09-10-2020, 08:52 PM
I just bought a lathe. I've always wanted to get into turning, so I bought a "starter" lathe (WEN) and "starter" tools (PSI HSS).
I haven't done much. I turned a small square of padauk into a random spindle (just playing with the tools) and a few sections of pine log into cylinders so I could make coasters. Both of these were for practice.
Today, I tried to make a baseball bat. I play baseball, and I figured it would be a fun project. I used the roughing gouge (not very well, perhaps because it's not a great tool - it worked better when I sharpened it - and perhaps because I don't have good technique), a round scraper (which I also used for material removal), some sanding sponges, and sanding blocks. For a first project, it turned out OK I think. It's still in there so I can work with it if I want.
I am assuming that lots of practice will help with consistent diameters, and I am also assuming that proper expertise with a skew chisel can help with this. I tried a little bit after I took this, and it seemed to work OK. Again, I don't have great tools, but it seemed like with better technique I would not have as much trouble. The billet diameter was more or less unchanged for the barrel and the taper was OK, but I wanted to make sure the grip was pretty even. This is a lot more challenging than it looks (welcome to turning, I suppose), but I was wondering if there were any tricks to doing this. I can envision a jig that holds a tool at a consistent distance from the piece, ensuring a constant diameter, but I don't know how to translate that to reality (nor am I sure it's needed).
I haven't done much. I turned a small square of padauk into a random spindle (just playing with the tools) and a few sections of pine log into cylinders so I could make coasters. Both of these were for practice.
Today, I tried to make a baseball bat. I play baseball, and I figured it would be a fun project. I used the roughing gouge (not very well, perhaps because it's not a great tool - it worked better when I sharpened it - and perhaps because I don't have good technique), a round scraper (which I also used for material removal), some sanding sponges, and sanding blocks. For a first project, it turned out OK I think. It's still in there so I can work with it if I want.
I am assuming that lots of practice will help with consistent diameters, and I am also assuming that proper expertise with a skew chisel can help with this. I tried a little bit after I took this, and it seemed to work OK. Again, I don't have great tools, but it seemed like with better technique I would not have as much trouble. The billet diameter was more or less unchanged for the barrel and the taper was OK, but I wanted to make sure the grip was pretty even. This is a lot more challenging than it looks (welcome to turning, I suppose), but I was wondering if there were any tricks to doing this. I can envision a jig that holds a tool at a consistent distance from the piece, ensuring a constant diameter, but I don't know how to translate that to reality (nor am I sure it's needed).