The right choice…
Useful tips from master wood turner Alfred Baumann
The information is intended to help newcomers to woodturning and not yet very experienced hobby woodturners in making decisions.
In the course of over 60 years of working as a wood turner and decades of working with course participants, Alfred Baumann was asked countless times about the machine or tool that would suit the customer's individual needs. Even after his short explanations, many questions will certainly remain unanswered; it is not possible to describe the entire topic of woodturning in detail here. Woodturning is a craft and cannot be learned from short descriptions. We recommend that all interested parties and beginners take a basic woodturning course; many questions will answer themselves.
Our employees and woodturning course instructors will be happy to provide you with advice!
Woodturning lathes
Regardless of whether lathes are made of gray cast iron or sheet steel, the quality and precision of the machines are always crucial.
Unfortunately, cheap machines (mostly mass-produced goods from the Far East) often do not meet local requirements and often lead to an unplanned new investment with a corresponding loss of value.
Another decision factor should be the availability of attachments (bed extensions, external turning devices, ...) and suitable tool clamping devices, as well as the expansion options through add-on devices (e.g. copying machines, ball turning devices, drilling devices, ...). The long-term availability of spare parts and accessories should not be neglected when considering.
In principle we differentiate between two types:
Table lathes
These are smaller turning machines with a center height of up to approx. 175 mm; they are set up on existing work tables, planing benches or other substructures. These machines are particularly suitable for small and finer work, such as the production of writing instruments, model making or small workpieces. On many table benches, the top width can be expanded using a bed extension, which enables larger lengthwise woodwork.
There are now also machines in this class with powerful motors and frequency converters (FU).
Table lathes from DRECHSELMEISTER
Table lathes from TEKNATOOL
Standing lathes
Have legs (substructure) made of machine cast or sheet steel, usually have a higher weight and a larger center height.
For some time now, many of these turning machines have had a pivoting and/or sliding spindle head, which means that workpieces with large diameters can also be machined. In addition, swiveling the headstock enables better ergonomic work. Ideally, you choose a machine with a high-quality frequency converter (FU).
Attachments such as bed extensions or external turning devices further expand the area of application, both for longitudinal wood work and for larger diameters. Many free-standing machines can be expanded to accommodate various additional devices, provided the machines have a correspondingly stable and precise design.
Links to the lathes: DRECHSELMEISTER | HAGER | TEKNATOOL | HAPFO | RECORD POWER
To the lathe category
Explanation of the different types of machines and equipment
In general it can be said that the lowest possible speed range for lathes should not be more than 400 rpm. Ideally, speeds can also be set well below this value. This is an important factor, especially for raw workpieces with corresponding unbalance.
From 2017, various machines will be equipped with the ASR (Euro) sequence safety system for the spindle as an additional safety system.
Belt-driven lathes
(Eg Teknatool NOVA 1624-44 II)
Often standard on machines in the cheaper price range.
These machines are driven by V-belts or poly-V belts. They usually have 6-8 fix selectable speeds. With the so-called variator drive (Drechselmeister Maxitec) an adjustment lever ensures faster selection of the respective speed.
Wood turning machines with electronics
(Eg Teknatool NOVA COMET 2)
Electronics are standard on many entry-level and mid-range machines.
Here too, as always, the quality of the components is important. The desired speed range is usually preselected
over 3-4 belt levels.
Wood turning machines with frequency converters (FU)
(Eg HAGER Machinery, Drechselmeister MIDI / TWISTER FU / STRATOS FU / STRATOS XL)
The version with a frequency converter offers significantly better power development, especially at low speeds.
The preselection for the speed ranges is usually made using 2-3 belt stages. These machines are very comfortable because, thanks to the large speed ranges of the individual stages, no belt repositioning is necessary for many work projects.
Wood turning machines with electronic direct drive
(EgTeknatool NOVA GALAXI DVR)
The drive is via a direct drive without a belt (shaft motor), so there is no loss of power at low speeds.
Even fixed speeds can be programmed and adjusted accordingly.
Machines and tools with ASR (Euro) flow control system
By installing a drain ring on the groove of the spindle and on the groove of the accessories, a possible “run off” of the accessories (e.g. chuck, faceplate, etc.) is prevented during operation or when braking. In order to use the system, the lathe spindle and the accessories used must have an ASR (Euro) groove.
Which machine size and price range?
This question is often the most important part of a purchasing decision.
Woodturning has a lot of momentum of its own. As a beginner you often think you know your wishes and limits. However, experience has shown that many hobby woodturners develop very quickly and the demands on the material increase accordingly. This may then lead to an unplanned second purchase of a larger or better machine. Therefore, if possible, you should invest in a machine that will also meet future requirements.
Attachments for the lathe
Whether copying, milling, winding, fluting, hollowing, drilling, ball turning, grinding, guilloche and much more - add-on devices for lathes expand the range of applications and make certain jobs much easier or even possible.
The devices offered in our accessories category are tested accessories that fit many of the lathes we offer, but also various third-party brands. Some of the devices are built to order and adapted accordingly for your lathe. We are also happy to answer any specific questions you may have!
To the attachments category
Workholding
Clamping the workpieces
To put it simply, when turning, we differentiate between longitudinal woodworking and crosswise woodworking.
Longitudinal woodwork:
(Almost) every lathe comes with the basic equipment with a driver and a rotating center punch for processing longitudinal wood parts. These drivers usually have a diameter of 24 – 30 mm and are quite sufficient for standard work. For large jobs or the production of many tenons, you can find it in the Driver category & follower grains Drivers and moving center punches (systems) in a wide variety of sizes and designs.
Cross woodwork:
To make such objects (e.g. bowls) you need two clamping devices.
1. It is recommended to use a screw chuck for the bottom of the shell (using a face plate is more complicated and requires more time and requires a stronger shell base). In the Teknatool NOVA chuck basic sets already include an insert screw.
2. A chuck is used to finish the inside of a shell. A modern, safe chuck is recommended here, which offers a variety of clamping options thanks to the optionally available pliers types.
You can find suitable articles in the Category Chucks & Pliers
The use of an “old” 3 or 4 jaw chuck (also known as “American”) cannot be recommended for safety reasons.
turning tools
The right choice…
Those who buy cheap often buy expensive - This saying is particularly important when it comes to turning tools.
Unfortunately, cheap and mass-produced tools, which mostly come from the Far East, often do not meet our European quality standards, or the differences to quality tools become clear at the latest during advanced wood turning work. But tools in the middle and higher price range are not always the right choice. It often happens that course participants come with special (e.g. English) tools that are only of limited use for woodturning techniques in our part of the world, both due to their shape and their design.
Furthermore, many turning tools on the market do not have a professional grinding, but rather a pure, unprocessed industrial grinding. The reason is that there are no machines to produce a technically correct cut, but it has to be done by hand.
The CROWN At least the important tools are professionally sharpened for us so that the user only needs to sharpen them.
Good turning knives today are made of HSS (high-speed steel). This results in a long service life for the cutting edge and prevents burning during grinding. The latest generation of tools (CRYOGENIC) is cold-treated at minus 185°, offers an even better service life and is easier to grind thanks to the dense structure.
Go to the turning tools section
For beginners, we recommend purchasing a 6 or 7-piece set, as this saves a lot of money compared to purchasing them individually. These sets already enable a lot of work in the lengthwise and crosswise wood areas. Depending on the focus, this basic equipment can be supplemented with additional turning tools.
There are also a number of tool sets that have been specially put together for advanced users, as well as various special tools from various manufacturers.
Sharpen tool
Turning tools should be sharpened before being used for the first time, but it will also be necessary to sharpen them again and again during work. Correct sharpening of the turning tool consists of two steps.
Step 1: Grinding with grinders or on the lathe
There are a number of options available for this:
1. Grinding machine (grinder stand) standard (with approx. 2.800 - 3.200 rpm)
These bench grinders are often equipped with a normal corundum disc (grey), which is hardly suitable for grinding HSS turning tools. A “soft” Edelko round grinding wheel (usually white) with K 60L or K 80L is ideal. When processing round turning tools (e.g. tubes), the surface of the discs becomes uneven and should therefore be treated at regular intervals with a special dresser, which of course leads to corresponding wear. Carbide (HW) cannot be treated efficiently with these discs.
To the grinding machines
2. Slow-speed grinding machine (approx. 1.400 – 1.700 rpm)
Slow-speed grinders are basically more efficient when grinding with high-grade corundum discs and have the property that the tool hardly starts to tarnish (i.e. turn blue). The particular advantage of these slow-running grinding machines is the ability to optimally use a CBN grinding wheel (CBN = cubic boron nitrites). CBN is a material that is manufactured artificially. It is the hardest material after diamond, but has higher thermal stability and therefore durability. CBN discs hardly wear out, always keep their shape, do not need to be peeled off and carbide knives and HW tools such as drills and milling cutters can also be ground.
To the grinding machines
3. Wet grinder (sandstone and water)
The grindstone runs in a water bath to prevent overheating. This form of grinding is particularly suitable for very fine grinding of all carving and sculpting tools, as well as the fine grinding of woodturning and carpentry tools. Rough shaping for the tools works rather slowly and is therefore time-consuming. There are now also CBN discs as a retrofit for such grinding devices (they can then be used without water).
To the TORMEK wet grinding machines
All RECORD POWER wet grinding
4. Grinding on the lathe
Using an M33 mounting flange, the available grinding wheels can also be used on a lathe (with M33 thread). In principle, a very good solution because the speeds of the lathe can be optimally adjusted (1.400 - 1.700 rpm recommended). When using high-grade corundum discs, greater caution is required due to the formation of sparks. With CBN grinding wheels there are hardly any flying sparks. A small, inexpensive table bench is often purchased to function as a second machine and grinder.
Matching spindle accessories
Matching sharpening tables for the lathe
In order to achieve successful sharpening, it is recommended that you attend an appropriate course. A tool sharpening system with various holders can also be of great use, both for beginners and for advanced woodturners.
Step 2: Removing the tool
After grinding, the tool must be removed. There are a number of honing tools made from different materials (corundum, CBN, diamond files...) and in different shapes (flat, round, conical...). This means that there is the right honing method for every turning tool.
To the category SHARPENING STONES & FILES
surface treatment
A very wide-ranging topic is the finishing of turned objects.
Grinding
After a workpiece has been turned, it is usually ground.
Linen abrasives: For sanding while the lathe is running, we recommend using linen-backed abrasives. Regular sandpaper is brittle and heats up quickly.
ABRANET sanding grid: This new form of abrasives is particularly recommended for wood turning work. Abranet has a long service life, can be cleaned and is also very suitable for wet wood work.
Go to the abrasives section
Surface treatment:
In the final step, workpieces are usually treated with appropriate means.
In our Surface finish section you will find a range of products for this application. When using oils, a shiny surface is achieved. With Danish oil or wax you can achieve a high gloss with multiple applications.
In addition, even higher quality surfaces can be achieved using polishing discs or polishing attachments. But stains, varnishes and polishes are also used for surface design, depending on the type and requirements.
The topic of surface treatment is also part of various woodturning courses.
To our woodturning courses
