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Following are some valuable woodturning tips that you'll find helpful whether you're beginner-level or advanced:
- Turn new handles for your tools. It is great practice and you can make them the length and diameter that feels comfortable to you.
- Wipe your safety glasses or face shield with ArmorAll (TM ) to help keep it from fogging over and to keep dust from sticking to the lenses.
- When you are having trouble with a rough surface on green wood bowls, try spraying the surface with dish soap. Mix a solution of one part soap to three parts water in a spray bottle. Lightly spray the surface of the bowl and then make another cut. The surface will be much easier to cut.
- Rare-earth magnets, available at most hardware stores, are a great way to keep track of chuck keys, centers and other accessories needed at the lathe.
- To make the table on your bandsaw larger to support large bowl blanks and the like, cut a slot for the blade in a piece of 3/4-inch plywood that will act as your auxiliary table. Fasten wood blocks to the plywood so that they will slide under the edge of the table to hold the plywood in place and it can easily be slid off when not needed.
- When sanding, always use each grit in order. Skipping a grade of grit will leave scratches that will show up when finish is applied.
- Always remove the tool rest when sanding. Especially on small pieces, it is tempting to leave it in place but it is too easy to get caught between the rest and the revolving work piece.
- If your abrasive paper becomes clogged quickly when sanding resinous wood, try rubbing the surface with chalk. The chalk will not affect the cutting of the abrasive, but the resins will not fill the surface as quickly.
- To ensure that your tool slides easily on the tool rest, use a file or abrasive to remove any nicks or irregularities. Once the rest is smooth, rub on some wax or paraffin. The tool will slide easily making smooth cuts much easier.
- A box fan with a furnace filter taped on the inlet side will help to control sanding dust. Place the fan down stream from the dust source so that the dust is pulled into the filter. Although this is very effective, you should also wear a dust mask.
- When turning a tenon on a chair spindle or any other piece, turn close to the desired size. Then use an open-end wrench as a sizing gauge by pushing it over the wood. The wrench will size the tenon and compress the wood fibers. When glue is applied and the tenon is fit to the mating piece, the glue will cause the compressed fibers to swell making a very tight fit.
- If you light your work area with florescent lights, supplement the light with some incandescent lighting. It will help to eliminate some shadows and will help to overcome the strobe effect that can occur at some speeds when turning.
- Having your lathe at the proper height is very important. Here is a trick to find what that height should be: hold a lathe tool in both hands as you would in normal use. With your hands at a comfortable location, the tool is at the best center height for you. This is usually at elbow height or up to 2 inches higher. Raising the lathe or placing a stand to raise the turner will make turning much more comfortable.
- Decorative rings burned into the surface of rapidly spinning wood can add interest to a piece. Most wire will work for this. Be sure to use a small turned knob for the ends of the wire. The knobs keep fingers from being burned and keep you from the temptation to wrap the wire around your fingers.
- Some woods will cause a purple stain to appear on hour hands. Walnut, cherry, and oak are woods that will commonly cause this stain. The stain is due to the tannic acid in the wood. The stain can be removed with a few drops of lemon juice.
- If you are having difficulty coming up with shapes for bowls, look to potters. Books on old pottery will have literally hundreds of ideas for shapes than can be used equally as well with wood.
- When turning spindles, especially thin ones, start at the tailstock end and work back toward the headstock. This leaves more wood for support from the driven end.
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