Choosing a Wood Lathe For Your Wood Shop

If you are a beginning woodworker, you probably are not yet ready for a wood lathe. However, if you have are at the point in your wood working where you are serious about outfitting your shop with the right tools then this tool is certainly one you should consider.

The basic operation of this tool is pretty simple; you place your work piece it the lathe and it spins around. You then use tools, such as gouges and chisels to shape the wood. Of course, there is more to the tool that this. Wood lathes vary in features such as horsepower, bed length, swing, and fixed or variable revolutions per minute (RPM). An important, but often overlooked, feature is the chuck. This is the piece that holds the wood in place as it turns. You will want to have the option of holding the wood between the jaws of the chuck or screwing the work piece directly onto the chuck. This is handy for pieced you are holding from just one end, such as a wood bowl. Your particular needs will dictate which of these features are most important for you.

As with many power tools, there are many brands to choose from. Many of these names will be familiar to you: Delta, Craftsman, Ohio Forge, Grizzly, Jet, Oliver, Glaser, Rikon, Stabilax, Powermatic, Supernova, and Tranpower. You probably have your favorite brand, but be sure to check out reviews so that you make sure you get the features you really need. A wood lathe is not a small investment, so make sure you do your homework before buying.

Choosing a Woodturning Lathe Chuck

Before you start turning items on a lathe, you need to be able to securely hold the piece of wood in place. You can do this in one of several ways but the most common technique is by using a specialist woodturning chuck. This is also the safest method of holding your work while you concentrate on turning. A good quality chuck is made from high grade steel and will last you a lifetime.

Choosing a woodturning lathe chuck can be a problem because there are so many to choose from. These items are not cheap so if you were to buy several of them the costs would quickly add up. The best course of action is to decide what items you will be turning on the lathe. You can then choose the chuck that will best meet your needs. If necessary, you can purchase additional chucks at a later date when the need arises.

Instead of blowing your budget on several different chucks, you could do a lot worse than purchase a good all-rounder. The four jaw self centering scroll chuck featuring the dovetail jaw is a popular example. This chuck is extremely versatile, makes life easier and allows you to embark on a wide range of projects. The chuck is made of four steel jaws which open and close at the turn of a key. These come with interchangeable inserts which means they are compatible with all lathe spindles.

The screw chuck is ideal for turning bowls or rough turning stock. This chuck comes in numerous sizes and caters for specific project requirements. The bigger the piece of wood, the bigger the screw required to hold it securely. If you are turning a high volume of bowls, you may wish to consider investing in some specialist bowl chuck jaws. This is a good way of holding your work and eliminates the risk of damage or unsightly holes caused by a screw chuck.

The pin jaw chuck is designed for mounting bowls. This is done by expanding into a recess inside the bottom of the work piece. A dovetailed lip grips the wood securely allowing for safe and confident turning. On this chuck, the jaws work both ways by holding your work with inward or outward force. This means the pin jaw chuck comes in handy for turning small, intricate objects.

You can also make your own chuck from scrap wood mounted onto a faceplate. This is known as a jam chuck but does have some disadvantages. It is used mainly for finish turning as opposed to roughing out. Compared to the aforementioned examples it is inexpensive and quick to construct. Hopefully, after reading this article choosing a woodturning lathe chuck should be a relatively straightforward process.

What You Need to Know About Choosing a Boring Head?

Have you been in a machine shop? Let's look at what equipments a shop might be equipped with. The Engine Lathe is one of the most useful and necessary machines in a shop. The major function of the engine lathe is to change the size, shape or finish of a revolving work piece with various cutting tools.

The lathes in the shop consist of a headstock, tailstock, carriage and bed. The headstock encloses the spindle and motor, along with any gears and pulleys used to change the spindle speed. The tailstock is used for drilling, reaming, tapping, threading and centering parts. The carriage contains levers, clutches, and gears that control its movement either by hand or by power feed.

Bandsaws are often the most efficient metal removal machine tools in the shop. Most materials, from wood and plastics to aluminum and steel, can be cut on the bandsaws in the shop. Vertical bandsaws, also known as contour saws, perform metal removal jobs that save time and material. Large sheets and bars of material can be cut to size or shape without creating too many chips in a short period of time.

Pedestal grinders are used to sharpen high speed steel cutting tools used on the lathes and milling machines. Surface grinders and sanders are used to remove surface imperfections and to work extremely hard materials. The abrasive wheels are made from an abrasive medium (usually aluminum oxide or silicon carbide) held together by a vitrified (glass) bond.

The drill press is one of the most frequently used machine tools. They are used mainly for drilling holes but reaming, countersinking, and boring can also be accomplished with the drill press. Parts being machined with the drill press must either be in a vise or clamped to the table. A piece of plywood must be used under parts that are clamped to the table. This prevents drilling into the table top.

The milling machine uses a rotating milling cutter to produce machined surfaces by progressively removing material from a work piece. The vertical milling machine also can function like a drill press because the spindle is perpendicular to the table and can be lowered into the work piece. It is hard to say what the most important accessory for a milling machine is. But certainly the boring head must rank highly in importance for it.

What makes it so important is that it provides a means of accurately machining almost any size hole. It would be very impractical to own drills and reamers for all the possible hole sizes up to 1.75" (44mm) in diameter. Another point to consider is the fact that larger diameter drills and reamers could not be adapted to fit on a miniature size machine tool.

They are unnecessary too, because the boring head is infinitely adjustable so it can machine all of these holes. It is also capable of machining stepped holes for seat bearings and internal grooves for lock rings. Boring tools cut like lathe boring tools with the difference being the tool moves rather than the work.

Choosing Between Straight and Crooked Magick Wands

Magick wands come in all shapes and sizes and are made from a variety of materials. Ritual tools made from Pewter, Crystal and Wood are all very popular. For the purposes of this article, we will talk about the Magick wands that are handcrafted from wood. There is much debate about which type of wood wand is more effective. There are some practitioners who insist that wands must be straight. Others instantly dismiss the significance of such an argument and instead swear by the use of curved wands.

When it comes to choosing between straight or crooked magick wands the person using the tool will find a preference. You can have a perfectly straight wand which is sometimes turned on a lathe. This design is more in keeping with Harry Potter style magick wands. The thinking behind this theory is the magick is cast in an accurate way. This is because these wands are almost perfectly straight and the spell hits the intended target.

Or you can decide to go with a bent, curved or twisted wand. These wands may not have a uniform appearance yet they are highly individual pieces. Many people have no problem in choosing such a unique tool. The critics believe that crooked, bent or twisted wands do not deliver accurate results from spell casting. The supporters of crooked wands dispute this belief.

On a personal level, I have used both types of wands for over 12 years with excellent results. Like any experienced witch or warlock I have a number of wands at my disposal. I like to use certain wands for a particular kind of spell or ritual. I have never been unduly concerned with slight bends, kinks or twists in a magick wand. If the tip is straight then the magick is delivered as intended and there has never been any adverse effect.

I must admit to having a fondness for unusual shapes where my magick wands are concerned. Make no mistake I have a good number of straight wands which serve a purpose. However, the crooked and bent wands have a certain character in abundance that is seldom found in similar quantities in the conventionally shaped wand.

There is no wrong or right answer where the shape of your magick wand is concerned. And there is no rule that says you must possess only the one. It all comes down to personal preference. The best course of action is to try several and find which type works best for you. Of course, you may end up like me and many other practitioners with a sizeable collection of highly charged magick wands to call upon.