Thread: yikes where does one start.

If you cant get any teaching then get this book.
Woodturning: A Foundation Course (with DVD) : Keith Rowley : 9781784940638

It was a great help to me starting out.

There is some good stuff online but also some real dodgy stuff that will send beginners down the wrong track. Being a beginner its often hard to tell whats decent and safe to follow so if you see something and not sure run it by the forum for a yea or nay. I found a lot of useful info on this site as a beginner.
Wood Turning Lathe tips, techniques, instruction

If you the follow the steps in that book it will get you started as a safe turner. Stick to between center stuff to start out until you are familiar with the tools then when you progress to bowls and stuff start small. Walk before you can run stuff. Gloves should go however as they are not safe around spinning machinery.
Happy turning
John

I have this DVD somewhere, I will see if I can find it over the week end, if I can you are welcome to it Turning Wood with Richard Raffan (woodturning DVD preview) - YouTube
If you don't know Richard is or was one of Australia's foremost wood Woodturners. or next time you are down this way come around and we can make some shavings.
Once you have the basics it is just matter of practice i.e. lots of catches, lots of timber flying over your head, lots of going through the side of your bowls.

Richard now has a number of links on his website to his videos (I know because I just designed and launched his new website 2 weeks ago - http://richardraffan.com.au )

Jane

Originally Posted by lovetoride

Richard now has a number of links on his website to his videos (I know because I just designed and launched his new website 2 weeks ago - Home - Richard Raffan )
Jane

That's great news. Richard's videos are a wonderful resource and have been missed from Youtube

Tim Skilton still does one-on-one lessons down here in Adelaide.

A session with him would get you going.

Private message him through the forum, username Tim the Timber Turner

All the best and keep that face mask on!

thanks everyone
except when the hell will I be in Adelaide again with spare time... not your concern I will follow up the Richard vids and chase you up China when heading that way again.

Meanwhile I am practicing with plenty of old apple tree, tea tree and other bits of gum. Not concerned if it comes out crap at least building up confidence is important.

Originally Posted by Tonyz

Recently asked about sharpness of my tools, China, willingly checked the for me and gave them flying colours.
I have build a small platform to stand on, give me more comfortable position to work from.

I am wearing gloves and face mask but havent been near a lathe really close to 30 years, I have spent hours watching know it alls selling their sites on you tube

I am guessing my best method now to just practice, practice until I am comfortable with a chunk of timber flying around in circles close to my noggin? We have a 'boring as bat sh*t' mens shed, they are more interested in morning tea than doing anything, and there are no other groups teaching.

really want to get comfortable but prefer to keep my head in one piece.

suggestions.

When I taught turning I always said don't try to make anything other than shavings when you first start out getting to know a gouge, skew... If you're turning a particular project you will be more worried about screwing up and will stiffen up instead of relaxing your grip and learning how to use the tool properly. There are only a couple basic shapes on the lathe, coves, beads and flats. I would tell them to grab a bit of firewood and the gouge and just start cutting either the left or right side of a cove and go the whole length of the wood cutting half the cove and then come back the other way... When you get proficient you start to put the lefts and rights together. Same for beads. Grab a skew, or gouge, and start cutting the right or left side and repeat over and over till you reach the other end... You can practice the flats by grabbing the large skew or chisel and smoothing out the wood to begin your practice of the beads and or coves.

Learning how to use the tools is more about repetition to get the brain to learn the coordination and feel, and for you to relax your grip. You can take all the course you like but you need time on the lathe to become any good at it.

And yup, wear a face shield. But gloves, I suspect, will do more to hinder you.

YMMV

Tony

Practice through repetition is good as long as you are practicing sound techniques.

The advantage of learning from an experienced teacher is that you acquire sound techniques from the start and you also acquire them quicker.

If you practice poor techniques it is hard to unlearn them later if you are trying to correct them, particularity if they have become unconscience body positions and movements.

If face to face tuition is not possible, the next best thing are teaching DVDs...

No 1: Anything from Richard Raffan is excellent... Books & DVDs - Richard Raffan

No 2: Glenn Lucas is also first rate... DVDs Archives - Glenn Lucas Master Woodturner

Keep going back and looking at the DVDs as you won't see all that you are looking at until you have started to use the techniques.

After that books are a quick references, but less useful to learn from. I think I may have one of RR's early books somewhere. Drop me a PM if you get desperate for a lend of that.

Making sure that you have sound grinds on your gouges was an important first step, Tony. Too many turners get off to a bad start with that and are frustrated when their gouges won't do what they see in the videos.

Glenn Lucas told me he sharpens and resharpens every bowl gouge that will be used in any of his face to face classes. That way he knows that every gouge will perform as intended, every student will have the best opportunity to succeed and also that he will know exactly what the user is doing wrong if something goes wrong. What a difference it would make if every new turner had a start like that.

Best wishes for speedy progress towards satisfaction with your turning.

well I am having fun, being super cautious but hey, nothing wrong with that in my eyes/face.
I have the dusty working through 150mm pipe and a bell mouth, but fair go the crap on the floor.

so question..... do you try and suck out the chips/shavings as you go or just sweep them up at end of day/week/month/whenever you get around to it?
and then use the dusty for sanding only.
If it wasnt for sharp objects potentially damaging my feet, I would love to walk through wood shavings.

Normally the dust catcher is behind the lathe the shavings fly in the opposite direction. dusty would have to be monster to catch them just clean up when they become a problem so you don't risk slipping, dusty just sucks up dust.

Originally Posted by Tonyz

so question..... do you try and suck out the chips/shavings as you go or just sweep them up at end of day/week/month/whenever you get around to it?

Tony, I asked this question last year and got many great answers and suggestions. See the thread at Containing the mess (woodworkforums.com).

I find that when turning wet, there is little point in using the DC. When turning dry or sanding, the DC helps with the finer dust.

Search out Stuart Batty's, and his dad Allan Batty, excellent videos on Vimeo. Stuart offers comprehensive explanations about the how & why of good turning practices. Other very good turners to check out are Mike Mahoney and Glenn Lucas for bowl turning videos (purchase.)

Originally Posted by Tonyz

so question..... do you try and suck out the chips/shavings as you go or just sweep them up at end of day/week/month/whenever you get around to it?
and then use the dusty for sanding only.

I'm fastidious about fine dust (the invisible stuff that is PM2.5 μg/m³ or less) but negligent about the stuff you can see, including the shavings...

Shavings.JPG

My Dust Extraction system is for fine dust extraction, not chip collection!

If the blanks are very green/wet I don't run the DE, but otherwise have it running whenever I'm working on the lathe.

I only tidy up the shavings off the floor when I start to trip up on them or can't find things. Dry shavings do start to break down into finer dust if you keep tramping around in it, so eventually get around to a clean up if I see the fine dust levels start to go up on the particle counter.

I do remove wet shavings from lathe at end of session to reduce metal corrosion.

Originally Posted by Tonyz

so question..... do you try and suck out the chips/shavings as you go or just sweep them up at end of day/week/month/whenever you get around to it?
and then use the dusty for sanding only.

I clean shavings up, (a)annually or (b)when I realise that my tool presentation angle is all wrong because I'm 100mm higher than I should be, whichever occurs first.