Thread: Struggling

Maybe you should have made the bottom flat, turn the desired shape, then mount the bottom onto the face plate, hog out the inside, then make a jam chuck and turn off any unsightly stuff if you have the thickness.

Personally, I use a chuck and my Chuck Plate to turn a tenon and shape the outside, then remove the Chuck Plate and hog out the inside. When done, I use my Chuck Plate and a rim chuck to remove the tenon down to a small nub, 17mm/5/8" od, and the use my Tail Stock Steady to remove all traces of the nub while still between centers. I make it a habit to decorate all my bottoms, including putting finials if there is room. The bottom should look as good as the rest of the bowl. ........... Jerry (in Tucson) USA Wood Turning Tools | Tucson | WoodTurners WorkHolding Solutions

Thanks nubsnstubs. I'll keep that in mind for the next one.

Hello PKROZE (must be from Tasmania )

I reckon you should look around and see if there is a wood turning club in your area. Attend and ensure that it suits you and if so, join. You will learns heaps from like minded people, plus it will open a lot of doors to other things.

Secondly, if you can afford to buy a chuck, then do so. There a lot of good chucks out there, but I reckon some of the best are Vicmarc.

Lastly, you may benefit from paying for some tuition. The benefits of 1 on 1 will see your turning improve heaps and should avoid all catches.

Hope this helps
Sincerely
Willy
Jarrahland

I agree with Willy - if you can locate a local woodturning club it will make life a lot easier. Failing that, check out Mens Sheds Tasmania as there are two in your area and a good chance that their membership will include some wood turners.

Stay safe, and have fun,
Gary H

It could be a combination of chisels not sharp enough amd trying to take too much off at once.

Keep us posted. I'll watxh this space

DaveTTC
The Turning Cowboy
Turning Wood Into Art

Righto thanks for the advice, I reckon I will visit a mens shed. I may be getting a chuck as a present soon but who knows. I reckon your right Dave, the chisels i'm using are borrowed and they needed a very comprehensive clean up, I also only hand sharpened them quickly as I don't have a bench grinder.

I'd personally recommend starting off by turning between centres, that way the work piece is held pretty securely . I'd also recommend turning spindles (keep it fairly short, say under 30cm) to learn to use the tools as catches tend to have less force behind them due to a smaller radius work piece. Straight grain pine is fairly cheap and Bunnings here sells square stuff free of knots, perfect for practice as it's soft and mistakes are less terrifying. The Tas oak is also good practice wood but slightly more pricey.

The thing is though, learn to shave the wood before you try deeper cuts, i.e. imagine you're trying to shave whiskers off and go in very, very gently, there really should be very little force from the wood to your tool if you have the feed and angles right but those come with practice.

If you can watch someone who knows how to turn, it is probably the best way to learn.

Another good suggestion would be to get yourself a grinder and then be taught how to sharpen your chisels, a blunt chisel is dangerous, and disheartening. DAMHIKT.
A SHARP chisel should peel of shavings like ribbons of a potato peeler at high speed, and a joy to use.
Catches are a real problem, watching YouTube clips doesn't really help, as I've yet to find a clip that is more informative than showy.
As others have mentioned, get some one on one training with someone WHO KNOWS what they're doing.
Have seen some Mens Shed carachters that THINK they know what they're doing, apart from teaching bad habits!!!!
Kryn

Just a suggestion, when I started out and after about a year of reading tutorials and having a go I decided to to find somewhere to do a course in woodturning. I ended up doing a course with Neil at an old building in Newstead which put me on the right track and a year after this did another weekend course with Vic Wood who brushed up on my new skills and set me on a course to be able to turn some good work. Both of these cured a huge amount of frustration which otherwise might have seen me throw the chisels in the corner of the shed. I guess the moral of the story if see if you can find someone who really knows what they doing and get their help, it can save many hours of anquish and failures.
Cheers

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Have seen some Men's Shed characters that THINK they know what they're doing, apart from teaching bad habits!!!!
Kryn

Fully agree with that Kryn, I have seen some terrible teaching habits at Men's sheds, not woodturning but other types of woodwork.

Go to a wood turning club instead.

Peter.

Try watching this video by one of our own and you might see some things in there that help you out.

Thanks all for the advice, I'll take it on board.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Catches are a real problem, watching YouTube clips doesn't really help, as I've yet to find a clip that is more informative than showy.
Kryn

The series by Stuart Batty on Vimeo is excellent. He explains grain well, and explains catches in a way that helped me understand what was going on - basically an unsupported edge is being engaged into the wood causing the tool to move/rotate and dig in. With a supported edge the force is always directly down into the tool rest.
https://vimeo.com/woodturning