With the spindle turning and the story stick lying on the tool rest and hooked around the tailstock end, transfer the profile lines to the spindle. Rest calipers set to the desired diameter in a straight segment as you turn it down. When the calipers slip over the center, stop cutting.  Buy more downloadable turning videos at www.- From the left-hand menu select "wood-working videos" and then "turning" for a full listing. It turns well and can easily brought to a good polished finish. Goncalo Alves woodturning blanks are available in round, square and spindle sizes where possible. All sizes listed are in inches   The wood is hard, heavy, durable, close-grained and resistant to termites. It sandpapers well and takes oils and varnish well finishing with a satin like lustre. When freshly worked it has a distinctive, sweetish smell. The wood is almost indestructible. Wood Oil. Scratch Remover. Stain Markers.  Dust, wood chips, and even whole pieces may go flying when you start turning, so facial safety gear is a must. I wish I could decree that no lathe would start until the operator is wearing a face shield! Goggles are for preventing splinters from entering someone’s eye.  Roughing gouges are only for spindle turning. Their tang is generally narrow, yet the size of the cutting edge is large. This disparity between tang and cutting edge puts a lot of torque on that tang. That’s fine for spindle turning; however, for bowl turning, with diameters much larger, that downward pressure is greater, and those tangs can break. Here’s where beginners get confused: instructors use the phrase, “rough out a bowl.”.

To find out we asked them. With so much effort put into such a small piece of wood, turners are very serious about their stock. What species do WOOD's woodturners and online guests like to work with most? The following slides show their selections. Turnings and tidbits we've learned about these choice woods.

There are several types of figured maple including curl, best wood for turning spindles oil, spalted, best wood for turning spindles oil, birds-eye, and more.

If you can't find any in your area, try online searches or visit the page below for our listing. Turning by Jason Mast. Walnut turns best at a lathe speed ofrpm, and requires sharp tools. Bowl turners know that walnut's pronounced end grain in the bottom of a bowl tears easily and produces a surface that can be difficult to sand. The best finish for walnut is a clear one.

Several coats of Danish oil provide clarity. Turning by Mike O'Leary. Although oil finishes and clear lacquers or varnishes work equally well on cherry, you'll get a smoother finish on this fine-grained wood if you thin the first coat to act as a sealer. Then, sand with grit or steel wool after it's dry and recoat. The Best Wood For Turning Spindles Youtube sharply defined sapwood is yellowish or pale yellowish-white, often with a purplish tinge.

The heartwood color ranges from rose to dark-brown with darker purple-black lines. The darker streaks impart an attractive figure to the timber. Turning by Charles Cadenhead. Sometimes a boxelder tree contains wood that carries raspberry-colored streaks and flecks, a property that woodturners find especially appealing for bright bowls, slender goblets, and attractive platters. The red streaks are composed of a pigment from a fungus Fusarium negundi. Turning by Rob Wallace, Ames, Iowa.

Under the best growing conditions, the trees are reported to reach heights of about feet 30 m. They produce straight clear trunks that are 35 to 50 feet 10 to 15 m long, with average diameters of up to 30 inches 75 cmbut may occasionally reach 60 inches cm. Madrone Arbutus menziesii best wood for turning spindles oil sometimes called madrona or madrono, and scientifically is always preceded by the word Pacific. That's because there's a Texas version of the species, and a Mexican one, too.

But most of the madrone you see as woodworking stock and veneer comes from a range that extends from southern British Columbia down to California's central coast.

In that coastal band, you can find madrone everywhere there's a forest, and in nearly any size. In rugged mountain terrain madrone may only reach shrub size. Elm claims about 20 species in the temperate regions of the world. In the forest, elm often grows ' tall. But open-grown elms rarely reach that height.

Instead, they form a spreading, umbrella-like crown valued for shade. Turning by Rob Wallace, Ames Iowa. Spalting is a figure pattern caused by fungus growing in trees and logs. It produces black streaks usually growing with the grain best wood for turning spindles oil can result in a beautiful marbling. Some species are more prone to spalting such as maple like that shownbirch and beech, while others such as walnut rarely spalt. The fungus enters the tree through an injury and starts to spread.

The trick is to get dense spalting before the lumber turns to punk. It is not uncommon to find a log with spalting penetrating the end grain for a short distance but this can best wood for turning spindles oil little more than a distraction. Wherever Osage orange grew, it had many a use.

At one time, a Plains Indian brave would gladly trade a best wood for turning spindles oil and blanket for a bow made of the wood. The reputation of such bows spread widely from the land of their makers-the Osage Indians of Arkansas and Missouri. Bows of this hard, strong wood even were found by explorers in use as far north as Montana.

That's why in many parts of the nation the wood carries the name bois d'arc, French for wood of the bow. Americanized, the term becomes bowdark. In species such as sycamore the face of the quartersawn lumber will display a best wood for turning spindles oil ray fleck on its face. These rays are part of the cell structure of the growing tree that radiate outward from the pith of the log to the sapwood. When the log is sawn with the annual rings perpendicular these rays are bisected and show up on the face of each piece of quartersawn lumber as a shiny band.

When sawn, each log reveals its own unique figured pattern of ray flecks. This is only visible in those species that have these rays in the cellular structure. Turning by Marlen Kemmet. Light in orange color, with occasional pinkish colored streaks, Bradford pear is an extremely hard and dense wood, but turns easily.

It sands well and will takes on a high polish. Usually available in very limited quantities, as the tree is an ornamental found most often in urban landscapes. The bowl shown was turned from a natural-edged live oak blank harvested from a tree base where best wood for turning spindles oil meet the trunk.

The natural edge is the "underground edge" of the tree facing downward. According to the turner, this wood turns wonderfully when green and doesn't split due to the interlocking grain. Padauk grows in tropical climates, although the geography changes from rain forest to dry, nearly treeless plains with each species. Depending on the species, padauk's coarse-grained heartwood varies in color from a lustrous purple-red to orange-red. With age and exposure to sunlight, it turns deep maroon.

Quartersawn wood features a pronounced ribbon stripe. Turning by Ron Lenz. Cocobolo Dahlbergia retusa belongs to the same genus as Brazilian rosewood, and in fact, has similar properties. Rosewood, however, likes South America's rain forests.

Cocobolo prefers the drier, upland savanna country of Central America's Pacific Coast. This wood is a well-known sensitizer that can produce a poison-ivy type rash or other reaction in allergic individuals. If you have an allergy history, best wood for turning spindles oil cocobolo with full protection: gloves, long sleeves, a dust mask, and a protective skin cream. Tracing around miniature templates made of paper or thin scrapwood can be difficult because the Skip to main content.

Reader's Choice - Top Woods to Turn. Previous X of 15 View all Next. Reader's Choice - Top Woods to Turn With so much effort put into such a small piece of wood, turners are very serious about their stock. Figured Maple There are several types of figured maple including curl, fiddleback, spalted, tiger, birds-eye, and more.

Walnut Walnut turns best at a lathe speed ofrpm, and requires sharp tools. Cherry Although oil finishes and clear lacquers or varnishes work equally well on cherry, you'll get a smoother finish on this fine-grained wood if you thin the first coat to act as a sealer. Boxelder Sometimes a boxelder tree contains wood that carries raspberry-colored streaks and flecks, a property that woodturners find especially appealing for bright bowls, slender goblets, and attractive platters.

Rosewood Under the best growing conditions, the trees are reported to reach heights of about feet 30 m. Pacific Madrone Madrone Arbutus menziesii is sometimes called madrona or madrono, and scientifically is always preceded by the word Pacific. Red Elm Elm claims about 20 species in the temperate regions of the world. Spalted Maple Spalting is a figure pattern caused by fungus growing in trees and logs. Osage Orange Wherever Osage orange grew, it had many a use. Quartersawn Sycamore In species such as sycamore the face of the quartersawn lumber will display a prominent ray fleck on its face.

Bradford Pear Light in orange color, with occasional pinkish colored streaks, Bradford pear is an extremely hard and dense wood, but turns easily.

Live Oak Root The bowl shown was turned from a natural-edged live oak blank harvested from a tree base where roots meet the trunk. Padauk Padauk grows in tropical climates, although the geography changes from rain forest to dry, nearly treeless plains with each species.

Cocobolo Cocobolo Dahlbergia retusa belongs best wood for turning spindles oil the same genus as Brazilian rosewood, and in fact, has similar properties. Facebook Pinterest Twitter Text. Turn a Gimbal Clock. Scrollsawing Tips and Tricks. Cutting-edge Chisel Skills. For more related content, subscribe to our newsletter!

Creating a four-corner grain match. Keep small cutoffs from escaping at the bandsaw. Pegs provide positive grip on shop jigs. Head off scratches with a light polish. Tip of the Day. Template with "true grit". Magazine Subscribe Magazine Customer Service.

The same woodturning techniques needed to turn spindles such as table legs, bed posts, stair rail spindles or finials can be applied to turning bowls, attractive pens, and more. While this one article certainly cannot cover every aspect of safe woodturning, if the budding woodturner can learn and consistently implement all of the following. the best results. Poplar is inex-pensive, easy to turn, and readily By Nick Cook In the hands of an expert, turning a spindle looks effortless. But there are plenty of pitfalls to avoid on the journey to expertise. Here are 20 tips to help you become a spindle master. Editor’s note: Earlier this year, we published Nick Cook’s article “Twenty. Best of all for practicing spindle turning is green wood. Carefully select a small branch from your maple tree — one that won’t be easily missed — then cut it into modest lengths. Simply mount it between centers and cut away.

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