The Woodworking Bench - Things One Must Know

There are several kinds of woodworking tools that are made use of while carving different things out from wood. Some of the most important ones are Woodworking Lathe, Woodworking router, woodworking saws and many more. Now that you are quite inquisitive about all these tools, why don't you catch a small glimpse of the information that is available for such tools?

Woodworking Lathe: Used for Knurling, woodturning, metal spinning, glass working and metal working, Woodworking Lathe is a key woodworking machine tool. It is also widely used in shaping potteries. Things like baseball bats, table legs, crankshafts, musical instruments and cue sticks are made using a woodworking lathe. The woodworking lathe is a unique woodworking tool because unlike many other woodworking processes, the wood spins while the tool remains mostly stationary. The woodworking lathe may come in a variety of styles and sizes, but most lathes are either smaller tabletop lathes, or larger freestanding lathes with their own legs that can be bolted to the floor.

Woodworking Router: Used for hollowing a piece of wood, woodworking router is more often used by stair case makers and pattern makers. Also named as Old Woman's Tooth, it has a narrow blade and wooden hand plane attached to it. Varied types and forms of routers are available today. For being able to use a woodworking router, the worker must be experienced and proficient in handling it. This is because, routing is a very fast process and it includes various risky jobs like trimming and cutting of wood. The keys to good router woodworking are skills in material prep, layout, measurement, setup and router-control. 80% of all router woodworking can be done on the router table; some guys do "it" all on the table, others are convinced that hand router woodworking is all they need. To be sure, there are times when one method is preferred over the other. Whatever the case, it makes good practical sense to have at least one router table.

Along with these tools, a worker must learn how to make the best use of their woodworking bench. Woodworking benches are a very crucial part of woodworking. In hand woodworking, such woodworking tools, woodworking benches and woodworking designs holds key importance. Hand working requires proficiency in the usage of tools and off course mastery in this very art of woodworking. Two things distinguish a woodworking bench: It has at least one vise, and it has at least one row of dog holes (either square or round) along the front edge. The presence of these two items transforms a table into a big, versatile clamp. A woodworking bench is optimized for using hand tools like planes, chisels, and saws. It offers a variety of ways to hold and support the work at hand.

For being able to crate and carve complex woodworking designs, a workers proficiency and experience is a must. For example, a naive woodworker will not be able to design a loft bed plan without any assistance from an experienced woodworker. This is because such designs require perfection and only veterans can make impeccable designs for the same. Woodworking is very often used in loft bed plan designs.

Every novice woodworker must understand the intricacies and importance of all the details that are mentioned here. These basics will certainly help you in going a long way in this field.

Gifts For Woodturners: Things to Consider Before Buying That Present

Your spouse, relative, neighbor or friend is a woodturner, and you are thinking of getting him or her something related to that interest. Getting them a fancy chunk of wood (called a "blank") or a new tool or kit seems like an obvious choice. But before buying that present, here are a few things to consider before getting gifts for woodturners.

What do they turn?

Most turners tend to do one type of turning more than others. For example, some prefer doing spindle turning, making things like chair legs, baseball bats, boxes, or eggs. Others prefer bowls, bowls, bowls. Some do mostly hollow forms, such as vases, urns, and vessels.

Buying a pen kit for a turner who does pens might be ideal, but it wouldn't work for a bowl turner. You actually need special equipment to make pens, so unless you are sure the person has everything else they'd need, and that they'd actually turn it, it's best to skip the pen kit.

How big is their lathe?

Lathes come in several different sizes, from mini lathes, to heavy iron monstrosities. The "swing" is the measurement of the largest diameter piece of wood any particular lathe can accommodate.

A mini lathe has a swing of about 12 inches, and other larger lathes can handle 14, 16 inches, or more. If you get a wood blank for them to turn, you'll need to know what size they can handle.

What is their skill level?

Beginning turners have many failures. My goal, as a beginner, was always, "a finished piece, not a masterpiece." So spending money on tools that they wouldn't even know what to do with is foolish. So is buying wood blanks that are likely to end up as an expensive pile of shavings.

However, if you know they can do spindle turning and have turned a tool handle, for example, you can assume they have the skills to complete a similar project, such as the handle for a cheese knife or ice cream scoop. One of those kits might be a great gift.

Are they purists?

Many turners start out working with wood only. Eventually they may venture into playing around with embellishments, such as stone or metal inlays, carving, coloring, and burning.

If you know for a fact that your turner friend does these things, you might get them something related. Or present them with a book focused on the type of embellishments they enjoy.

Believe me, nothing is more exciting to a wood turner than a related gift. But make sure you consider these factors, so you give gifts for woodturners that are a good use of your hard earned money, and something they will actually be able to make use of.

Sharpening Wood Turning Tools - 7 Things to Keep In Mind

Woodturning is one of the most basic of crafts and the requirements are simple; a wood lathe to hold the work and make it spin, wood to shape and tools to cut the wood. This is woodworking at its most basic. In order to also make it among the most enjoyable of woodworking crafts is that most basic of wood cutting needs, sharp tools. There are a few things to keep in mind when sharpening wood turning tools.

First is the edge that is sought after. Many wood workers seek to sharpen a knife, chisel or plane blade to a razor edge for a clean cut and lovely shaving. However the wood for a typical woodworker stays still while the blade cuts. At the wood lathe the opposite occurs, wood spins and the tool is guided to the cut. The spinning wood, often with bark, knots and perhaps included grit rapidly ruins a razor edge. So the edge sought is one that works well but is not so sharp as to disappear.

Second is the equipment needed. Woodworkers often get a beautiful edge with various stones while woodturners are more at home with a good tool grinder. Most of the time the tool will be sharpened at the grinder and presented to the wood. A good wheel made of aluminum oxide with a grit of 80 to 100 will give a serviceable edge with a good surface left on the wood.

Third is the skill needed to sharpen that array of woodturning tools. Many woodworkers will need to sharpen straight edges with the possible foray into sharpening saws and wood carving gouges. Woodturners have tools with blades straight, curved, round, and fluted. Many have angles of sharpening that vary along the curved edge. While being able to sharpen freehand is a great asset, sharpening guides are wonderful assets to both the professional and the amateur.

Fourth is the frequency of sharpening. While the person who has learnt how to sharpen a knife well will find themselves infrequently going to the sharpening bench, a woodturner may find themselves at the tool grinding machine every couple of minutes. This makes a difference as to how a person sets up the shop to prevent too many footsteps between the wood lathe and the grinder.

Fifth comes the selection of tools. Principally they are made of three materials for the blades, high carbon steel, high speed steel and specialty steels. For all intents and purposes, most turners use the high speed steels. They will hold an edge longer than high carbon and are significantly cheaper than the specialties. A grinder with that aluminum oxide wheel will do a good job on them and will be adequate for each of the others, especially when using a sharpening jig.

Sixth is the consideration of what cuts are required by the tool. This may mean that some otherwise identical tools need to be sharpened with different configurations. Turning wood bowls is an excellent example. Some cuts are best performed with a bowl gouge sharpened straight across at a forty five degree angle. Others need a similar bowl gouge but shaped to have long wings and an angle varying from about seventy degrees at the tip to forty five along the edges. Again, a sharpening jig simplifies the sharpening process.

Seventh and perhaps most important is learning to relax while sharpening the various tools. If a poor edge or the wrong angle is obtained, it is a simple matter to return to the tool grinder and fix it. Tension is more likely to ruin an edge than is poor technique. Besides, woodturning is meant to be fun. Relaxing and enjoying such a large part of the process only adds to the amusement. Once again, consider making or buying a sharpening jig to add to the joy of woodturning.

Sharpening woodturning tools is a skill accessible to everyone who wishes to turn wood or work with a wood lathe. There are a few things to keep straight but as in all things with wood turning, practise may not make perfect but it goes a long way to getting great results.