# Woodturning for Beginners



## Desiprams (Apr 11, 2009)

Hi, I am a beginner in woodturning, Everytime I do turning I get lots of splinters on the wood, doesnt matter what kind of wood I use.
what am I doing wrong here.
Please help me!!!!!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

If you are tearing the wood (splinters) instead of cutting it I would say your tools are not sharp enough.


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

I have to agree with Daren on this one. When was the last time your tools were sharpened?

Are you getting any catches while you are cutting? IMO it sounds like you may not be cutting with the bevel. Are you getting chatter or noise while cutting?

I am a beginner also. Only 1.5 months experience. I began turning with a class. You should check around for classes or a turning group. Thay may be able to help you considerably.

There are a ton of products on the web that sort of teach turning. Check out the ones below and some on You Tube.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-begin-woodturning-228403/

http://www.turningtools.co.uk/pdf_files/pdfbook/pdfbook.html

Good Luck. Stick with it and you will pick up the right techniques.

Fred


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## Barry Ward (Mar 22, 2008)

*Woodturning for beginners*

Gotta go with Fred,but if there is a club near you,that would be great,as maybe you could get with someone who can give you a little hands on training just to get you started,then the more you do the better you will get. Plus it can help you understand what you see on online videos.Good luck. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Ken


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## turn072 (Mar 30, 2009)

*Beginning help*

I would suggest you go to the website of the American Association of Woodturners and look up your state and find a local chapter near you. Contact someone from the group or just go to a meeting or one of their hands on work days. The people there are good experienced woodturners willing to help beginners. They will get you started.

Bob


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## Webster (Mar 6, 2009)

PTownSubbie said:


> I have to agree with Daren on this one. When was the last time your tools were sharpened?
> 
> Are you getting any catches while you are cutting? IMO it sounds like you may not be cutting with the bevel. Are you getting chatter or noise while cutting?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the video links Fred.
Very helpful :thumbsup:
Rick


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## Desiprams (Apr 11, 2009)

Is it even the tools are bought brand new??


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

Tools that are brand new are not usually sharp enough to use right out of the package. They need to be sharpened prior to use.:yes:

I thought the same thing when I started. I had some of the same problems. Then I sharpened them and it made quite a difference.:thumbsup:

Fred


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## Scott5134 (Apr 13, 2009)

*Splintering*

Some soft woods based on the grain will splinter no mater how sharp your tools are. If you are using one that does, do not take the project all the way down with chisels, but once you have the form you desire, take it down with heavy grid sand paper then start going to a finer grid as you get closer to the desired product.

No mater what wood I work with I do the last stages of taking the wood down with sand paper and have purchased 3in rolls of various grids starting at 40 then going to 600. You can also use old belt sander belts


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Scott,
That's cheatin'.:laughing: Even most softwoods can be turned with little tearout. As stated above, properly sharpened tools are a must. When you are getting your shape close to where you want it, take the last cut or two very lightly. There are different ways to present (angle of the cutting surface in relation to the axis of the wood) the tool to the wood. Depending on what you are doing, there are sometimes different choices of what tool to use that will effect the cut. Best to get under a more experienced turners wings and learn as much as you can. If you start out with bad habits, they are hard to get rid of. You'll like it when you can turn something and start sanding at 240. That's when you step back and go 'D$%&, I must be doing something right.'
Mike Hawkins


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

I absolutely second Mike's comments. I used to do a lot of sanding but finally decided I needed to learn how to turn properly and although it did take a while I can assure you that with sharp tools and experienced light passes you can avoid heavy sanding.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

*another thing*

Another reason to avoid sanding (and one that particularly applied to me and caused me to want to learn how to do it right) is that if you should decide to do segmented turnings, you will at some point run into the problem of hard woods and soft woods in the same turning. That's hard to deal with even using sharp tools and good technique but it can be done --- it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to deal with using sandpaper.


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## Scott5134 (Apr 13, 2009)

*Splintering*

Quess you don't use leather on softwoods at the end to heat the wood and make it harder and a smoother finish. Helping somone to get a project going and completing it is often the most important thing, they can learn technique as they go ... called experience. 

Lets say he is working with construction grade woods, alot of people cannot afford anything better, he may get discouraged and give up doing anything else. Glue together 3 8 foot 2x6 construction grade boards and turn them with your sharpest tools and tell me you do not have tearing and splintering. If you really want to help lets ask which woods he is using, what speed is he running his lathe at, those are just as important in helping solve the issue. I put a 12 in pulley on one of my lathes to slow the turn speed down as slow as I could for soft woods because after speeding time on a 1800's pedal lathe and using softwoods I saw where the ability to control the speeds as slow as possible was even more important than how sharp the tool was, but I am sure you know that, some of the most beautiful turned peices came off the old pedal lathes.


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## Gordon Seto (Sep 23, 2007)

I think SPF (spruce-pine-fur) construction lumber 2 by 4 is the best wood for practice turning. It's soft and hard alternating growth rings are a challenge on turning techniques. Dull tool, pushing too hard would cause the tool to bounce on the harder layer, the tool would bounce back and take a deeper bite on the softer layer. It is easy to get chattering. Just the right amount of bevel supported cut would yield a polished finish. But too much bevel rubbing, it would have burnt mark. I think SPF is the best wood for self teaching. It is like a teacher standing next to you and give you immediate feed back. The soft wood doesn't response to scraping technique, it will likely to have tear out.
BTW, on small spindle, I turn at the max speed of the lathe. You have to be comfortable with the speed you are turning.








The picture is a piece of cut off from a 2 by 4.
The whole thing is fresh off the turning tool, no sanding at all. The fuzz ahead of the cut was not removed. The promel cut was done with a bowl gouge (not the skew that many turners believe would leave the best finish cut on spindle). The portion from the left half of the cove was scrapped with a freshly sharpened skew. It shows even with the right tool but different result with improper technique.
My point is don't give up and bring out the sand paper too soon. Usually sanding would ruin the fine details.


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## Scott5134 (Apr 13, 2009)

I would have to say if you turned an unsemetrical piece of soft wood like that on a full size lathe at over 4000 rpm that would have to be the most incredible thing every.


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