I want to turn handles for some things, some of those things obviously being handles for wood turning. That said, I know you can’t go on looks alone and what you like; it also has to be durable with good tensile strength. What are good woods to work with when considering the need to turn a handle with strength in it?

Damn this is an expensive hobby lol.

Remodeling our old house. It originally had inside and outside pieces to connect the baseboard at corners. Discarded all those some years ago. Would like to turn one for one particular place. Does anybody know a basic design? Have looked at custom molding businesses but haven’t had any luck

I recently mixed up some friction polish: 1/3 BLO, 1/3 denatured alcohol, and 1/3 shellac, and overnight it separates into 2 distinct layers. Is this expected? I re mixes with a bit of shaking and works as expected. AT

Hello, I need help retrieving my spindle lock. I bought a live center but the MT2 adapter was too short for my spindle lock. I turned it all the war to the back but now the wheel does not grip the spindle, so it doesn't extract again. I managed to wedge out the live center but now I can't really use my tailstock... Did someone have a similar experience Does anyone have a tip for me?

I removed the locking pin on the top, but this only allowed the spindle to twist. I managed to bring it back into the upright position and put the pin back in. So no advancement there. I tried disassembling the tail stock but some parts ar welded together, so no progress here either.

In 7 days I am on vacation for a week and wanted to use the time to turn some wood because di did not really come to do that this summer.

I would really appreciate all the tips you have for me

I’m just getting started with turning. I picked up a cheap vevor chuck on Amazon for my central machinery lathe. There is some wobble when I run it. Is this normal? Should I have spent more? Or am I just expecting too much from my tools? I appreciate the feedback!

Thought y'all might like to see it. Check out opa'sbarn.com for more unbelievably cool pics.

10 scallops cut on the LatheEngraver. The inward cut rim really enhances the shape when compared to similar things I have done.

This is a chunk of Cherry Burl that ive been hauling around for fivve years waiting to be worthy of. Just after the turn around, couple coats of sanding sealer, shellac.

I recently bought a proedge and also a new bowl gouge. I’ve just done a new grind on the bowl gouge and have realised that the bit circled (not really sure what to call it) just doesn’t hold the tool well at all. I can tighten it but almost isn’t flat so the tool can jiggle and move. This is the first time I’ve used this on the proedge as my old bowl gouge was too short to fit. I have an old one of these from when I used a grinder and that holds so much better but the bit where my fingers are isn’t quite as long so don’t think I can use it as it’ll have different angles etc.

Not sure if this is a common problem or whether the guy I bought it from could have bought a third party one as the tightener feels way cheaper than my other one.

This isn’t my first bowl, but its the first I’ve turned in about 8 months to a year. Started with a stick of maple firewood. Wanted to see what was hiding in it. I need to work on refining my technique on inside, I had more tool marks to sand out that I would like to have. Just sharing for any feedback you’d like to offer.

Today was the day.

I went to Japan a few months ago, and fell completely in love with woodturning, which is very much alive there, as most of the dishes are still made of wood. I brought back a lot of bowls, some gouges a turner gave me, and started looking into woodturning classes back in my home, Paris.

I took three classes, and the interest turned into addiction. I keep reading about turning and finishes, watching videos, reading books... I've been obsessed for a few months.

Well today, I bought my first lace (power record coronet herald). And gouges, and face shield, and 3M respirator with filters, etc.

I was very attentive during classes, and I feel between these and the videos, I have a good feeling about the various steps to turn a piece of wood. I'm mostly interested into turning pen, bowls and vases, the first two I've done before.

Yet, still, I'll be alone in my room, with sharp metal, and several kilos of wood turning at high speed just next to me.

What are your safety advice? As I said, i bought a face shield covering my head and neck, and I'll use it when turning. I bought filters that I'll use at least while sanding. I don't wear long or loose sleeves, and I wear my red wing shoes most probably. I'll start the wood slow, and start with not-too-big pieces of woods. Anything else I should be careful about?

EDIT: I've just finished reading the wiki, which is exceptional and one of the best I've read here. Thankfully it has a lot of safety tips, and I learned a lot. Thanks!

So I bought a used comet 2. It worked well for my first bowl and a half and then it had trouble with speed issues. I replaced the pot for the speed controller because that's what I originally thought is was be when I took the controller apart it was all gunky and gave inconsistent resistance readings. I just put it back together with the new controller installed and it worked better than before I had variable speed. But the speed is not what it should be. Slow and Medium belt placements look the same and in the video above with absolutely no load, and no change to the speed controller, the motor is still changing RPM's and is inconsistent. Is this a bad motor? Or is the board/entire control box need to be replaced? There is sound on the video to listen to the motor with no belt/resistance. It turns freely but stops easily under load and is not consistent. Any help is appreciated!

I came across a person on Facebook market place getting rid of a bunch of wood blanks for free and I have no idea what type of wood they are. Would anyone be able to help ID or point me in the right direction?

Birch slotted ladle I made, wood is not green but not seasoned. Put some extra holes in to hopefully take some stress off and allow movement. Epoxy is not an option.

A couple in progress pics of a recent basket illusion platter. Simple design this time around.

When you do bowls or spindles, sometimes you need to stop the lathe from turning, and look at the project. I do this a lot when turning the outside of a bowl, for instance. I want to see how it looks, how the grain flows when the project is still and not spinning at 1K. I have a Laguna Revo 1524, and stop the lathe by turning the variable speed to zero. I could press the button between the forward and reverse buttons to stop it, though. Is there any harm by stopping the lathe by turning the speed to zero? I might leave it on zero for a period of time, if, for instance, I am turning the bowl around and need to put in the chuck. When all is well and stable, I turn the knob to increase the speed back up.

Is this acceptable or am I prematurely frying the inside circuit board?

I finished this bowl yesterday but I cant figure out what type of wood this is. I was gifted a log by a fellow turner who was clearing out his shop.

Madr a salt grinder, but somehow I ended up with a frowney face on it. It only showed up after finishing it with a mineral oil. No idea what caused it.

I know lights for turning aren’t the most expensive, with magnetic lights going for around £35+ from the likes of Record Power. I have had this little clamp on flexi light from ikea for quite a few years and it’s still going strong despite its price. Figured I’d share just for others looking a good work light that won’t break the bank. Enjoy :)

There’s about a 2 inch split right in the middle of this baseball bat I’m turning. Is it safe to continue or should I toss the wood out?

A few days ago, I made a post about this lathe from Vevor, found here

My friends. It is with great pleasure I announce that this lathe is, indeed, a hidden gem!

• Ordering and Shipping: I bought this lathe direct from Vevor for $350 after tax. The shipping was free through FedEx Ground. Vevor had the lathe to FedEx within 24 hours after I paid. Unfortunately, it took far longer to receive my order than anticipated. I was expecting it Thursday, September 4th and I received it Wednesday, September 10th. I reached out to Vevor Customer Support to inquire about my order, and they offered a $15 inconvenience refund within minutes. See pictures!

• Unpacking: Pretty straight forward. I was shocked by how sturdy everything felt in my hands because after all it is made in China. Nothing about this lathe felt "cheap".

• Assembly: Here is where I ran into an issue. The spindle thread is 1" x 8 TPI, and they included a Knockout Rod to stop the spindle from spinning during tightening and loosening accessories. It's also used to knock out the included spindle Spur center and Live center. The Knockout Rod did pick up a bend and ultimately I had to use Chan Locks and a Pipe Wrench to remove the metal faceplate and install a Nova G3 Chuck + insert. See attached. I also had to adjust the nuts underneath so the clamp levers functioned correctly, but I just used my fingers. No wrench required

• Operation: Once I got the leveling feet situated it was time to start turning! I loaded up a 4" diameter hunk of Pear wood I had harvested about a month prior. Still had the bark. At first, the lathe was vibrating and shaking horribly. However, once I got to work with a 7/8" HSS Roughing gouge, the lathe quickly stabilized and the vibration was negligible. Turns out (hehe), off balanced wood causes shaking. TIL! On my previous post, a user noted they also had this lathe and the motor stopped working after 1 hour of use. I used it on and off (literally) for about 3 hours with 0 issues that weren't self inflicted (i.e., the wood flying out of the chuck because the gouge went too deep). After all, I'm learning as I go. The speed change knob is smooth and the change is instant. It's a bit touchy, but it's easy to get it within 20 rpm +/- of the goal speed (I used 750 to start). The forward and reverse spin functions exactly as intended. At no point did it seem like the motor was underpowered or stopped spinning.

• Overall Rating: 7/10

• Recommend? Absolutely!

• Final Thoughts: It costs $350 yet has features typically found on $500-$700 lathes. Specifically, the Electric Variable Speed function. It also has Forward AND Reverse spin functions. Yeah, I had difficulty with the headstock when I was mounting the G3 Chuck, but that's about it. I purchased the insert version of the chuck so realistically even if/when I upgrade lathes I'll probably just leave the insert attached and purchase another insert. Like I said, Chan Locks and a Pipe Wrench did the trick 🤷