Thread: The best 100 turning "tips"

i have one.

"wear safety gear"

tends to get overlooked far too often.

These 'Universal Turning Truths' by Russ that posted somewhere are a good starting point.

.

Thanks, guys.

Neil, I've seen that one before. It's good.

But I was more looking for useful tips that you guys just take for granted.

For example, Ken W. was showing me how to hot melt a piece for a box onto a waste block. He first put a centred dimple in the piece at the tail-stock end, brought the tail stock up, ready to go. Then he put hot-melt on the waste block, leaving a gap in the glue for the air to escape, then quickly bringing the tail-stock up to "clamp" the wood on the waste block. Because of the dimple, it went in dead-centre.

That's the sort of practical stuff I was after. More than happy to catalogue it all at the end.

"If you can't see it, you can't turn it."

That one's true on so many different levels...

When hollowing "manually", the tailstock makes a good support for your right elbow.

"Ken W. was showing me how to hot melt a piece for a box onto a waste block"

If you applying a large amount of hotmelt glue soften with a heat gun just before contacting it with the mating piece.
Also hotmelt glue doesn't like shiney/slick surfaces a few stokes of 60g sand paper gives it a key to bond too.



Ps, If your chisel is not cutting you may need to turn the lathe on at the wall first!

How do you remove the hotmelt spare piece at the end?

This comes C/o Tim Skilton.

Use the 50% rule for choosing sandpaper grades; e.g. if you start sanding at P100 then the next grade to use would be 100 + 50% (50) = P150. Next is P150 + 75 (50% 0f 150) = 225 or P220. Next is 220 +110 = 330 or 320, and so on. I start at P80 then 120, 180, 240, 320, 500, 800, 1200....

PS I like the idea of this thread, hope we get lots of ideas, well done Jeff.

Thanks, please keep them coming.

One from DJ on sanding:

"When sanding, remove all traces of dust from the work before you move onto the next grade". (Dusty with an air gun, but it works!)

Another one (I think from R. Raffan but I know it's been said elsewhere):

Don't wear ear-muffs when turning. Listen to the wood. If you hear a "tick", stop the lathe and find out why...."

One from :

"If your tool is sharp and the bevel is rubbing and the tool is getting hot but not cutting.... Open the flute!" Or something like that. That one was from down at Phillip Island.

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

How do you remove the hotmelt spare piece at the end?

Eliza, not sure about the question??? I part the workpiece off the waste block, right on the glue-line. Messy on the chisel, but you don't "waste" too much of your waste block. And most of the time - unless you've used stacks of hotmelt, it parts off fairly easily. (Is that what you were asking?)

And thanks Brendan for the encouragement. I've just got to prise all of knowledge out of the wiser heads.

If you have a catch, switch off the lathe and turning it by hand do an "autopsy" on why it did it.

Applies to all mistakes.

these are really good. I think with my skill level, I'll be a listener not a talker (unless I think of something suitable to plagiarise!)

Cheers,
Dave

dont leave in your live center or drill chuck with a bit in it while hollowing out a bowl

Originally Posted by Texian

When hollowing "manually", the tailstock makes a good support for your right elbow.

Just remove the centre point first so you don't get pincushion elbow...

Whoops... Brody had already picked that one up. Must read the whole thread before posting...

....

Can't remember who I learnt this one from, as it was a long time ago. Probably some old production turner, and perhaps everyone knows about it, but here it is anyways.

To test if a blank has been roughed down to round, place the back of the roughing gouge on top of the blank while it is still spinning. The sound will tell you quickly if it is round yet or if there are still some flats left. Works for both spindle and half-log bowl blanks. Saves time turning the lathe off to visually check or applying the hand to the spindle before it's round.

....