# turning 2x 4's



## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

I read about a club that makes toy cars by turning 2x4's and once turned, the piece is cut in half length wise to get two separate cars. I have tried several times and the 2x4's keep breaking up and go flying off around the shop. I have tried to be careful about the grain, tried to take much lighter cuts, etc. I know Pine is more difficult to turn. But what am I doing wrong? Are there different species used for 2x4's?


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Pine is a challenge to turn because it tears out, but it's certainly doable regardless of species. You'd want to rip the 2x into squares first and if you're having trouble keeping the blank between centers there are centers with serrated drive edges that "slip" when you get a catch. Start at about 1200 RPM and have at it with a spindle roughing gouge until it's round.

Pine will teach you what a shear cut is. Don't use scrapers.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

how is the 2x4 cut after it is turned ?

I am thinking it is cut in half to make two 1.5 x 1.75" blocks 
that is only rounded on the "top" ?? the front can be rounded on the bandsaw.
why not run the wood through a router table with a 1" roundover bit ?
taking small bites at a time will give very satisfactory results with white pine wood.
much safer than the lathe and will yield an all around better product.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

I wasn't thinking that that's what he had in mind, John. Good call. But it's still doable on a lathe with a gouge.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Seems the radius would be better on a shaper or router table. I've tried soft pine and it is not a good wood for turning. Would like to see how they do it. Must have scary sharp tools.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Do a ring count in the wood that you expect to turn. Anything less than 12 rings/inch is firewood = too soft for turning or carving.
The best will be somewhere between 15 and 40 rings per inch. If I can find at least 20, I'll take it.
Look at a top quality spruce guitar top. It came from either the Adirondacks or my part of BC.
Just about all of it is 15 to 25 rings per inch.

I live in the land of 2x4. We grow millions of cubic meters of them.
COFI SPF = Council Of Forest Industries Spruce Pine Fir. The fir is _Abies_, not _Pseudotsuga_.
We make no distinction for construction purposes because the mechanical and non mechanical properties are very much alike.


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

I read a write up about these guys with diagrams, but I just found they have a video.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

don't know what to say about that . . . . . . 
yes, it is very nobel that they make the toys for kids like that.
but on a lathe - just to cut a profile ? in my very personal opinion,
you can cut the same profile much quicker, safer and with less mess
on a 9" bandsaw ~ perhaps even with a scroll saw ..... much grinding and sanding 
is still required to get the final shape, regardless of how you cut the initial pattern.
not to take away from the club and their contributions by any means !!!!
I have had a lathe since the early '80s and consider myself quite efficient with it.
and my advice for anyone that wants to make wood toys should use a bandsaw or scroll saw
to minimize the possibility of injury. especially to the inexperienced lathe operators.

I wish their video went on to show all the grinding and sanding it takes to get the car totally done.
and to finish it off, I would coat it with a food-safe salad bowl oil to help keep it clean.
like the photo below: how do you go from the lathe to the finished product.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

It's still crap wood. I can't cut 12 rings/inch western red cedar on my bandsaw with a new blade.
It rips and tears. That's how I figured out the wood game.
I'm happy to buy all sorts of SPF but I need to pick them out by ring count.

Don't ignore the wood anatomy, because you look foolish getting ripped off by suppliers.
They are happy to sell you fence boards for shop crafts.
Ignore it, make a mess, your money not mine.

I buy carving wood blocks and log pieces directly from the mills.
I take an adze to have a finished look at the end of the logs.
Last time out, I bought 1 of 30 that I checked out.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The lathe is the wrong machine for 2x4's. Wood needs to be pretty symmetrical to turn in a lathe. 1 1/2"x 3 1/2" is going to be so badly out of balance it's not going to turn easily regardless of the type of wood. A router would do better for rounding the edges of irregular stock. Then I would cut most of the shape and radius it on a longer board and then cut it to the finished size.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Pretty interesting way of skinning that particular cat. Ive turned a bit of pine, not much but a bit, to make candle stands and the like just for fun. Same rules went for pine on the lathe as they did pine anywhere else for me, razor sharp tools, picking pieces that felt heavy for their size, light cuts


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

I have seen some pieces of log mounted on a lathe that was far more out of balance than a 2x4 mounted near the middle could be. And yes, some could cut the wood on a band saw or scroll saw. I have seen a guy cut 3d candle holders on a scroll saw, when a lathe would have done a nicer job. It seems ingenious to me, but I wondered about the pine part of it. I just got some air dried rough cut 3x4 poplar yesterday. I cut a few pieces down to 2x 4 and give it another try. In the article, there was a very cool old 1930's style pick up truck made 2 at a time like that.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

Holtz - please don't be deterred by all the negative feedback.
if you find a way to do it safely and efficiently, that's all that matters.
looking forward to seeing your projects once you get it all figured out.
best of luck in your adventures - just be safe about it.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

this fellow makes them two at time -
http://www.aswoodturns.com/2014/01/pinewood-derby-car/


at about 0:40 into the video you can see the blank - it sure looks rather fine grained - there's a knot also.
I wonder if it's a better stock than construction grade pine . . .


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

I think the idea is ingenious. I'd have no problem turning a rectangle 2X4. I was thinking a bandsaw to split the finished turning down the middle, but the suggestion of gluing 2 pieces together with a piece of paper between them is even better.

I turn 2X8's into bowls for practice all the time. You can always find an 8 inch knot free section of a scrap board. Sure, fine grained slow growth pine would be cleanest but any pine can be turned with a sharp gouge. Cleaning up the fuzz is what sandpaper is made for.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I think one of the issues is that since the gouge isn’t in constant contact with the piece, it makes it hard to ride the bevel and take a light cut. The gouge tends to dive in and cut too aggressively. In the video, he suggests increasing the RPM to minimize that. In that case, I’d definitely wear a face mask. 

I practice on pine because it’s cheap. It’s a challenging wood to turn and can really hone your skills. As epic fail said, sharp tools, light cuts.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

If you have the "touch" it is all going to go just as he demonstrated in the video, if not then best go to plan B.


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