Starting Simple, Learn to Turn

I finally bought a lathe a month ago and have really enjoyed it. While I consider myself to know the basics of most tools, I’d never tried turning. It was intimidating even more so when I decided to start. The lathe wasn’t a big choice. I was overwhelmed with tool choice, chucks, sharpening, etc. . I trusted in the store owner to set me up with 4 standard lathe tools and have found they get it done. I bought a Worksharp 3000 because I know I won’t sharpen as I should and it is fairly dummy proof. I compromised on the chuck and got the higher end Barracuda over the Nova.

Any how, I thought some handles and a mallet would be a good first project. Pretty straight forward as far as spindles go. You can see the Stanley (black handle) chisel in the shot. All the chisels had that handle originally. I started looking for some dense scraps and decided purpleheart was the best on hand. I had only a small amount of Cocobolo (love how it looks, just can’t afford to use it much.) and only did one handle from it. The first couple handles (not pictured) were too thin. Needed to go a bit slower to get the handle to match my hand. Quick lesson learned. The three above feel great so far. I used a little oil and wax.

The round mallet is heavy. I underestimated how heavy purpleheart is. It has held up to some beatings so far. Nothing special, but do like that it is small and can deliver a controlled blow.

The other mallet isn’t turned. Just something I did just prior to getting the lathe. The head is already taking its toll from tapping too many paint lids and such. The wood isn’t very dense so this won’t be a keeper down the road, but did show that a decent wood mallet is great to have.

-- Jeff, South Carolina