Wood turning projects, well chosen, are wonderful learning tools for refining or developing new skills at the wood lathe. Most people who take up the craft of wood turning begin with spindle work, turning pieces of wood held between centers with the wood grain parallel to the bed of the lathe. After some time at this aspect of the trade, they move on to faceplate work with the wood held in a chuck or faceplate and the grain running perpendicular to the bed of the lathe. While the skills are similar in each case, there are enough differences that the face plate turner may begin with a series of projects to develop the necessary skills.
However, the wood turner neglects the spindle projects at peril of old skills becoming rusty and unavailable when needed. Sooner or later a friend or relative asks for a spindle to be turned or a piece of furniture requires repair. Besides which, many items such as candle sticks or lamps may call for sections turned in either style and fastened together. Wood turning projects in a spindle orientation will provide the necessary boost in keeping up old skills and refining them to an expert point.
For the intermediate or advanced turner, wood turning projects offer the plus over exercises of being an interesting way to maintain and add to skills. While simply putting a piece of wood on a lathe and seeing shavings fly from it as the wood turns to a stick with beads and coves may seem magic to a novice, it is old hat to an accomplished turner who yet needs to refresh an aptitude acquired some time ago. Consider on the other hand a simple candle stick made with base and stem.
First of all it may be easily made of local hardwood and thus be inexpensive while at the same time beautiful. Secondly, it incorporates a variety of skills. For instance, the base can be turned faceplate style leaving a center mortise to later receive the stem. The stem now needs to be turned with a tenon on the lower end to exactly fit the mortise creating an exercise in precise fitting. In addition, a means must be found to turn a candle cup for the top of the stem that incorporates a fit for the candle, strength to hold it, and a pleasing ascetic.
As the project is repeated for the development of skills it can be made a challenge in at least two ways. First of all it may be an exercise in precise copying, always a difficulty in a craft that relies on hand and eye coordination to make each cut. Else it may become an attempt to make each one different while striving for elegance and not gaudiness, always a source of trouble in the artistic world. Plus this wood turning project and others like it point out the similarities between the two areas of wood turning and the need to learn both.
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