10 Common Wood Turning Mistakes

Wood turning at the lathe is a very satisfying craft where you can make cool stuff FAST! But like all crafts and skills, there are quite a few common mistakes to fall into that can make the experience frustrating. Here I cover the main ones I know.

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MISTAKE 1: NOT SANDING WITH THE GRAIN

Sanding on the lathe is pretty easy because you can just turn on the lathe and hold sand paper against it while it turns. The problem is your probably sanding across the grain, which makes the scratches extremely visible. Fortunately, correcting this is really simple. Before moving to the next grit, stop the lathe and sand along the piece to erase those scratches. We’re actually just changing the direction of the scratches, but so long as they’re going with the grain our eyes don’t really notice them.

MISTAKE 2: PRACTICING ON SOFT WOOD

Its tempting to practice on soft wood because it’s cheaper, but it’s softness makes it really difficult to turn satisfactorily. A good tool finish requires super sharp tools and near perfect technique. Personally, one of my favorites to turn is maple. It’s a hard enough to turn well, closed cell, pretty inexpensive, and easy to find on the road side!

MISTAKE 3: FOCUSING ON THE WRONG SIZE

It’s easy to get wrapped up on bed length. Unless you KNOW you’re going to be turning long stuff, odds are you’re going to run out of swing (distance between the bed and center - how thick a blank you can turn) a lot sooner. So pay more attention to the swing than bed length.

MISTAKE 4: TURNING AT THE WRONG SPEED

Large, unbalanced, or rough objects do better turned at slower speeds. Going too fast too soon can be catastrophic. Once you get down to final passes though, cranking up the speed can help get a perfect tool finish that doesn’t require sanding.

MISTAKE 5: TURNING WITH DULL TOOLS

Sharpening isn’t fun, and it’s even less fun when you’re not good at it. But know what’s even less fun than sharpening? Trying to turn with dull tools. It just doesn’t work. The finish won’t be nice, there’ll be more tear out, and a greater chance of catches. Just take the time to sharpen, and the more you do it the better you’ll get!

MISTAKE 6: NOT RE-TIGHTENING THE CHUCK

When using a four-jaw chuck I’ve found that the piece needs to be tightened twice. I lock it down pretty tight and then give it a short spin. I see if it’s spinning pretty centered and tweak it if it seems off. Once it’s good, I tighten the chuck again and it’s always surprising how easy it moves after that short spin. Besides the obvious safety reasons, that second tightening is also going to result in better turnings by keeping the piece steadier.

MISTAKE 7: NOT WEIGHING DOWN THE LATHE

The formula for kinetic energy is half the mass multiplied by the velocity squared. Which means even relatively lightweight objects have a lot of energy when they get up to speed. Mini and midi lathes aren’t very big or heavy, so they need to be attached to something that is to keep those vibrations down. Turning is challenging enough without your workpiece and tool shaking around.

MISTAKE 8: NOT WEARING PPE

Turning at a lathe involves spinning a hard piece of material at a high rate of speed towards your face. It shouldn’t have to be said.. but this can go bad quickly. Safety glasses aren’t enough. Ideally an impact rated face shield should be worn while turning, and a good dust mask. Also, be sure nothing dangly or loose clothing is close to the lathe, it can get sucked in and pull you into the lathe.

MISTAKE 9: NOT REPOSITIONING THE TOOL REST

I won’t pretend to be able to explain the right answer.. but getting your tool rest at the right height and distance from the piece is very important. And is different for traditional tools and carbide tools, and if you change tools, you may need to adjust the rest. And as you go from a rough square blank to a rounded piece the rest will be farther away and may need to be adjusted. Just always be conscious of the relationship between your rest and workpiece.

MISTAKE 10: FORGETTING THE OTHER EXPENSES

A lathe is a fairly inexpensive tool, but you’ll also need tools, a way to sharpen those tools, work holding devices, other tool rests, hardware/kits to turn, wood.. it can add up.

[TobeJex]

Thanks for keeping this video straight and to the point. Learned ALOT in the shortest amount of time possible. Appreciate you, sir!

[Aclark]

I definitely appreciate how you highlight a seemingly simple buy is basically never a simple buy nor a cheap one. A lot of YouTubers leave that part out because they forget they've spent thousands on tools, equipment and the accessories that go with them.

Great video!

[timothyboothby]

You do a great job showing the devil in the details with a good sense of humor! I appreciate your style! I have a lathe in my barn, and now understand the mushroom effect in costs to achieve a good finished effect. Thank you!

[k.bowser]

I'm subscribing because I appreciate the effort you are putting in to becoming a grumpy old man. Keep up the good work!!

[strad.philippines]

There is an incredible amount of truth in this video. It was like Deja Vu for me. Brought a smile to my face in places. Well done!

[roncouch]

This man is one cool dude. Really enjoyed the video! As a metal worker - lathe and milling background - can empathise with many of the points raised here.

[ryanadams]

Your humour is as dry as the wood that gets turned, love it 😊 got a new subscriber mate, cheers from Australia 🇦🇺 where it’s dryer than a dead dingo’s donga 😎

[RuthannLentz]

Hey thanks for the to the point video. Just bought a lathe (Grizzly Lathe) for my 15 year old son but at this point I’m also excited to use it also. Just getting it set up now and this is helpful for setting us up for success. Yay!!

[asherhockersmith]

I've basically been teaching myself how to turn. My father gets the basics and he taught me, but he's not a professional. I really needed this! Thank you!

[four]

entertaining as well as educational ...been turning on manual / turret / cnc lathes for decades but now retired and having recently purchased a wood lathe with applicable tooling I'm now a novice and gathering all the info I can to produce a quality turning....safely . Thanks !

[pygmalionsrobot]

Really good video. I recently set up my old lathe and just wanted to look at some refresher material for safety etc. Thanks for making this, I'm jealous ya got some nice tools yo 👍👍

[pashaveres]

The nice UPS man brought me my first lathe last week and I'm looking forward to unboxing it. Or at least I was... TIA for helping reduce the number of mistakes I'm going to make. Great vid! Aloha

[davidmcardle]

Nice to hear a realist. I know all of these problems. Great encouragement.

[johnm]

I was given a Jet 1221 just short of when they came out, and I wish I was told these 10 things when I started years ago. Anyone new to turning listen up, this is spot on! Pine is useless to practice on. Sanding in reverse is good and has it's times, yet sanding with the grain is imperative. Bowls are where it's at so get a lathe with more swing than length, your tool rests will be more forgiving. As for vibration true in lower speeds, keep sharp tools and, "mount it to the house if you can, otherwise cast it in concrete". Every cut of wood is different, why use your face to learn that. It's a lot cheaper to protect than restore, lungs aren't free. The tools are costly, so look into making your own. Never sleep on a chuck and carbide tools, they can do almost everything without breaking the bank.
Hope y'all turning projects TURN out well ;)

[johndn]

Very interesting and entertaining at the same time! Thanks very much. Keep up the good work!!

[SX-crvo]

I like your sense of humour! Thanks for the video.

[a.j.simmonds]

As someone with a full fledged wood shop the lathe is its own beast. I have never bought another tool that needed an entire tool chest worth of accessories to fully enjoy

[brgovender]

Just love this video. Very informative. Important tips, which is sometimes overlooked. Thanks for sharing.

[andersthorson]

The most practical wood turning video on YouTube.

[glen]

Thank you so much for this video. I love it as much or more than your other videos. Over one year ago I took a loan out after my fight with cancer. I have always loved the idea of lathe turning; however it took me from high school until the age of 50 to do something for myself that always seemed frivolous in my day to day financial responsibilities. I do not want to discourage others that could not do what I did; however I do own all of the tools you have mentioned and more after the loan. I hope to pay off. I went through some set backs in life with family health and have put it aside, as well as some very scary catches when trying different types of wood. The chisel is my nightmare! I can not find any clubs or training near me in South Dakota, but still have the passion to make things. I dream of making gifts for family and friends, I just do not know where to turn to pursue this dream. My first purchase was the jet vs1221. I know it is capable of what I want to do, I just have become so frustrated not being able to do what I want to do. I thank you as I am going to order kits (other than pens, as I think I have those down to the finish at this point). Is there on online step by step from beginning to end you can recommend for me so I can learn more? I have a poor man project of hardwood on my lathe that has now been many months since I turned it on because of my frustration. I am sorry this is so lengthy but it comes from my heart as in 6 days I go in for my tests to find out if I am still cancer free and it weighs heavy on my heart in breaking my promise to myself to live and do what makes me happy. Thank you,
Sincerely. Glen Fitch aka Jeff Smith.