new line and face it
square. Put a pencil dot on the sec-
ond pole and use a spindle gouge to
turn an arc between the equator and
the pole that is outside the sphere
(see Fig. 9). Eject the work, which
should look egg-like, from the chuck.
Now tap the work into the chuck
with the equator running exactly
between the lathe centers (see Fig.
10). The poles now run just outside
the chuck on a new equatorial line
(see Fig. 11). Drawing a pencil dot on
the spinning work will tell you which
12
13 14
way you need to rotate the work in
the chuck. The old equator will ghost
a dot if it is running between centers.
It will ghost a circle if it is not.
Because the old equator is a perfect
ring spinning between centers, it
ghosts a perfect sphere. The trick is
to now scrape away all the wood out-
side the ghost on the exposed half of
the ball. I use the same chuck-mak-
ing scraper that we made initially to
do this (see Fig. 12). Eject, turn 180
degrees and reseat the work in the
chuck. Scrape all the wood away out-
15
side the ghost (see Fig. 13).
Now sand thoroughly, while turn-
ing and reseating the ball randomly
(see Fig. 14). It is imperative that you
start with 80- or coarser grit paper.
Starting with finer paper will sand
face grain faster than end grain, sand-
ing the ball out of, rather than into,
round. Sand as fine as you please, but
150- to 180-grit is adequate for our
kendama game (see Fig. 15).
The jam chuck is perfect for drilling
the ball. The best time to drill is at the
end of scraping the second half of the
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ball, which puts the hole through the
face grain and in axis with the equa-
tor. Drill a 15∕8"-deep blind hole with a
1/2" drill. Drill the rest of the way
with a 1/16" or smaller drill that
matches the diameter of the string
you plan to use. The string will go
though the 1/16" hole with a stopper
knot inside the larger hole. The 1/2"
hole is for “spiking” the ball. Lastly, as
I am doing in Fig. 16, scrape a heavy
chamfer at the mouth of the hole to
make a better target for spiking.
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Fall 2013 67
Mastering Turned Eggs
Help your turning skills spring forward
with some elegant elliptical shapes.

68 Mastering Turned Eggs


T other turning
urned eggs are a terrific
project to hone your skills
at woodturning and for
using up small pieces of wood.
Here’s how you can finally make
something special out of that
chunk of highly figured hard-
wood that’s been gathering dust
in the far corner of your shop.
A turned egg appears rather
simple to make, but getting the
cur ves and shape right can be a
challenge. It’s a fun challenge,
however, and once you get the
hang of it, you will discover
that other turning projects are
much easier.
Shape of an Egg
The most important thing to
know when turning an egg is
that there are no flat areas. Eggs
are continuously curved. They
may be round — some owl eggs
are. Guinea hen eggs are nicely
round on one end and rather
pointy on the other, more so than
chicken eggs. I’ve been told that
eggs are the shape they are so
that they don’t roll off a cliff. I’m
not sure, though.
If you look at a dozen chicken
eggs (go ahead and check out
the ones in your refrigerator),
most likely none of them look
exactly like an egg ought to
appear. That’s the good part for a
woodturner. As long as what you
make is oval and one end is
slightly larger than the other, it
will look like an egg.
Eggs are a bit longer than they
are wide. For instance, I just
measured a chicken’s egg and it
was 21∕2 " long by 13∕4 " wide. Select
your wood accordingly. If you are
attaching your wood between
centers, you will need to add at
www.woodworkersjournal.com
“It’s a fun
challenge, and
once you get the
hang of it, you
will discover that
projects are
much easier.”
The author brings the lathe’s tailstock
up to help with stability in the
beginning. She will move it back later,
when she finishes the end of the first
egg and parts it off the wood.
The most important thing to keep in mind
when turning an egg, says the author, is
that “there should be no flat areas.”
least an inch in length to leave
room for the holes the headstock
and tailstock centers produce.
Two Methods of
Attaching Wood
There are two primary methods
of attaching a piece of wood to
the lathe in order to turn an egg:
1) the wood can be held in a
chuck or 2) it can be held
between centers. If I am making
only one or two eggs, I attach the
wood between centers. Even
though the ends need to be fin-
ished off the lathe, it requires
less time. If I am in production
mode, I will use a chuck.
To prepare the wood for hold-
ing it in a chuck, you must first
turn a cylinder between centers,
one end of which should be a
diameter small enough to fit into
the jaws of your chuck. For a
larger diameter egg, that will
require a shoulder on one end of
the cylinder, but leave the small-
er diameter as large as possible.
It will provide more stability. If
you are going to make several
eggs, you can use a cylinder
that’s long enough to make
several at the same time.
Remove the cylinder from the
lathe, attach your chuck to the
headstock, and mount the
turned cylinder in the chuck. If
it’s a long cylinder, you might
need to bring up the tailstock to
temporarily help steady the
wood. You will remove the tail-
stock later in order to finish the
first end and to part the egg off
the cylinder.
My favorite shop teacher
always cautioned that anything
larger than two inches in diame-
ter should have the corners
Fall 2013 69

removed before attaching it to
the lathe. I’ve found that’s not
necessary if you know what you
are doing. Know your limitations.
Drive Centers and Safety
I use a safety center in my lathe.
There are several models on the
market, from companies like
ONEWAY and Sorby, and they’re a
most welcome addition in the
arena of safety. While it might
seem counterintuitive to not use
a spur drive center, it’s actually
much safer to use what looks
like a live center in your head-
When parting off the egg, you can make
a clean cut if the last cut is from wood
stock that remains in the chuck. If you
try to cut from the direction of the egg,
that can often cause a small hole to
form in the end of the egg.
70 Mastering Turned
stock. The newer ones have an
end on them that has a serrated
edge, similar to what a band saw
blade looks like. One model has
a point that is spring-loaded. It
sticks out quite a bit but retracts
as the tailstock is tightened.
The theory of the safety cen-
ters is that when a catch happens
— and they will happen — the
spinning motion of the wood
stops, as opposed to having the
tool fly out of your hands. After
the incident, simply tighten the
tailstock again and keep turning.
Creating the Shape of an Egg
In order to achieve a somewhat
ideal egg shape, the highest
point (largest diameter) of the
egg should be located just off
center, a bit closer to the large-
end side of the center of the egg
than to the smaller end.
Beginners often make the
largest diameter area too close
to the large end of the egg. I did
and, even after hundreds of
eggs, still do, occasionally.
Both ends of the egg should be
round, but is one larger than the
other? It should be. Neither should
be pointed, nor should either of
them be flat. I’ve done both.
Sand your egg while it’s on the
lathe. Even with the wood held
in a chuck, you’ll still need to
Eggs
Making one end of the egg smaller than
the other — and neither one pointed or
flat — is the key to making your effort
look like an egg.
clean up and sand the ends off
the lathe. I use a foam interface
pad for final sanding — it helps
the sanding disc conform to the
round shape of the egg, prevent-
ing flat spots. (See photo 6 in the
sidebar on the next page.)
Finishing the Eggs
I often make eggs in order to
practice new surface treatments
as varied as bleaching, texturing
and burning. I’ll end up with a
well finished project and haven’t
spent hours of time learning a
technique that doesn’t work.
If you are going to paint your
eggs, it helps to not have done a
lot of sanding (yay!). The paint
will stick much better to wood
that’s been sanded with 120-grit
abrasive than if you’ve achieved
a highly polished surface. I like
to use milk paint for my painted
Here, the author uses a skew chisel to
carve the small bit of wood remaining
on the end of the egg. A knife or bench
chisel will work, too.
 Six Steps for Beginners
There is more than one way to turn an egg. Here is
the skinny on how to turn those ovoids between
centers — it’s an easy way to get started.
1 2 3

4 5 6

Another method of holding the wood,
which doesn’t involve a chuck, is to
simply mount it between centers (1). To
find the center of the wood, make an “X”
on both ends. Punch a small hole at the
center of the “X.” At this point, you can
cut the corners off of the square wood
using your band saw. Tilt the table at a
45˚ angle and make the cuts. Or you can
attach the wood to the lathe as is and
first turn a cylinder, then the egg (2).
For eggs that have been turned between
centers, there will be wood on both ends
that you will have to cut off (3). This is
easily removed on a band saw or using a
small handsaw. If you use a band saw, err
on the side of caution and make a jig to
hold the wood to keep the blade from
grabbing and spinning it during cutting.
I made my jig using a scrap of Baltic
birch plywood (4). I created a concave
surface that conformed (somewhat) to
the shape of the egg. A bit of masking
tape easily holds the egg in place,
controlling the egg and letting you safely
cut off the excess wood on both ends (5).
This jig can be used over and over.
The next step is to sand the ends. I put
a sanding disc in my drill press and start
with 60- or 120-grit sandpaper,
depending on how much wood I need to
remove. Then put a foam interface pad on
the disc holder and use 220-grit paper (6).
The foam pad will help you shape the
ends of the eggs into a nice round surface
while avoiding flat spots. As with any
turning technique, practice makes
perfect, so grab a small chunk of wood,
get over to your lathe and have some fun!

eggs. The finish has an eggshell
look to it, and when the milk
paint is applied with a fine
sponge, the texture also resem-
bles that of an egg.
An easy holder for painting
eggs can be made by hammering
three small nails all the way
through a small, thin piece of
plywood in a triangle shape. The
egg will sit nicely in the triangle
on the points of the nails.
I finish darker woods such as
walnut and cherry with an oil
finish. For maple I use a wipe-on
lacquer finish.
Presentation
After making all those eggs, you’ll
need to figure out what to do with
them. I make bowls and put eggs
in them. You can see a variety of
examples on my web page at
www.bettyscarpino.com. Another
option is to make a stand for
individual eggs. A stand can be as
simple as a small piece of interest-
ingly shaped wood with a concave
area or as elaborate as a carved
stand. Let your imagination go
wild with these creations!
If you simply want to practice
turning eggs, grab a solid chunk
of a tree limb, attach it between
the centers of your lathe, and turn
away! Those eggs will eventually
crack, but they make for lovely
decorative firewood, especially if
you’ve turned several from a long
length of branch.
The other part of presentation is
figuring out who gets your new cre-
ations. No doubt there will be many
family members and friends who
will soon begin their own new
hobby of collecting turned eggs!
Betty Scarpino served as a contributing
editor to Woodworker’s Journal.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 71

The Cat’s Meow!
Stay above the grease and
splatter with this simple
recipe holder that you can
turn in an afternoon!

“Counter Cat” Holiday Gifts

Fire up the lathe and get
r e a d y, h e r e ’ s a s i m p l e r e c i p e
holder that will be just
p e r f e c t f o r y o u r m o t h e r - i n - l a w.

W
hen it comes to “quick
and easy” gifts, turn-
ers have an advantage
over most woodworkers. This
simple project can be “turned
out” in an afternoon or evening,
and it lends itself to production
work. The “Counter Cat” is a
great cook’s companion, holding
those recipes and instructions
above any spills or splatters that
hit the countertop. Once you get
all the steps set up, you’ll find
you can make a half dozen of
these gifts in a day.
Aside from turning, the skills
necessary to complete one of
these projects are pretty basic.
Get started by selecting the
wood you want to use: a 2" x 2" x
6" blank for the body and a 2" x
2" x 4" scrap for the head.
Creating the Body
Mount the body blank onto the
lathe, holding one end with your
scroll chuck and supporting the
other end with the tailstock. For
your chuck, it may be necessary
to turn a tenon on one end first.
Rough the blank down into
a cylinder, leaving it as
large as feasible. Remove the
tailstock and round off the ends,
leaving enough to support the
blank at the headstock. The cat’s
body should be about 41∕2" long
with a sausage-like shape slight-
ly bulging at the center. Sand
and part it off. Carefully make a
flat area on the body by sanding
or cutting. This will be the bot-
tom or belly.
Secure the body for drilling
holes (see photo at right). At the

72 “Counter Cat” Holiday Gifts

Our author mounts a blank into the lathe chuck and supports the opposite end with the tailstock to get it ready for turning (top left).
Once everything is secure, he roughs the body to shape with a spindle gouge or skew chisel (top right). When the body is the correct
diameter and shape, he removes the tailstock and rounds one end (bottom right), then the other end before parting it free.
tail end, centered and close to the
top, drill a 1/4"-diameter hole
3/8" deep for the tail. At the head
end, drill a 3/8"-diameter hole
5/8" deep, centered and about
45° above the horizontal axis.
For the feet, drill two 1/2"-diame-
ter holes 3/8" deep and about
1/4" apart on the front end of the
body, sloping slightly downward
near the end of the flat area.
Round off the end of a 1/2"
dowel and color it black with a
marker or shoe dye. Cut off a
3/4" piece from the end to make
one foot, and repeat. Trial fit the
feet into the holes in the body.
When placed on a flat surface,
you want the feet to slightly raise
that end of the cat. Adjust as
needed and glue the feet into
place. After the glue is set, place
the body on sandpaper on a flat
surface and sand the feet flush
with the bottom of the body. Now
clamp the body securely against
the miter gauge of your band saw,
using the flat bottom for position-
ing. Cut five slots into the back of
the body for holding recipes or
www.woodworkersjournal.com
notes. Start them about 11∕2 " back Standing Steady:
from the front, angling them Two feet are added to the base side of
about 30° backward. Cut about the cat and then they, along with the
back end of the belly, get a sanding to
halfway through.
ensure that your recipes don’t tip over.
Turning the Head
Mount the head blank in the
chuck and rough it down to a
cylinder, rounding off the end, as
shown on the next page. Turn a
sphere that is 1/8" to 1/4" small-
er than the body’s diameter.
Leave a tenon next to the chuck
that is 3/8" in diameter and 1/2"
long. The shape of the sphere is
not really critical (ever see a cat
with a perfectly round head)? The body is secured so that the hole for
Sand well and part it off. mounting the head can be drilled with a
3/8” Forstner bit.
Test fit the head tenon in the
hole in the body. Allow clearance
between the end of the tenon and
the bottom of the hole for excess
glue. With the head in place, use
a soft pencil to mark the locations
for the eyes, nose and ears.
Remove the head and secure it
for drilling. Bore two 1/4" holes
3/8" deep for the ears, two 3/16" Here, one foot is being trial fit and the
holes 1/8" deep for the eyes and other is ready to be installed. Note that
one for the nose that is 3/8" the belly of the cat has been sanded flat.
Fall 2013 73
Turn the body
and head separately, and join
them with a tenon on the head.
Turn the head blank into a sphere, and
include a 3/8" tenon for mounting before
parting the head free from the lathe.
diameter and 3/8" deep. Using a
black marker, darken the two eye
sockets. Round off the end of a
3/8" dowel for the nose. Color it
black and cut it off to 1/2" long.
Glue it in place.
Creating Ears and Tails
Now it’s time to make a paper
template for the ears, using the
Drawing shown above. Cats’ ears
are leaf-shaped and pointed. The
point of the ear should be slight-
ly offset from center. The “stem”
should be about 3/8" wide so
that the ears will be cupped
when inserted into their mount-
ing holes. Cut out the template
and label it “R” for the right ear.
Turn it over and label it “L” for
the left ear. Cut out and form the
template into an arc, placing the
template into the appropriate ear
hole in the head. The ears
should be held in a cupped shape
by the narrow ear hole with the
cupped surface toward the nose.
Be sure that “R” is toward the
nose for the right ear and the “L”
for the left ear. The points of the
ears should be toward the center
of the head. Adjust the template
until your cat “looks right.”
Find yourself some thin leather
(mine came from an old billfold)
and identify which side you want
facing the front of the cat.
74 “Counter Cat”
The Cat’s Right Ear Once you’ve trial fit the head on the
Use the Drawing above to make a body, sketch location lines for the nose,
template for the cat’s right ear. Note eyes and ears.
that its point is offset and that the
bottom tab is wider than the 1/4"
hole drilled for the ear. Form the left
ear by flipping the template over.
Transfer the template shapes In this photo, the nose and one eye have
onto the leather, and cut out both been drilled. Be sure to adjust the hole
ears using scissors or a craft locations as needed as you progress.
knife. Glue the ears into place.
Cut a 1/4"-wide strip of leather
for the tail. Adjust the length as
desired. Glue it into the tail hole
in the body of the cat.
Adding Whiskers
Next, find some material for the
whiskers, leaving them long to Use a black marker to darken the holes
ease handling. I used a few for the eyes and ears. Seal your wood
broom straws, which worked first, to prevent bleeding.
great. Secure the cat in a padded
vise with the face in a conven-
ient position and lightly mark
the positions for three whiskers
on each side. Using a rotary
cutter or similar tool, cut short
grooves at each mark. Now
spritz the grooves with CA
accelerator, and drip a small
amount of glue onto one end of
each whisker. Place them into
their prepared grooves. The CA
glue will rapidly cure to hold
the whiskers in place. Repeat
for the other whiskers. Trim
the whiskers to an even and
appropriate length.
Wipe on clear lacquer or an
equivalent finish to complete
your recipe holder. Cut three small grooves on each side of
the nose for the whiskers with a rotary
John Giem wrote this article for tool. Attach them with accelerator and
Woodworker’s Journal. drops of CA glue.
Holiday Gifts
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www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 75

Chippendale-Styled Shaker Candlestand
The author’s
beautiful
candlestand is
a reproduction
of a Union
Village original.

T
he term Shaker is sometimes seen as
denoting a furniture period, like Queen
Anne or Chippendale, but although
Shaker furniture making is a genre built to a
set of aesthetic principles identifiably different
than those of other genres of furniture making,
the Shaker genre is not based, even loosely, on
a historical period.
Shaker furniture making existed outside
American furniture periods, running sometimes
concurrently with them, sometimes trailing well
after the fact. Nevertheless, like the country
furniture tradition in which it is most deeply
rooted, Shaker furniture making drew deeply
from the high-style period furniture made in
the American urban centers, borrowing forms
and design motifs, translating them in the light
of the Shaker aesthetic.
Shaker tables, for example, often exhibit
straight leg tapers much like Hepplewhite tables
of the late 18th century, but unlike those high-
style models, Shaker tables with tapered legs
were nearly always simple and plain. Similarly,
this little Shaker candlestand Ñ a reproduction
of one from the Union Village
community near Lebanon,
Ohio Ñ borrows heavily
from the high-style
Chippendale tables of
the 18th century. Like
those Chippendale predecessors, this stand fea-
tures three graceful cabriole legs leading to a
turned pedestal that supports a top surrounded

76 Chippendale-Styled Shaker Candlestand

 13
/16" 1"
1
/ 2" 23/4"

13/16"

71/4"

Before beginning any new piece of furniture, the author makes a set of story sticks.
This piece required two such sticks. One is a pattern for the cabriole leg profile, and
the other is the stick shown above, on which the elements of the turned pedestal
have been marked off.

21 / 2 "

5
/16" 11/2"
9
/16" 27/16"

63/4"

This simple marking gauge allows the author to draw marks on a turned spindle that
are perfectly parallel to its axis of rotation. To mark the locations of the leg mortises,
he stops the lathe’s rotation by engaging the locking pin on its indexing head. He
then slides the jig (pencil point pressing lightly against the object) along the bed to
scribe a straight line.
23/4"

by a shallow turned lip. But this with a skew chisel and the coves
3
/ 8" somewhat stripped-down and with a 3/8" fingernail gouge. I
1
/ 2" 21/2" “Shakerized” version offers only added a 1"-diameter, 13/16"-long
7
/ 8" 15/8" a smattering of the turned and tenon at the top of the pedestal,
carved detail characteristic of which you’ll later fit into a
7
/16" 29/16" the American Chippendale mortise drilled into the bottom of
examples from which it evolved. the top support and the top itself.
23/4" The vertical centerline of each
25/16" Turning the Pedestal of the three legs is exactly 120
The pedestal consists of a succes- degrees apart from the other
sion of turned beads, coves and two. These distances are most
vases. After roughing in the easily located through the use of
33/8" cylinder, I marked these ele- an indexing head. An indexing
7
/16" ments by transferring them from head is a disk centered on the
Pedestal and Bottom a story stick (see top photo for lathe’s axis of rotation with a
Disk Elevation Drawings details), then created the beads number of equally spaced stop

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 77


Square tenon shoulders won’t mate
tightly with a rounded pedestal. To
create a tighter fit, the author bevels
the areas underneath the shoulders.
Here, he’s marking these areas.
With a wide chisel, create the bevels that
will lie under the leg shoulders. These
bring the shoulder up tight against the
pedestal base. Pare carefully to your
layout lines, checking the fit periodically.
78 Chippendale-Styled
The cabriole legs on the original candlestand have slightly crowned bevels on either
side of their top edges. The author created these bevels with a spokeshave and a rasp,
as shown above, after first freehanding some guidelines with a pencil.
holes drilled near its circumfer-
ence. It is a helpful feature now
found on most lathes. My lathe
has 36 holes, so the distance
between adjacent holes is exact-
ly 10 degrees.
To mark the 120-degree seg-
ments on the base of the
pedestal, I engaged the indexing
head’s spring-loaded locking pin,
drew a line with the marking
gauge shown in the bottom
photo, previous page, and
marked the centerline of one of
the pedestal’s legs. I then count-
ed off 12 stops on my indexing
head, engaged the locking pin,
and marked the second center-
line. I repeated this to locate the
centerline of the third leg. I also
added marks on the base of the
pedestal halfway between each
of these centerlines. These extra
marks allowed me to later create
lines on the bottom of the
pedestal that form the center-
lines of each mortise on the
bottom of the pedestal.
You can achieve the same
thing by connecting the bottom
of the centerline of each leg
Shaker Candlestand
mortise and the mark left by the
tailstock center. I added the
extra marks because sometimes
in cleaning up the bottom of
the pedestal, I obliterate the
tailstock’s center mark.
Making and Installing the Legs
I clamped the pedestal to my
bench top using a series of U-
blocks and clamps, as shown in the
photos at left. Then I completed
the mortise marking process.
The joinery on this pedestal
stand is unlike any I’ve seen on
other Shaker pedestal stands.
Many of these pieces have slid-
ing dovetails, while others have
simple tenons with a shoulder on
each side. Each leg of this partic-
ular pedestal stand, however, has
only one shoulder on the right
side of a fat tenon.
I chopped out the mortises
with a 1/2" mortise chisel and a
wide paring chisel. I then turned
my attention to the legs. In pro-
file, these legs are much like the
legs on many Chippendale-era
pedestal stands. They don’t,
however, exhibit the car ving

typical of the Chippendale
examples. The only elaboration
on the band saw leg form is a
slightly crowned bevel on the top
outside edges of each leg.
I began work on these bevels
by freehanding penciled guide-
lines to indicate the limits of the
bevels. I created the bevels with a
spokeshave, a rasp and sandpa-
per. I roughed in the one-shoul-
dered tenons with a back-
saw, hand-planing each to
final thickness one
shaving at a time.
Many years ago,
when I first began to build tripod
tables, I undercut the shoulders
on the leg tenons in order to get
a tight fit of shoulder against the
round base of the pedestal.
Otherwise, there will be a wide
gap between the shoulder and
that round base — which curves
away from the shoulder.
However, several years ago, I
began to cut a narrow bevel on
the base underneath the shoul-
der instead. This bevel allows
the shoulder to fit snugly against
the base.
Tips for Preparing the Top
I turned the top while it was
mounted on a faceplate. First,
after mounting the faceplate to
what would eventually be the
upper side of the top, I cleaned up
the bottom surface of the top,
turned the filet under the lip on
the top’s edge, and then shaped
— by scraping — the bottom half
of the lip itself. I then removed
the top from the lathe, took off the
faceplate, and remounted it on the
bottom side of the top to complete
the lip turning and to dish out the
excavation. This last process
removed the material containing
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Side View
the screw holes made by the first
mounting on the faceplate.
Note: After you’ve done your
shaping on the bottom surface of
the candlestand top, and before
you remove the work from the
lathe, use a pencil on your
tool-rest to create a couple of
concentric circles on the bottom
of the candlestand top. These
circles should be just a bit larger
than the diameter of your
faceplate. Then, after removing
the faceplate from the upper side
of the candlestand top, use these
concentric circles to align the
faceplate on the bottom of the
candlestand top. When you’re
mounting the faceplate on the
bottom side, it must center on
the same axis of rotation you
established with the faceplate on
the upper side.
I actually made two tops for
this candlestand. The first one,
which I turned from a blank of
kiln-dried 5/4 curly maple in one
long session at the lathe, trans-
formed itself into the buckled
shape of a potato chip after one
day in our heated home.
Grain Direction
Top View
Leg: Scale Drawings
(Each square equals 1/2")
I took a more cautious
approach to making the second
top. First, I planed the 5/4 blank
flat, removing perhaps a 1/4" of
thickness, and placed it under
the couch in our heated living
room for a week. Next, I mount-
ed it on my lathe and removed
another 1/4" of thickness and
gave it a second week under the
couch. Then I reduced it to its
final thickness, leaving it fatter
than the first top. The combina-
tion of approaches — reducing
the thickness in stages so I could
turn away any deformation that
occurred, and leaving a greater
final thickness — resulted in a
more stable top. But I know that
nothing can completely prevent
an unsupported top like this one
from curling a bit over time.
A slow lathe speed is very
important when turning an
object with a diameter as large as
the top of this candlestand.
That’s because the rim speed —
the speed at which the work
passes the tool — is determined
not only by the lathe’s rpm, but
also by the diameter of the object
Fall 2013 79
The author uses a shop-made beam compass to draw the outside diameter of the
candlestand top. Instead of bringing this blank to final thickness right away, he
recommends planing and flattening the top in stages to help minimize warping.
63/8"
C
L 5
/8"
3"
mounted in the lathe. For exam-
ple, an object two inches in diam-
eter mounted in a lathe with a
speed of 400 rpm will have a rim
speed of 209.4 feet per minute. A
12-inch object spinning at 400
rpm will have a rim speed of an
astonishing 1,256.6 feet per
minute, almost six times as fast.
And that speed has real
consequences at the work/tool
interface. A careless move with
a gouge that might be a minor
event at 200 feet per minute
could be disastrous at 1,200 feet
per minute.
That’s why I’m going to make
two recommendations in regard
to turning the top. First, turn
that top at the slowest possible
speed. A speed of 100 rpm would
not be too slow. Second, unless
you’re a great technician at the
lathe, use a timid approach to
turning the outside edge where
the speed is greatest.
I’m not a great technician on
80 Chippendale-Styled
1
/4"
1
/2"
/4"
1
Top and Support
Elevation Drawing
the lathe, so I embrace the timid
approach. Although I use tools
that cut when I’m spindle
turning, when I’m turning the
outside diameter of something
mounted on a faceplate, I simply
scrape — very carefully — until
I’ve rounded the entire outside
diameter. Then I shape it by
pushing little nibbles with the tip
of my skew until I’ve created the
shape I want. It’s not an elegant
technique, but it works, and I’ve
never had an accident when
turning on a faceplate.
The actual excavation of the
top’s interior I achieved with a
spindle gouge I’ve reshaped so
that most of its tip is ground to a
bevel. I then feed the tool to the
work, from the center out, so only
one short section of the radius on
the end of that ground tip is in
contact with the work at any one
time. As you see in the bottom
photo (above), it gives me long
shavings and solid control.
Shaker Candlestand
Use the point of your skew to push thin
layers of material across the outside diameter
of the candlestand top, working from right
to left (top photo). This passive style of
turning simplifies — and makes safer — the
process of working a surface spinning past a
tool at high rim speed. The author uses a
spindle gouge reground with a long tip to
hollow out the excavation inside the lip that
surrounds the top (bottom photo).
Finishing Touches
There’s a 6"-diameter support
under the candlestand top that I
turned on a faceplate. I then
attached the top support to the
underside of the top using four
11∕4 " #8 drywall screws. I aligned
the grain on this support so that it
was perpendicular to the grain
direction in the top itself. That
provides a small bit of resistance
to the top’s inclination to curl
across the grain. I then bored the
1"-diameter hole that receives the
tenon at the top of the pedestal.
There is a small disk with a
radiused edge on the bottom of the
pedestal. I made the radius with a
carving gouge and a rasp, although
I could have turned it on the lathe
like the other pedestal components.
Give the project a final sand-
ing, add finish, and your
elegant candlestand is done.
Kerry Pierce wrote this article for
Woodworker’s Journal.
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www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 81

Make your own Longworth Bowl Chuck
This auto-adjusting chuck will
suit a range of bowl sizes for
finishing your work.

See page 84 for

routing pattern
information.

T
his is my second holiday
season as a woodturner,
and I’ve “graduated” from
making gifts of pens and bottle
openers to bowls. And, like
many woodturners, I’ve been
searching for a good way to
clean up, sand and finish the
bottoms of my bowls.
Jam chucks, Cole Jaw sets and
the strapping tape/faceplate
Recessed thumb method may be generally accept-
hole for easy
tightening ed practices, but once I ran across
this bowl chuck (also referred to
as a Longworth Chuck, after its
inventor), I knew it was just the
ticket. It is similar in concept to
a set of Cole Jaws: rubber
bumpers provide outside or inside
force to the walls of a bowl,
exposing its bottom and holding
it secure on the lathe for light
cutting, sanding and finishing.

82
Band saw two discs slightly oversized, fasten them together with short screws (left), and attach your faceplate to the center. Use a scraper
or gouge to carefully true up the discs, bringing them to final size and adjusting them so they’re concentric with the faceplate (center).
Trim the template to size, and affix it to the outer disc with spray-mount adhesive. Press it flat with a J-roller or a soft cloth (right).

Instead of using a scroll chuck’s
expansion and contraction to
snug up the bumpers, this chuck
uses contrary motion of the arc
patterns on two discs to move its
bumpers, which are bolted in
place using through-hole knobs.
There are eight arcs: four short-
er and four longer. With hard-
ware in all eight arcs, the jig pro-
vides eight points of contact for
larger pieces. If your workpiece
is smaller, you can remove the
hardware from the shorter arcs
— the four remaining points of
bumper contact will be sufficient
for smaller bowls.
The trickiest part of this jig is
cutting the arcs. If you were a
geometry whiz, you could lay out
the arc pattern yourself, but I
helped you bypass all of that
math by offering a paper pattern
that can easily be glued to your
stock (see sidebar, page 84).
Since I’m more of a turner than a
router user, I enlisted the help of
senior editor Chris Marshall to
carry out the routing tasks for
making this chuck.
Getting Started
To get started on the jig, secure
your two disc blanks together
with four screws driven just
inside the circle area, draw the
circle with a compass, and band
saw the assembly to rough size.
Attach a faceplate to one side,
then true up the discs on your
lathe.
Now apply your paper routing
pattern with spray-mount adhe-
sive. The pattern includes marks
for pivoting a simple trammel jig
mounted to a router, which cuts
the arcs with a 5/16"-dia. straight
bit. Rout the arcs in a series of
deepening cuts until the bit pass-
es through both discs. Back your
work up with scrap to prevent
damaging your work surface.
Once you are done routing the
arcs, keep the discs screwed
together. Put the jig on the lathe
and bore a 5/16"-dia. hole
through the center of the discs
using a Jacobs chuck in your tail-
stock. At this point, you can
unscrew the disks, but keep the
faceplate attached.
I also drilled four recessed
thumb holes at 90° points
around the front disc (see the
lead photo, previous page) using
a 1"-dia. Forstner bit. This makes
tightening easier when securing
a workpiece into the jig.
I obtained my rubber bumpers
from Midwest Homebrewing
Supplies (www.midwestsupplies.
com); I used solid stoppers and

Mill the eight short and long slots all the way through both discs using a router and trammel jig. Here, the pivot point (a casing nail)
is registered in one of the pre-drilled centerpoint holes on the pattern (left photo). Using a series of shallow cuts, form each arc
down to your Masonite backer, which prevents tearout on the back side of the bottom disc.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 83


1
2 2
7 so back them up with scrap. Cut a hole
6
5 5
Material List
1 Discs (2)
2 Center Bolt, Washer, Nut (1)
3 Rubber Stoppers (8)
4 Bumper Bolts (8)
5 Bumper Washers (24)
6 Through-hole Knobs* (8)
7 Hex-head Screws (4)
* Available at rockler.com (item 34134)
drilled the holes for a snug fit with
the bolts. The flexibility of the rub-
ber provides extra “grip” as the
knob is tightened and the stopper
plumps out. My large discs are
made from 3/4" plywood, but
MDF could be used as well.
Before final assembly, I applied
a few coats of spray lacquer to
both discs and some paraffin
wax to the sides that will be
facing each other. This isn’t
necessary, but I found that it
reduces friction and allows for
smoother disc movement.
Flip one disc over so the two
arc patterns face opposite direc-
tions. Fasten the discs through
the center hole with a bolt, wash-
ers and locking nut and then out-
fit eight bolts, washers, bumpers
84 Make your own
1
5
3 4
Exploded View
TxWxL
3/4" x 12" Dia.
5/16" x 21 ⁄ 2"
11⁄ 4" Dia. x 1"
5/16" x 31 ⁄ 2"
5/16"
13⁄ 8" Dia., 5/16"-18
1"
and through nuts in each of the
intersections (see Drawing
above). Align the panels so the
bolts for the bumpers go through
the same-length channel on both
the front and back discs.
Putting It to Use
With the jig now assembled,
you’re ready to put it to work.
Thread the faceplate onto your
lathe’s headstock. I found that
it’s easiest to lock the spindle
and rotate the front disc using
the thumb holes. The eight bolts
will move in tandem around your
bowl, and tightening the knobs
on the back will secure them in
place. This jig adds a significant
amount of spinning mass, so
make sure you’re wearing safety
Longworth Bowl
The slots must be routed clear through,
for the faceplate, which remains in
place. Fix the blank to the scrap with
double-sided tape.
Remount the routed disc assembly to
the lathe, and bore a 5/16" bolt hole
through the center. A Jacobs chuck in
the tailstock drills it easily and accurately.
gear during its use. I use mine
mostly for sanding and finishing
at low speeds, but it can also be
used for light cutting if you need
to clean up a bowl’s foot, too.
Matt Becker wrote this article for
Woodworker’s Journal.
Routing patterns are available online at
woodworkersjournal.com/longworth,
or send us a self-addressed, stamped
envelope: Longworth, c/o
Woodworker’s Journal, 4365 Willow
Drive, Medina, MN 55340.
Alternatively, you can use a copier
and resize the illustration on page 82
to 333% (12" disc). Also use the URL
above to find a video demonstrating
the chuck.
Chuck
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www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 85

Coming-of-Age Bottle Opener
Nicely grained wood and some practical
hardware combine to make a quick, easy
and infinitely customizable gift.

W
hen my son Dan
turned 21 years old, I
couldn’t buy him that
Honda Ridgeline pickup he
wanted, so I decided to do the
next best thing: I made him his
very own bottle opener in his
college team colors. What more
could a young man want?!

Supplies You Will Need

This bottle opener project can
be created in less than a day, but
first it requires the purchase of a
metal bottle opener gadget.
These can be obtained from vari-
ous turning supply companies or
through Rockler (item 44185;
rockler.com).

Wood Selection
Select a solid piece of hardwood,
with strength to the grain and
preferably with a nice grain
pattern. I hereby give you per-
mission to shop for lumber! For
Dan’s opener, I used a chunk of
ash, 6" long by 2" square (see
the full-page sidebar on page 88
for the finishing technique I
used). The maple handle, shown
in the bottom photo on the next
page, is shorter in length but
about the same diameter. The
walnut opener, shown in various
images here to outline the
turning process, is about 7" long
by 11∕2 " square.
Of course, the handle of these
bottle openers can be made in
any size and length you want. A
few years ago, I made a 14"-long
one for a friend. I was defying him

86 Coming-of-Age Bottle Opener

 Before mounting the
handle on the lathe, drill
the correct-diameter hole
in the center of the blank
for the opener you
choose. This hole will
accept either a threaded
post or a threaded insert
after turning.
to not lose it! (I also drilled a hole
in the end and looped a length of
leather through it so he could
hang it near his refrigerator.)
Drilling the Hole
Before you turn the body of the
handle, drill a hole in one end. In
order to ensure that the opener
part fits at 90˚ to the handle,
make sure your stock is square
so that it sits at 90˚ on the table of
your drill press. Draw an “X” on
each end, and punch a hole in
each center with an awl.
Make sure the hole is deep
enough to account for any wood
you turn away. I usually drill
somewhat deeper than neces-
sary, just to make sure I end up
with enough depth after the
object is turned. Use a wood
clamp to hold the wood securely
and horizontally while drilling.
Another way of drilling the hole
would be to put the drill bit into a
Jacobs chuck that is mounted in
your lathe’s tailstock. Put the
wood blank into a four-jaw scroll
chuck, attached to the head-
stock. Drill the hole by advancing
the tailstock while the lathe is
running at a slow speed. (Of
course, you could turn the entire
handle mounted this way after
the hole is drilled. Just make sure
you have a long enough length to
allow for holding it in the chuck.)
Mounting on the Lathe
Now that the hole is drilled,
mount the wood blank between
www.woodworkersjournal.com
centers on your lathe. To make
sure the hole was centered on
my lathe, I drew a small circle,
centered around the hole and
positioned the rim of my safety
drive onto that circle.
Turn whatever form you
desire, but leave a bit of wood on
the butt end of the opener so that
you can clean up that area after
you’ve finished turning.
Your method and equipment
may vary from what’s shown in
the photos. If you use a spur
center, you must deal with the
prongs, at least with one end of
the wood. It’s probably best,
then, if you mount the wood with
the drilled hole at the tailstock. It
would be helpful if you had a
cone center for your tailstock. A
cone center allows you to center
the hole, which, in turn, centers
the stock. Leave a small amount
of wood at the headstock, spur
center-end, then cut it off with a
small handsaw when you’ve
finished turning.
I parted the walnut handle off
the lathe while the lathe was run-
ning, and I left only a small nub
on the butt end. This I cleaned up
with my skew chisel and sanded
quickly with a sanding pad in my
drill press.
Finishing
I usually apply finish before I
attach the metal opener. For the
walnut handle, I used several coats
of oil. The maple handle received
several coats of lacquer. (See page
The author parts the walnut handle off
the lathe while it is still running (top). This
leaves just a small nib to be removed and
smoothed (bottom) before final finishing.
88 for the stained-ash finish.)
Attach the metal opener to the
handle by gently screwing the
tang or a threaded insert into the
hole. It should be a snug fit with
the threads cutting into the
wood. For a more permanent
connection, use a small amount
of epoxy as well.
Appropriate Use of the Project
I happened to have a bottle of
IBC root beer in my refrigerator.
But if memory serves me accu-
rately, Dan enjoyed his own
brand of brew on his birthday in
an appropriately adult fashion.
See page 88 for finishing technique
This shapely little
project will
provide service —
and a memory of
the maker — for
years to come.
Fall 2013 87
Dye and Liming Wax:
An Over-the-Top
Finishing Technique
I
often use this stain and liming-
wax finishing technique on ash
because it takes advantage
of its bold grain pattern and makes
for a very dramatic look.
You will need some type of ring-
porous wood. Ash and oak work
the best, with ash being my
favorite. It gives consistently
good results. The more curves
you use in your project, the more
the grain shows up!
Supplies: some sort of wood dye,
spray finish, liming wax and #0000
steel wool. I used Solar-Lux™
brand (made by Behlen), blood-
red colored, alcohol-based dye.
Make sure you use a dye, not a
stain — a stain won’t work for this
type of finishing process. You
could also use leather dye or India
ink or a water-based dye.
For the spray finish, I used
Deft® brand semi-gloss lacquer.
Liming wax is a white wax that
comes in a can. I often use
Liberon’s version, but you can
buy liming wax from Briwax, too.
For Dan’s bottle opener, I used
88 Coming-of-Age Bottle
gold powder mixed into
the white wax. You can also
experiment with using shoe
polish or acrylic paint instead of
liming wax. I’ve had mixed results
with those options, but others have The liming wax will remain imbed-
had dramatic success with acrylic ded in the open pores, yet will be
paint. Give them all a try. removed from the surface of the
For whatever project you are rest of the wood.
making, sand the wood down to This finishing technique has
at least 220-grit abrasive. been around for many years. The
Ever yone has discovered the only drawback I’ve discovered is
hard way that sanding scratches that it’s somewhat difficult to refin-
show up far too vividly when dye ish a scratched piece. Dye, finish
or stain is applied! and wax can create an unlimited
Apply the dye. I saturate the variety of color combinations. It
wood for a deep color. Let the works best for smaller projects or
dye dry for several hours. those that won’t be subjected to a
Sand slightly with #0000 steel lot of wear. I encourage you to try
wool. This leaves the surface it on your next project!
smooth and reduces the sanding
that’s required later. Gently wipe Betty Scarpino served as a contributing
the surface to clean off dust and editor to Woodworker’s Journal.
steel-wool debris.
Spray the object. I generally
apply two medium coats of spray
finish. The objective is to seal the
wood but still leave the open
pores open.
After the finish is dry, sand very
lightly with #0000 steel wool. Take
care not to rub hard, so you don’t
break through the lacquer. Apply
the liming wax, rubbing it gently
into the pores. Before the wax
dries too much, wipe the excess
off with a soft cloth or paper towel;
don’t rub hard. Again, use #0000
steel wool to gently remove the
remaining residue of liming wax.
Spray finish seals
the wood but
leaves pores open.
If the finish runs in
one spot, use a pin
to prick open the The author wears gloves to apply liming
pore holes. Sand wax, a petroleum-based product that
with steel wool can penetrate the skin. Steel wool
after finish dries. removes excess wax residue.
Opener
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Page Page
ADVERTISER No. Web Address ADVERTISER No. Web Address
Affinity Tool Works, LLC 3 www.affinitytool.com Grex Power Tools 47 www.grexusa.com
American Fabric Filter Co. 85 www.americanfabricfilter.com Grizzly Industrial, Inc. 11 www.grizzly.com
American Steel Span 67 www.steelspan.com Howard Products, Inc. 3 www.howardproducts.com
Arbortech 67 www.arbortechusa.com Legacy Woodworking Machinery 89 www.legacywoodworking.com
Badger Hardwoods of WI, Ltd. 91 www.badgerwood.com Lignomat 75 www.lignomat.com,
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Bainbridge Manufacturing, Inc. 3 www.bainbridgemfg.com MAG-DRO 47 www.mag-dro.com
Beall Tool Company 91 www.bealltool.com Norton Abrasives 29 www.nortonconsumer.com
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Big Gator Tools 75 www.biggatortools.com Osborne Wood Products, Inc. 91, 97 www.woodencomponents.com
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Cook Woods 81 www.cookwoods.com Powermatic 2 www.powermatic.com
Country Home Products 81 www.drpower.com Quick Screws 27 www.quickscrews.com
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Furniture Medic 3 www.furnituremedicfranchise.com Wood-Mizer 67 www.sawboards.com
GelPro 47 www.gelpro.com Woodworkers Source 91 www.101woods.com

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 91

92
 Q&A and
Readers’ Tricks
Turners occasionally write in with their questions, and our
team of experts provide the answers. HereÕs a selection of
woodturning questions from past issues. There are plenty of
turning tricks to be learned, too. See page 98 for a sampling.

www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 93

Questions & Answers
Is it safe to wear gloves when you are using a lathe? The answer is yes, as long as
they are the right kind of gloves and fit properly.
Q I am new to the art and pleas-
ures of woodturning and recent-
ly wondered about the safety of
using leather gloves while work-
ing on a lathe. This thought
came to me after my bowl gouge
got a catch on a walnut blank.
The blank shattered and a rather
large splinter sliced right
through the underside of my
hand. Afterwards, as I wondered
about what I could have done dif-
ferently to protect myself, I real-
ized that I’ve never seen anyone
marketing gloves for this pur-
pose or seen anyone who uses
gloves while turning on a lathe.
Is it a safe practice to use leather
gloves while roughing out or
turning a blank, or am I being
too much of a wuss?
Rose Gehring
Beech Grove, Indiana
A Your concern is well-founded.
Hazards abound when combin-
ing a swiftly moving piece of
wood with a turning tool and
your hands so close to the
94 Questions & Answers
action. Before I start, however,
I’m wondering if you wear a
faceshield when you are turn-
ing? Safety goggles are not suffi-
cient when turning wood. I
always wear a faceshield!
As for gloves, yes, there are
woodturners who wear a glove
while turning; however, the
glove is modified to remove the
fingers, covering just the palm
and knuckles. These gloves look
like golf gloves, and in fact, if you
golf, try one of your old gloves.
Whatever glove you wear, make
sure it fits snugly on your hand.
Any item of loose clothing can
become tangled in a spinning
piece of wood, so make sure
that what you wear is not in
jeopardy of contacting the wood.
There are specialty smocks for
woodturners. Not only are they
safe, they are also designed
to keep sawdust from your
clothing. Additional turning
information can be found at
www.woodturner.org.
— Betty Scarpino
Shown here are a drill chuck #2 Morse
and #2 Morse taper used to Taper
mount it in a lathe’s tailstock.
Q When ordering new lathe
spindle and tailstock parts, they
are listed as #1 taper or #2 Morse
taper. Please advise what differ-
ences there are in these parts
and how I am to know which I
need for my lathe.
Vern Gutz
Corry, Pennsylvania
A I’m not sure who Mr. Morse
was and how he got to design the
tapers, but that is water under
the bridge. According to
diracdelta.co.uk, an online sci-
ence and engineering encyclope-
dia, a Morse taper is “A self-hold-
ing standard taper largely used on
small cutting tools such as drills,
end mills, and reamers, and on
some machine spindles …” And,
I can add, on lathes.
The difference between a #1
Morse taper and a #2 is basically
the length and the “section” of
the taper. Think of a long,
tapered rod that starts at a point
and gets larger in diameter the
farther down the rod you go. You
could cut a section out of any
place along that rod and have the
same taper. Both the #1 and
#2 have the same taper per inch,
but the #1 starts a bit closer
to the “pointy end” of our
imaginary rod.
The best way to know which
type of taper you need is to con-
sult your owner’s manual. The
other way is to take the taper out
of your lathe and measure it.
A #1 will be 21∕8" long, a #2 will
be 29∕16" long.
— Rob Johnstone
Q I’m just starting to get into
lathe turning. With the multiple
speeds on the lathe, at which
speed is it best to finish sand the
project? It seems to me that at
the lower speeds, the sandpaper
doesn’t clog up as fast.
Robert Cornelisse
Ozark, Missouri
A Turning is truly one of the
“ancient” crafts and so there are
lots of “rules” and many experts.
One of the best rules I was ever
taught came to me from a man in
England who is the best turner I
ever met, and probably the dean of
turners in the world today, Bill
Jones. When asked which tool he
used to do a certain job, he replied,
“The one that cuts.” Take that les-
son from the master, and use it to
answer your own question. In
other words, use the speed that
works best for your sanding job. I
generally prefer to err on the slow-
er side when I work at my lathes.
Many others prefer higher rpm. In
the end, it is the quality of the work
that tells the tale, and discussions
about rpm should follow, not lead.
Different wood species, sizes,
abrasives, even operators — all
make a difference. In the end, use
the speed you like and the one that
seems to work best. Just remem-
ber that more speed means more
heat, and heat is often the enemy,
especially of sanding.
— Tim Inman
Our expert
recommends that
personal experience
should guide your
choice of which
sanding speed, grit
and abrasive type
to use on a lathe.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Q I can’t seem to identify the
variables that leave me with a
reasonably smooth food-holding
vessel after use and one that is
very fuzzy. For example, hard
maple plates that looked and felt
like glass when they were made
and 2 to 3 coats of oil applied
were very fuzzy after one meal
off of them, but a black willow
salad bowl, after several usings
for food, is about as smooth as it
started — which, since it’s not a
very hard wood, is soft feeling
but not fuzzy. I’d appreciate any
help you can give!
Ann Dinsmoor
Newton, Massachusetts
A Let’s start with the fuzzy grain.
As you surmise, wood species
can affect grain behavior, but
maple or cherry are both excel-
lent for treenware. Dry or green
wood should make little differ-
Getting a food-safe finish on a turned
bowl is an important consideration.
Our expert has the answer.
ence. I suspect the problem is
not starting with coarse 60- or
80-grit sandpaper and not sand-
ing long enough to get through
end-grain tear. Going to very fine
paper will not affect the issue
you describe if the initial sanding
is not aggressive. If initial sand-
ing is adequate, wet sanding with
water, mineral spirits or oil will
improve things greatly.
Oil is a great bowl finish. It is
easy to apply, easy to repair, and
it enhances the beauty of the
wood.
Commercial oil finishes
include Minwax® Antique Oil,
Watco®, Waterlox and a host of
others. These are really cat-
alyzed tung and/or linseed oil
mixed with oil-based (alkyd) var-
nish. They build to a ver y
durable finish, which will with-
stand sustained use and hand
washing, but these finishes are
toxic if ingested.
However, the feeling in the
woodturning community is that,
once polymerized, the heavy
metals are locked inside the
coating so will not get into food
because they are encased in fin-
ish. Since I only give my bowls to
relatives and friends, I have a
certain amount of diplomatic
immunity, so I use a drying oil
on most of my bowls.
— Ernie Conover
Fall 2013 95
Questions & Answers (continued...)
Reversing the rotation of a lathe does little to improve sanding for spindle work.
Our expert recommends sanding disks and not skipping any sandpaper grits as a
better path to successful sanding.
Q I have a Midi Delta lathe that
has the reverse feature. Does it
help to sand in both directions,
e.g., 80-grit for ward spin-
ning/80-grit reverse spinning,
then 100-grit for ward/100
reverse and so on? Should it give
a smoother finish?
Brian Humbel
Frederick, Maryland
A Reverse sanding is of no value
in spindle work where the grain
runs between the centers of the
lathe, hence you are always sand-
ing across the grain. Reverse
sanding is of some value in face-
plate work where the grain runs
across the centers of the lathe —
the most common example being
a wooden bowl. Since the grain
can be bent downward in the
96 Questions & Answers
“with the grain” areas, reverse
sanding can cut through and
remove this matted grain faster. I
tested the technique extensively
in my early bowl turning career
and found that it is mostly over-
rated. It’s most valuable in spalt-
ed weak woods where matting is
always problematic. It does not
replace a proper sanding regime
starting with 40- to 60- grit abra-
sive and working in small steps
up to the desired smoothness. An
electric drill with a sanding pad is
of much more value than reverse
sanding. The one danger of
reverse sanding is unscrewing
the faceplate or chuck from
the spindle, so locking to the
spindle with a setscrew is imper-
ative here.
— Ernie Conover
If not applied properly, cyanoacrylate glues
are not all that super for face plates.
Q I know that glue blocks
mounted to a faceplate can be
helpful for mounting work-
pieces. I tried Hot Stuff glue to
fasten my turnings to the face
plate block, but it did not bond.
Maybe I should have moistened
my wood?
Phil Nesbitt
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
A First of all, it’s important to
use medium or thick consistency
cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, NOT
the thin kind. It’s also important
to have a good fit between glue
block and turning wood and
make sure there’s no sawdust in
the joint. Also, if it’s cold in your
shop, the glue won’t set up. It
sets up with heat and moisture,
but not too much moisture ... just
a hint. If it’s too wet, then the
glue glazes over and the joint
won’t hold.
Sometimes when the glue is old
or something else is wrong with
it, it just doesn’t work, but for the
most part, that’s pretty rare.
Here’s a tip: when you’ve fin-
ished using some of the glue,
leave the cap OFF until the glue
settles back into the bottle. That
will prevent the nozzle from clog-
ging up. You can put the cap
back on after the glue has
drained back. (That’s a tough
one, because we were all taught
in grade school to put the lid
back on the glue bottle, so we
have to unlearn this habit when
using CA glue.) Good luck!
— Betty Scarpino
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www.woodworkersjournal.com Fall 2013 97

Tricks of the Trade
Turners, like all woodworkers,
are inventive folks. Here are a
few turning tricks readers have
shared with us over the years.
Inexpensive Calipers
One reader has been successfully using the simple
homemade calipers shown above for many years now.
The calipers are made from scraps of plastic laminate.
Just lay out the required opening on a scrap piece,
then use the table saw and miter gauge to nibble away
the waste between the layout lines. The calipers are
very accurate, they keep their shape if you happen to
drop them and, being thin, they fit into the smallest
gaps on virtually any spindle turning. Best of all, your
homemade calipers donÕt cost a dime if you have a few
scraps of laminate left over from another project.
One additional note: itÕs important to make the saw
cuts deep enough so the caliper can reach past the
middle of the turning without contacting it.
Curtain rod
98 Tricks of the Trade
Production Turning Aid
HereÕs a new way to gauge the accuracy of your cylinder
turnings: build a homemade reference board similar to
the one shown above. The jig is a 1/4"-thick plywood
panel with lines spaced 1" apart and parallel to the lathe
bed. The layout lines serve as visual aids for judging the
thickness and evenness of the turning. To use it, sight
over the top edge of your workpiece to compare its shape
with the lines. The lines will reveal any high or low spots
immediately. Connect the jig to your lathe bed so thereÕs
enough clearance for the tool-rest to move freely. When
not in use, the jig doubles as a convenient place to hang
a story stick or turning diagram.
Plastic laminate
on hardboard
These Duplicator Patterns are made to last
If you reuse patterns with a duplicator, cover them
with a layer of plastic laminate. The reinforced
patterns will last a lot longer and keep their original
shape better, and the duplicator stylus travels along
the smooth edge of the pattern with less drag. Be sure
to glue the plastic laminate to the base material before
you cut the pattern out.
Gouge Grinding Jig
One reader made this jig for sharpening lathe tools Ñ
especially gouges. After screwing one end of a curtain
rod to a workbench, fasten the other end with a copper
pipe strap modified with a thumb screw and nut, to adjust
it in and out. You can buy copper strap in plumbing
supply stores and modify it as shown in the sketch
(detail). To use the jig, set the gouge in the end of the
curtain rod and find the proper angle between the tip of
the tool and the grinding wheel. Roll the gouge back and
forth against the abrasive wheel to grind a fresh edge.
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SCAN WITH MOBILE DEVICE

Watch Demo Now!

For A Smooth Sanded Finish...
U.S. Patent No. 8,899,252 ...Without The Rework!

How It Works!
Two large cutter wings shear Two small cutter wings shear
upward to remove most of downward for an ultra-fine finish,
the stock for fast, extremely even when routing crossgrain in
smooth cuts. delicate materials!

Ideal for Any Project that

Requires a Flawless Finish!

For more information visit: www.freudtools.com/Quadra-Cut Red router bits are a registered trademark of Freud America, Inc. (US) 1-800-472-7307