Thread: Finial Design

Originally Posted by Hermit

...I saw a video yesterday suggesting that keeping the tailstock up against the piece for too long in the early stages can contribute to that problem, and that it's better to remove it as soon as possible to let the timber take it's natural form before it's fully turned to shape.
Do you think this is a valid point? (Sorting the gems from the crap on YouTube is difficult sometimes.)

I would say yes, and why I rough down with tailstock support, then do it without (as per Cindy Drozda technique that I learnt from). Others may not, Ken Wraight for example uses tailstock support till end.

Re tailstock- It also depends on how tight you wind it up, there is doing it up so it's safe and doing it up to tight that it flexes your turning job and when your turning thin diameters over tighting May cause your run out and split the timber.
when I have needed tailstock on really thin work I have even drilled a 3mm diameter hole to give the the lathe centre some relief into the timber. ( which needs to be worked in to design so hole stays in waste)
it all comes down to how you feel what the timber is doing and length of work.
And how it's gripped at the headstock if it's in a chuck its only needed for roughing down.
The short finial I turned the other day way between centres so it needed tailstock for whole operation. As the timber was not long enough fir my design to hols in chuck.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

I would say yes, and why I rough down with tailstock support, then do it without (as per Cindy Drozda technique that I learnt from). Others may not, Ken Wraight for example uses tailstock support till end.

That's how I'll do it from now on. I think I unnecessarily kept the tailstock up a bit too long last time. Beginners nerves/insecurity.

Originally Posted by chuck1

Re tailstock- It also depends on how tight you wind it up, there is doing it up so it's safe and doing it up to tight that it flexes your turning job and when your turning thin diameters over tighting May cause your run out and split the timber.
when I have needed tailstock on really thin work I have even drilled a 3mm diameter hole to give the the lathe centre some relief into the timber. ( which needs to be worked in to design so hole stays in waste)
it all comes down to how you feel what the timber is doing and length of work.
And how it's gripped at the headstock if it's in a chuck its only needed for roughing down.
The short finial I turned the other day way between centres so it needed tailstock for whole operation. As the timber was not long enough fir my design to hols in chuck.

I'll keep this in mind, Charlie. I do tend to wind the tailstock up pretty hard - probably firmer than necessary.


I didn't make another today in the end. Instead I finished the bottom of one of my bowls and did the prep for making the skew handle. (And a heap of household chores. One of the disadvantages of being single.)