Shopsmith Forums

Current progress on my first woodturning made on my Shopsmith. I have only turned one other piece, and that was a candle stick I made during the Intro to Lathe Turning class at Woodcraft. This is a Scotch Whisky glass sort of designed from the Glencairn Whisky glass.

I am unsure what the wood is. I got it from the $2.00 a pound cut-off bin. Originally measured 3x3x6 inches. The glass from mouth to base is a little over 4 inches. The bowl outside diameter is about 2 1/3" while the mouth is about 1 3/4" wide. I have the outside mostly done, minus a few finishing touches before sanding. I have the whole inside to hollow out now.

Really nice job. Ain't it fun?!

Others will be along with much more experience to teach you how to prevent or minimize cracking. Welcome to the world of turning addicts.

Looking good, you're off to a great start!!

I suspect coming from the cut off bin that the wood is already dry and seasoned. and cracking should not be too much of an issue.

I will make the following recommendations.

Switch to hollowing out now before you do any more work on the stem. Thinner stems are weaker and less able to handle the stresses of hollowing.

If you have a drill chuck that can be mounted in your tail stock, a spade bit or forstner bit does a fantastic job of hogging out the waste very quickly, then you can fine tune with a bowl gouge or round scraper. I recommend a round nose scarper if you're just starting out.

Once the hollowing is complete and you have completed the inside of the hollow, including sanding and possibly finishing. Use a Jam Chuck to keep the turning stable once it's hollowed out. A jam chuck is simply a cone of wood that fits into the opening of the hollowed portion and sandwiched between the hollow and a live center. You can do a Google search on lathe jam chucks to find numerous examples and/or instructions

Keep your chisels sharp!
Slow down the rate of crossing the blank. This will reduce the spiraling ridges you are getting on the outside. With practice you can eventually get to a point where little to no sanding is required.

Turn a bit more off of the foot to make sure you have room for your parting tool when it comes time t part off.

Get all of your sanding and perhaps much of your finishing done BEFORE parting off.

When you decide it's time to part off. Keep the parting cut wider than the tool to reduce the chance of a catch. DO NOT completely sever with the parting tool, just get close, (1/2 " to 3/4" of stock on the spindle) Stop the lathe and the use a fine cross cut saw or coping saw to make the final parting cut. The underside can be cleaned up with a hand chisel.

It really sucks when you're almost done and you lose a turning at the parting process. Goblets and stem ware are fragile and they don't take shock well if you get a catch when parting. or the goblet goes flying once the stock is severed. DAMHIKT!!

Keep up the good work and keep photos of the process coming.