Woodturning for lefties

[Rocky]

G'day evryone

I was at the Perth wood show last week and was impressed with the woodturning display. So much so that I thought that I might take a crack at it by looking into a woodturning club and go from there.
An afterthought was, are the wood lathes adaptable to left handers with things spinning in the one direction and the positioning of the rest on one side etc.

I've (and probably evry other lefthander) have had to put up with right hand tools for years with sanders blowing dust in your face, circular saws cut line on the wrong side, hand held grinding wheels spinning in wrong direction etc etc.

Can anyone help with this please. I don't want to spend money on something I can't use.

Many thanks
Rocky

[woodb woody]

I am right handed and seem to be able to use the gouges both hands.I was shown this in lessons.The best way is to go to a club and give it a try.You have all to gain and nothing to lose.

[Captain Chaos]

G,day Rocky,
I'm a leftie woodturner & haven't had any problems with normal ( right handed ) lathe & tool usage. Just about all turning tools work in either hand without any hassles. I am able to use the tools in either hand & do actually change from one hand to the other whilst turning. ( Leave that one alone fellas & gals!!;):p:D ) In regards to position, it is a matter of finding the correct stance in relation to what you are turning & being able to transfer your weight from one foot to the other easily as you move about your turning.
I'd definitely go to a local turning group & try a bit of turning first. I'm pretty certain that there'd be at least one "southpaw" there who could give you the good oil on turning left handed.
Hope that this is of some help to you Rocky.
Regards,
Barry.

[soundman]

I don't see that it matters much.
The wood turns toward you over the top, that doesn't change.
Between centres it won't make a blind bit of difference.
You would probably want to go outboard for bowls or may be step round the other side.
There are some who recommend learning all operations on both hands anyway.
Many operations are quite physicaly complex, not natural, use both hands and completely learned.
I'm learning & trying to be proficient both hands. I find various tasks equialy difficult in each hand but differently difficult.
I sugest it would be best to forget you are anything handed when it comes to the lathe & learn that way.
It would put you in a strong position.
cheers

[GC]

While I doubt I'll ever become proficient (or even any good). My turning instructor showed me both as I'm a lefty. It doesn't matter and I now use both hands (no comments either please) :D


GC

[La truciolara]

Rocky
I am like Woodb Woody, and if you never turned before you will see that you can learn to turn with both hands.

If you do not succeed, I must say the only difficulty is to make deep hollow shapes. I have seen that with the leftist students I had.
In this case, the difficulty is already less if you have a swivel head

Or even better... if your lathe can tun “Backward”. Many brand offer this possibility. The only important thing is to safely secure the chuck on the head as it will unscrew when you put your effort on the wood. You do not want to turn flying saucers... do you? :)

[PAH1]

Hi

I'm left handed but able to use both on the lathe. I find that I turn bowls right handed (mostly) and left handed between centres. The only thing that is difficult to do left handed is hollowing a bowl/ hollowing boxes. A few months ago we had JF Escoulen here, who is left handed and he manages really well and claims that there are advantages to being left handed and turning. When parting off using your left hand you can catch the piece in your right without turning in knots, right handed you have to reach around the headstock with the left hand to do the same thing.

I think it is worth putting in the effort to learn with both hands, left handers are rarely as left handed as right handers are right handed. At least nobody will belt your knukles with a ruler for trying. One word of caution, if you do get instruction make sure it is with a teacher that has some patience and flexibility, some can't and that makes teaching left handers difficult.

[peruturner]

Well guys I just stand on the other side for all my bowl work(hollowing)and on the outside in the normal way see my web
www.esarmiento.250x.com
go to shop and see for your self

[MathewA]

As a new turner it is very important to learn to use both hands. There a lot of times where you will need to switch hands. You can adapt by contorting your body and stay a left or a righty but if you learn to be ambedextrous, it can be a pain in the **** to learn but well worth it.

[laragh]

G'day evryone

I was at the Perth wood show last week and was impressed with the woodturning display. So much so that I thought that I might take a crack at it by looking into a woodturning club and go from there.
An afterthought was, are the wood lathes adaptable to left handers with things spinning in the one direction and the positioning of the rest on one side etc.

I've (and probably evry other lefthander) have had to put up with right hand tools for years with sanders blowing dust in your face, circular saws cut line on the wrong side, hand held grinding wheels spinning in wrong direction etc etc.

Can anyone help with this please. I don't want to spend money on something I can't use.

Many thanks
Rocky

Hello Rocky,
I only saw your post, and replies today, many years after it was posted. I hope your all still members ?
I am lefthanded too and having read the replies from members have to say that I don't think anyone can give a proper view on lefthanded woodturning unless they are completely left handed themselves. Being ambidextrios is great but I am not and am completely left handed..It is not just a case of 'trying' to be right handed, thats impossible for me anyway, as there is much more involved in it than that.
I need to have my left side against the lathe body and my left hand over the bed in order to function at all. I also need to have the lathe turning in reverse (clockwise)
Also the headstock must be able to swing anti-clockwise, so as the have the spindle turned inwards towards me and not away from me, which most lathe's do not. If it doesnt turn towards me then its impossible to reach the work across the lathe bed. !
I have tried all kinds of lathe configerations - standing on both sides of the lathe, reversing the motor, swivelling the headstock, etc,etc, but none of it was the real answer. I believe the only real answer is a lathe designed and produced for left handed turners. ! The suggestion of standing on the opposite side of the lathe is dangerous. In that position the tuner does not have fast access to the controls and power on/off switch etc.If he needs to power off fast he cannot do it from the other side of the lathe. !

I bow to the superior knowledge and experience of long time turners but unless they have put themselves into our situation (working left handed) for a lengthy period of time and examined every aspect of it I do not think they can really give us any advise. ?:no:

[Sebastiaan56]

I am also left handed, writing, bowling, batting etc. But like others who have posted I have learned to turn with both hands. You will need this skill if you work on longer pieces unless you have lots of elbow room in your turning space.

I sympathise Laragh, living in a right handed world has its difficulties. I have made a deliberate effort over a lot of years (Im 53) to become more ambidextrous. It can be done. Brain training exercises like cross crawling, juggling, drawing right handed etc are very useful. You will end up with abilities that mere right handers dont have.

[oldiephred]

When/if you get a lathe, it migh tbe worth considering one on which the headstock swivels because it would probably be much more comfortable for a leftie for internal turning. It is actually more comfortable for anyone making bowls.

[Tony Morton]

Hi Rockey

Seems most of us wood turners are lefties any way its eiser for us to do something right handed than is the righties to do some thing lefthanded good luck with your turning.
Yes Lefties sometimes look odd even to us lefties ,last week I had a fellow lefty needing some help it took a while to work his action out but we got there.

Cheers Tony

[laragh]

I am also left handed, writing, bowling, batting etc. But like others who have posted I have learned to turn with both hands. You will need this skill if you work on longer pieces unless you have lots of elbow room in your turning space.

I sympathise Laragh, living in a right handed world has its difficulties. I have made a deliberate effort over a lot of years (Im 53) to become more ambidextrous. It can be done. Brain training exercises like cross crawling, juggling, drawing right handed etc are very useful. You will end up with abilities that mere right handers dont have.

Hi Sebastian,
Many thanks for your help. Like me your a true Lefty .:U I accept your advice and will try to 'reorganise' the brain but at my age 76. thats likely to be a small problem ! :doh:
Anyway I'll give it a bash. !

[laragh]

When/if you get a lathe, it migh tbe worth considering one on which the headstock swivels because it would probably be much more comfortable for a leftie for internal turning. It is actually more comfortable for anyone making bowls.
Hello Oldiephred,
I have a lathe. A 'scheppach' DMS900. A great lathe too. It has a swivelling headstock but for me it swivels the wrong way ! :(

[Ed Reiss]

Hey Rocky, welcome to the madhouse of forums !!

Surely you've heard that us lefty's are the only ones in our right mind :D ...sooooooo, it's no problem learning to turn whichever way is natural to you.After a while you'll find that your switching hands quite often (no comments here either guys!!!!) depending on the operation required.

I'm a ( proud :q ) lefty and have been turning for a few years (27) with no problems.

Good idea checking out a turners club...good luck.

[Ozartisan]

As a long time "rightie", I never thought I could do much at all with my non-dominant hand................
Then we set up Artisans Retreat and I started to teach woodturning.
Found myself handling the tools in all sorts of wierd positions while helping my students (lefties & righties) get the drift of a technique.
Swivel head lathe works a treat (I teach on DVR's and Nova 1624) and it really is just a matter of trying to get the body in a comfortable position for the cut - and having a go with both hands!
A good, patient teacher is also worth his weight in gold!
As lefties go - Tony Morton has some pretty darn good stuff in our gallery!
Give it a go & HAVE FUN.

[pommyphil]

caught my eye, but no, not politics.:rolleyes:

[issatree]

To all the Righties,
I have stated this before on these Forums.
I still believe The Wood Lathe was built for Left Handers by a Left Hander.
We don't have that Head Sock getting in the way all the time, as we stand in the Centre of The Lathe.
Yes, we have to turn Right Handed to do a bowl on most Lathes, but I have never had a problem with that, Horses for Courses.
Regards,
issatree.
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[hughie]

.

Yes, we have to turn Right Handed to do a bowl on most Lathes, but I have never had a problem with that, Horses for Courses.


I find that with a bit of perseverance its fairly easy to become ambidextrous. I turn with both hands and don't really favour one over the other too much.

[Hickory]

There is no reason you can't turn a lathe the wrong way as long as it is a spindle turning. Might back off a faceplate or chuck, but the rest of the goodies will work backwards. Stand on the other side.

But like was said, I hold the skew, gouge and other tools with either hand and often switch if need be

[rodent]

Hi I'm right handed but I've taught a few left handed people . They get annoyed when they complain about it and I go to my left hand for turning . Try using both hands with the roughing gouge first that will get you used to the basics of double handed turning .

[Calm]

This is a very old thread but still relevant. Jefferson was one of the most recent to "need" a lathe built left handed but now is quite proficient with both hands

Personally i hold the chisel with both hands sometimes the left one is forward and sometimes the right. I never make a concious decision which way to go just pick it up and start. The inside of bowls is opposite to the outside so i guess it depends on where you are working. As for spindle work i guess you can use one hand all the time but i find it easier to work away from the body and work from the centre out so i still swap sides.

Time, experience and patience is the answer - it doesnt come overnight.

Cheers

[jefferson]

Calm is right. I did whinge for a long while about a lathe not being built for lefties.

But I got over it - had to really. And I watched a pro turner () at work. He changes hands all the time, mostly to ensure his body doesn't get in the way (I think).

A swivel head might make it easier for lefties eg hollowing a box.

But a short bed lathe is probably a better solution. I found turning on Calm's 750 Stubby a real pleasure.

Also, has a lathe (I can't remember the make) that almost has no bed and it's very convenient for lefties. (The lathe in question may be home-made).

My TBW.

[mick59wests]

Hi,
I know this is an old post but I am left handed and was thinking of getting a lathe that also goes in reverse so I can do the inside of bowls from the right hand side. Is there any issue with doing this? One of the previous posts mentioned making sure the chuck was on nice and tight as the pressure could unwind it from its thread. Also, are the lathes with EVS and reverse able to be adjusted the same as if they are going 'forward'? I don't have the space option of turning from the other side and also as you are too far from the controls I can't say I would be comfortable doing this anyway.

I am practicing right handed but no I will be able to do a better job with my left,

thanks

Mick

[Ozartisan]

HI Mick
I have had many "lefties" spend some time with me at Artisans Retreat.
There is no 1 solution to turning as a leftie, it is just a matter of adapting techniques to suit your abilities.
May I be so bold as to suggest you come up & spend a day with me in my workshop?
Details of our workshops are on our website.
I have both Nova DVR and Cougar lathes for you to play with - all electronic variable speed, swivel headstock, rotate in both directions etc etc etc.
(The Cougar, in my opinion, is the best value for money mid size lathe on the market today.)
Food for thought - we are only about 3 hour drive north of Sydney.
Cheers
Peter

[Tony Morton]

Hi
Just read through these posts again and have been thinking it's not like we learnt on a lathe going the other way and suddenly were faced with the set up we have today. Yes it may be difficult to start with but that is the way our brain trains our muscles to use the machine this way, just think do we lefties have difficulty winding a clock or undoing a bolt its all in the learning process.
Cheers Tony

[ticklingmedusa]

This is an interesting thread. It should be bumped.
I can cut or scrape in either direction.

[dr4g0nfly]

When I first started turning the kind gentle man who taught me (and still a good friend) asked me if I was left or right handed, then instructed me on how to hold the tools.

It was only 3 days before he explained that I'd been working left handed and that i could try them the other way around as well.

To this day I hold the tool however it's easier to make the cut and don't differentiate between the handedness.

Learn to use both - the tools don't mind!

[mick59wests]

I am learning to use both hands but am defintely better as a left hander.
Back to my original question(s) do any lefties use the reverse for the inside of bowls? Is there any dangers / things I need to think of before doing this?
thanks
Mick

[tea lady]

Was showing a leftie how to turn yesterday, and was a little awkward. But no more awkward than any newbie. :shrug:

We had a platter going the "wrong" direction at Kiewa once. I thought it was for Jeff, But I think it was an accident really. We were turning outboard. All the righties seems to cope well anyway! :shrug: (The platter did unwind at one point. :doh: )

One point is maybe get really proficient turning either hand on spindle work, then which ever way the bowl is going won't be a problem. :shrug: Even turning the "right" way sometimes you have to tackle things going in the other direction!

[brendan stemp]

Here's a solution to the left handers problem that doesn't involve learning to turn right handed.

The Vicmarc lathes can be converted to left hand use; ie standing/working on the opposite side of the lathe to the norm. You need an EVS version and simply run it in reverse. The banjo can be swivelled around to the other side and the tail stock is no problem apart from the locking lever being on the wrong side (or is it??) The only problem is the thread on the spindle. The thread is designed to ensure chucks and faceplates don't unwind when the lathe is turned on. In reverse this will happen. However all Vicmarc spindles and chucks (and faceplates) have a groove in them which accommodates a collar that can lock a chuck to the spindle. THis overcomes the problem of the chuck unwinding when the lathe is put in reverse.

The only other slight hiccup in the theory is the splayed legs of the Vicmarc lathe stands which may get in the way if working on opposite side. Perhaps the lathe could be put on the stand the other way around. As for the switches; well most Vicmarcs come with remote switches so they can be mounted either side.

Having said all that, I must say that it is a theory I have only worked out by looking at my lathes with a left hander but haven't ever put it into practise.

[jefferson]

The reality is that no firm makes lathes for lefties. Sure, there are some work around solutions, but even the Vicmarc one that Brendan uses is not ideal - the stop bar which I use all the time would be on the wrong side of the lathe.

It is true that it is important to learn to turn both hands. But a lathe dedicated for lefties makes a lot of sense. You shouldn't have to shroud rings to secure a chuck to the lathe!

The time will come - perhaps when certain patents run out - when someone with a connection in China decides to go the distance and make a lathe for lefties. Imagine that. Some common sense.

[mick59wests]

Brendan,

thanks for the thoughts. I had not thought of the remote as another method of working from the opposite side. I also am a bit surprised that there are not any left handed lathes. They would come at some premium but it certainly should not be too difficult. I wonder how many lefties would be interested......:D
Mick

[cookie48]

Vicmark will convert for lefties at a price.

[cookie48]

Can anyone recommend a good lathe for a lefty? ie; woodfast c1000 - m910 Vicmark VL200 SM EVS - Sherwood KC1643.
All these lathes appear to be ok as they have reverse and allso a good speed range.
I tend to shy away from moveable headstocks tho.
With the vicmark you can get locks for the chucks when in reverse, the others do not mention that they do.
Cost is a factor but not a deterent if required.

[issatree]

Hi to All,
Well, I've been preaching, for Years now, that the Current Wood Lathe was made, in my opinion, by a Left Hander for the Left Handed Turners.
Why, well The L / H Turner stands in the centre of the Lathe, where as the R / H Turner has to contend with the Head Stock in the way all the time, & I have seen this many times.
So In My Opinion, why aren't you R/H's standing on the other side.
I, Most certainly do not have Any Problems at all with being a Left Handed Turner.
I will concede, that, yes to having to Turn R / H to do a bowl, but I found this came naturally anyway, but I don't, & hardly ever Turn Bowls, so I don't have that Problem.

[Drillit]

Hello Rocky,
As a fellow all leftie, I have found that the swivel head is a great help. Also with the outboard being able to cut on the right hand side is an asset. However, I have also been able to develop some right hand usage and I think that would come with experience. When I first started about 7 years ago I had white knuckle fever until the confidence grew. I would suggest that you get some lessons and advice before buying - but when you do buy - buy the best that you can afford. Drillit.