Wood Lathe

The current Ace of the Wood Lathe is Nathaniel Hudson (nhudson18@georgefox.edu).

Training

The wood lathe is a machine very similar to the metal lathe in the machine shop. It spins a piece of stock at a variable speed, and lets the turner create round objects. Unlike the metal lathe, there is not a cutter secured to the machine that is moved into place to cut. On the wood lathe, a turner will instead use long handled chisels to carve away the wood. Another difference is that for most projects, the wood is not clamped down in a found vise like the machining lathe, instead, two free-spinning center points on each side of the piece clamp the wood between them and hold it centered.

There are a wide variety of projects that can be done on the wood lathe, some easier than others, and all requiring a different need for skills and tools. This makes it hard sometimes to provide a common set of instructions, however, there some general safety rules and instructions for use that are used in any project on the lathe. The lathe can be fun to work with, but always remember, safety first.