First try at turning..

[sscherin]

I got my live center yesterday and could finally take a shot at trying wood on my metal lathe.
Just for fun I chucked up a dead center in the headstock and mounted up a piece of sycamore I saved from the back yard trees. (They dropped several large branches this year)

I managed to get it turned down do a roundish shape before my wife hauled me off to the gym..

First thing I noticed is I'm getting lots of tear out..

I figure it's either my fresh out of the box HF gouge needs to be sharpened or I need to get more RPM on the lathe.. Might be time for a pulley change. I think I can only get 2000 rpm with what I have on it now..

[jking]

Lathe tools can dull very quickly. It is not unusual to sharpen your lathe tools several times while turning something. Some woods are harder on the tools, too.

How dense of a wood is sycamore? I've tried practicing with pine before and it has tear out problems. Something like poplar, for example turns well without tearout.

[Richard in Smithville]

I figure it's either my fresh out of the box HF gouge needs to be sharpened

Unless your buying some really high end chisels, I would sharpen them. My etry level chisels did very little out of the box and felt like whole new tools once sharpened.

[Uncle Cracker]

Most turning tools need sharpening right out of the box. That's most likely your problem. Either that, or you're holding the tool to the work (or the toolrest) at an improper angle.

[sscherin]

Odds are good that I'm doing it all wrong plus dull tools and soft wood..
It's a trifecta of fail I'll try to get past..

After watching some howto videos it would appear my angles are bad as you said.
I've been going in more on axis like I would setting up the metal cutting tooling.

I'll sharpen the tools and take another whack at it tonight.

[Uncle Cracker]

Poplar is an inexpensive wood to practice on. You might get a chunk of that, just for grins... And don't forget to hone. It's just as important as the sharpening part (even if you're not a Conehead... )

[leehljp]

Softer woods need a skew to have a good smooth cut. Harder woods do fine with scrapers. Gouges are closer to scrapers in this situation and as a result will naturally tend to cause tear out on softer woods - especially with the inexperience of just starting out.


I can take a scraper and turn hard wood to a fine finish to the point that sandpaper is not needed. But I can't do that with softer wood as it will tear out. That is the nature of the relationship of scraper and soft wood - not my technique per se.

But softer woods do well with the skew and can be turned into a beautifully smooth finish without tear out.

[sscherin]

I did the things you recommended..

1. I dug out the fine grinding wheels and put a good edge on the tools..

2.Put the big pulley on the lathe motor.. Now that thing sings..
I should dig out the airplane tach and see how fast it's spinning.

3. Practice practice practice working the right angle.

I turned that poor piece of sycamore down to a twig

I'm getting ok with the skew going left to right.. right to left needs work..

It was really cool seeing those first ribbons flying off the skew..

I need to get a spur drive in a bad way.. The dead center slips if you start working to fast.

I got a 1x1x36 piece of poplar to play with.. I'll chop it up into 5" blanks and see what happens.

The sycamore is soft like pine.. one catch and it's got a huge chunk torn out.

[cabinetman]

Turning speed for wood is faster than metal, so doing the pulley thing is the way to go. As mentioned, sharp tools and getting the "feel" right makes a difference.

My first attempt at turning turned (unavoidable pun) out better than I expected. It was easier than I thought.
.

[seabat]

I did the things you recommended..
I need to get a spur drive in a bad way.. The dead center slips if you start working to fast.

I need one of those ... but I've been using a fornster bit and surprisingly it works well.

[dbhost]

Sharpen those lathe tools!

And while you are at it, could you do mine too?

Seriously though, I know sharpening is a pain (which is why I want to pawn it off on someone else) but the only way you are going to get a good cut is with sharp tools... And yes, the HF chisels aren't super sharp out of the box... But they aren't bad either...

[leehljp]

Concerning sharpening as DB mentioned - I keep a hone and some extremely fine sandpaper on a FLAT base next to my lathe. Every minute or so, I swipe it a couple of times. It is not a matter of sharpening and then when it gets dull, sharpen it again. It is a matter of keeping the fine edge on it at ALL times. Discipline works wonders to technique!

[sscherin]

Concerning sharpening as DB mentioned - I keep a hone and some extremely fine sandpaper on a FLAT base next to my lathe. Every minute or so, I swipe it a couple of times. It is not a matter of sharpening and then when it gets dull, sharpen it again. It is a matter of keeping the fine edge on it at ALL times. Discipline works wonders to technique!

Man you are right about the tools dulling fast... I tried making a top.. Sounded simple at the time.. As a top it's a disaster (top heavy and diameter to small for the height)
Still it's practice.. BY the time I was done the skew was badly dulled.. I'll need to set up a sharpening station near the lathe.

I'll try turning the poplar tonight..

Thanks for all the tips.. I'm learning bit by bit. I only snagged once this time

[Uncle Cracker]

Those HF tools are probably not HSS (High Speed Steel). Your sharpening woes will lessen considerably if you eventually upgrade to that type of tool.

[sscherin]

I got this set.. Claims to be HSS..
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47066
I think it was a staple I found in the wood that dulled it.