Woodturning facts for kids

A close-up of wood being shaped on a lathe

A beautiful wooden bowl with natural edges, made by turning

A person shaping a bowl on a wood lathe

Woodturning is a cool craft where you use a special machine called a lathe to shape wood. Imagine a piece of wood spinning really fast! You use hand tools to carefully cut and carve it. The goal is to make objects that are perfectly round or symmetrical. Think of it like a potter's wheel, but for wood! The person doing the turning is called a turner.

Turners can create many different things. These include tool handles, candlesticks, pens, chessmen, and spinning tops. They also make parts for furniture like legs and spindles. Even baseball bats and musical instruments can be made this way! While factories now make many items, woodturning is still popular for unique, handmade pieces. A skilled turner can make amazing objects with just a few tools.

For a long time, lathes were portable. People would take them to where the wood was. Today, woodturners do many things. They fix old furniture, keep traditional art alive, and make special items for buildings. Many turners also create beautiful art for galleries. It's a great hobby for anyone who loves working with their hands and enjoys the feel and look of wood.

Understanding Woodturning Machines
A Look Back at Woodturning History
Basic Woodturning Techniques
How Wood is Held on the Lathe
Essential Woodturning Tools
Creative Woodturning Techniques
Staying Safe While Woodturning
See also

Understanding Woodturning Machines

A pole lathe, a simple type of woodturning machine

A bow lathe, powered by hand

Wood lathes work in two main ways: some spin back and forth, and others spin continuously. Older lathes, like the pole lathe, spin the wood first one way, then the other. The turner only cuts when the wood spins in one direction. These can be powered by a bow or a spring. Even though they are old technology, skilled turners can make amazing things with them. For example, bow lathes are still used to make intricate beads for windows in some parts of the world.

Most modern lathes spin the wood continuously. This means the turner can cut without stopping. However, even with continuous spinning, the turner holds the tools by hand. The tools are not fixed or moved automatically like in machines that shape metal. This makes woodturning a very hands-on craft.

How Wood Grain Affects Turning

The way the wood grain runs is very important in woodturning.

Spindle turning is when the wood grain runs along the length of the lathe. Imagine a log mounted in the machine. The tools cut across the grain, which is usually easier.
Bowl turning is when the wood grain runs across the lathe. Imagine a flat plank mounted sideways. As the bowl spins, the grain changes direction under the tool. This requires more skill and different tools because the wood cuts differently at various points.

The Importance of Wood Moisture

The amount of water in the wood also matters.

Wet wood (or "green wood") is easier to cut. It produces long, continuous shavings. However, wet wood can change shape as it dries. This can create interesting, unique forms, but it's not good for precise items.
Dry wood is needed for things that must be very accurate, like a box lid that fits perfectly. Dry wood is harder to cut and creates more dust.

Some wood has special challenges. Hardwoods need different tools than softwoods. If there are holes in the wood, the turner might need to spin the lathe faster or use special fillers. While other woodworkers prefer straight, clear grain, woodturners often look for unusual wood from roots or parts of trees with interesting patterns.

Learning and Sharing Woodturning Skills

Woodturning is a craft that people love to share. In the past, people learned through an apprentice system, working with a master turner. Today, many people learn from each other at workshops, clubs, and online. There are many videos and guides available, especially on sites like YouTube. This community helps keep the craft alive and growing.

A Look Back at Woodturning History

The "Robert Chalker Mazer", a fancy drinking cup from Britain around 1490. It's made of maple wood with silver decorations.

The history of woodturning is a bit tricky to trace because wood doesn't last forever. However, ancient Egyptian drawings show people using simple lathes. One person would turn the wood with a strap, while another cut it. Early bow lathes were used in Egypt and Rome. People in China, Persia, and Arabia also had their own versions.

Between 500 and 1500 AD, turned wooden bowls and cups were common in Europe. We know about these items from old shipwrecks or places where wood was preserved underground. Many of these were made from fresh wood on a spring pole lathe. Special drinking cups called mazers were made from dry wood and decorated with silver.

By 1568, a new type of lathe appeared. It used a large flywheel powered by a crank. An apprentice would turn the wheel while the master cut the wood. This allowed for continuous spinning. This invention eventually led to lathes powered by water, steam, and electricity. These powerful machines helped create parts for other machines.

In London, woodturners formed a guild (a group of craftspeople) as early as 1310. This group helped set rules for training new turners and even set prices for goods. Outside of big cities, turners often traveled. These "bodgers" would set up simple lathes near forests to make furniture parts.

A lathe powered by a belt

A modern electric lathe

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, woodturning was taught in schools in the US. Students learned how to use tools and make things like gavels, boxes, and lamp parts. Woodturning skills were also important for making models and molds used in factories.

In the 1970s, many people became interested in woodturning as a hobby. This led to a big revival of the craft. Teachers, artists, and hobbyists started sharing ideas and techniques. Today, woodturners learn from demonstrations, classes, and online resources. There are even museums, like The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, that showcase amazing turned art from around the world.

Basic Woodturning Techniques

Making complex shapes on a lathe involves just a few main types of cuts:

Parting: This cut separates the wood from the machine or creates a specific depth.
Planing: This is like smoothing wood with a hand planer, making the surface flat.
Bead: This creates a rounded, raised shape on the wood.
Cove: This creates a rounded, hollowed-out shape.
Hollowing: This technique combines drilling and scooping to create hollow forms like bowls or vases.

Turners choose from many tools for these cuts. The better you practice, the cleaner your cuts will be! Turners try to make very clean cuts to avoid lots of sanding later. When sanding is needed, it's often done right on the lathe. The lathe can also be used to hold the wood for carving, burning, adding texture, coloring, and finishing.

How Wood is Held on the Lathe

A set of modern holding devices for woodturning

The wood spins between two main parts of the lathe:

The headstock has the motor that makes the wood spin.
The tailstock supports the other end of the wood.

Sometimes, the wood is held "between centers." This means points or spurs are driven into both ends of the wood. Other times, the headstock uses a special device called a chuck or a faceplate. These hold the wood securely without needing tailstock support. This is very important for hollowing out bowls or vases, as the center of the wood needs to be open.

Essential Woodturning Tools

A basic set of tools for woodturning

Turning tools are usually made from carbon steel, high-speed steel (HSS), or tungsten carbide. HSS tools stay sharp longer than carbon steel, and carbide tools last even longer. Carbide tools often have small, replaceable cutting tips.

Turning tools need to be sharpened often because the wood moves so fast. Sharpening is usually done with grinding wheels. It's important not to let the tool get too hot, as this can make the steel soft and unable to hold a sharp edge.

Here are some common woodturning tools:

Spindle roughing gouge: A wide, curved tool used to make a square piece of wood round.
Spindle gouge: A shallower curved tool used for making details like beads (raised bumps) and coves (hollow curves).
Bowl gouge: A deep, curved tool used for shaping the inside and outside of bowls. It often has a thicker handle for better control.
Skew chisel: A flat chisel with an angled edge. It's used for smoothing flat surfaces and adding fine details on spindle work. It's known for being tricky to master!
Parting tool: A pointed tool used to cut grooves or to separate a finished piece from the rest of the wood.
Bedan tool: A wider tool, similar to a parting tool, used for making wider cuts or rolling beads.
Hollowing tool: Many different types of tools designed to scoop out the inside of deep bowls or vases.
Scraper: A tool that scrapes wood fibers to smooth surfaces or create shapes that are hard to make with gouges.
Bowl saver: A special tool that cuts out the inside of a bowl in layers, so you can make smaller bowls from the leftover wood.
Auger: A drill bit used to drill holes, for example, for a lamp cord.
Chatter tool: A flexible scraper used to add decorative marks.
Wire: A simple wire, sometimes with handles, used to burn decorative lines into the wood through friction.

Creative Woodturning Techniques

Beyond the basics, turners use many other cool techniques:

Eccentric turning: Turning the same piece of wood multiple times, but each time on a slightly different center point. This creates unique, non-round shapes.
Segmented turning: This is like building with wood blocks! Many small pieces of wood are glued together to form a blank. Then, this blank is turned on the lathe to create amazing patterns.
Green or wet turning: Turning wood that has just been cut from a tree and still has a lot of moisture. It cuts easily, but the piece will change shape as it dries. Sometimes, it's turned roughly, dried, and then turned again for a final shape.
Natural edge: Creating bowls or vessels where the outside edge of the piece is the natural bark edge of the tree.
Ornamental turning: Using a special lathe called a rose engine lathe to cut fancy, decorative patterns into the wood.
Twistwork: Carving spiral designs onto spindles or vessels while they are held on the lathe.

Staying Safe While Woodturning

Safety is super important when woodturning! Always wear the right safety gear.

Eye protection: You MUST wear safety goggles, glasses, or a full-face visor. A visor protects your whole face from flying wood chips and dust.
Breathing protection: Wood dust can be harmful to your lungs. Wear a respirator or a dust mask. Some woods, like cocobolo, can even cause skin irritation or allergic reactions. Long-term exposure to fine wood dust can also be a health risk.
Ear protection: While lathes are not as loud as some tools, wear earplugs if the noise is too much, especially with a dust collector running.
Hand/skin protection: NEVER wear gloves when working with spinning machinery, as they can get caught. However, wood can cause splinters or skin irritation. Also, many wood finishes contain chemicals that can irritate your skin, so be careful.
Foot protection: Wear sturdy shoes, like steel-toe boots, to protect your feet from falling tools or wood.

Before you start the lathe, always remember the 'SAFER' checklist:

S – Speed: Start with a slower speed for big, heavy pieces. You can increase it for smaller, lighter items. Always slow down at the end.
A – Aside: Stand to the side of the spinning wood, not directly in front of it.
F – Fixings: Make sure everything is tightly secured – the wood, the tool rest, and all parts of the lathe.
E – Eye and ear protection: Always wear your safety glasses or visor and ear protection.
R – Revolve: Spin the wood by hand first to make sure it can turn freely without hitting anything.

Using the lathe safely also means using the right techniques. Spinning a large, unbalanced piece of wood too fast can make the lathe shake dangerously or even cause the wood to break apart. If a tool "catches" in the wood, it can suddenly pull the tool from your hand. Always be careful, especially with oddly shaped pieces or bowls with uneven edges.