My first lathe arrived yesterday! I ordered the “12 VS lathe from Penn State Industries. The instructions were minimal, but assembly went very smoothly and setting the machine up was no problem. Within about 1-1/2 hours I was ready to start making my first wood chips. I also ordered a starter kit and a number of accessories at the same time so that I should have everything I need to get started making pens.
I wanted to keep it simple for the first try at woodturning. I found a 3/4” sq scrap piece of poplar that was laying around. I just wanted to use the gouge, parting tool, and skew to experiment with each and get a feel for them. I think I’ll try sharpening them and poke at the scrap wood for a bit and experiment with some finishing techniques as well before I make my first attempt to produce an actual pen… :)
This is also my first attempt at a blog to journal my progress, so we’ll just see how things progress from here. This seemed like a perfect subject to start with since I am new to turning and can document my journey from the beginning. :)
Wish me luck, here we go! :)
-- "Keep thy airspeed up, lest the earth come from below and smite thee." - William Kershner
1 comment so far
Brett
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472 posts in 928 days
#1 posted 294 days ago
Great way to start! Keep us posted on how it goes. Check out youtube for a lot of turning videos. Just watching someone else turn is educational. I just started turning in Oct of 2011 and I am already addicted. It is so rewarding to be able to go out into the shop for an hour or two and come back in with a completed project!
-- Hand Crafted by Brett Peterson John 3:16 http://www.TheCrookedNail.blogspot.com
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