(upbeat music) - Look at that, look at that.

Boy, that's beautiful.

Hi welcome to the American Woodshop, I'm Scott Philips, and on season 28, we're going to start with turning two types, face plate, and spindle turning.

So stay around because you cannot have more fun in the woodshop than when you turn, and you're going to learn how to do that today.

- [Announcer] The American Woodshop with Scott Phillips is brought to you by Woodcraft since 1928, providing traditional and modern woodworking tools and supplies to generations of craftsmen.

Woodcraft- helping you make wood work.

[Upbeat music] - [Voiceover] Pro tools for tool pros.

(upbeat music) RIKON tools.

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PSWood, home of Timber Wolf Swedish Silicon Steel band saw blades and super sharp scroll saw blades.

- A bed to sleep on, a table to share meals, a house that feels like a home the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, providing furniture to neighbors in need.

- So, let's get to turning.

And there are two types of turning that you need to know about.

One is called face plate and that's what this is.

That's the metal disc that's screwed securely to the bottom of your blank.

That's a piece of orange agate that will be the base of a pedestal table.

Now this is a piece of mesquite that we need to get rid of this bark defect right here.

And we'll round that over.

And that will stack on top of this piece.

And then once we have that, we can do the second type of turning, which is called spindle turning that's where you use the drive spur into the headstock and then the live ball-bearing center right there, will hold the other end and you can turn a square blank, or billet as it's called, round.

So, you'll learn all those techniques today.

My two go-to chisels- half inch flute, that means that's just half inch wide, bowl gouge with a 45 degree grind on the bottom.

And right here, this carbide cutter.

Now there's three different shanks for different cutters that you can put in here.

And let's start with the bowl gouge to rough this work piece round.

You never want to have anything sitting on the bed of the lathe when you turn.

Now, this ball bearing center is securing this between the face plate, and the point of that live ball-bearing center and the tool rest is adjusted so the cutting edge of the chisel is right at or slightly above center line.

A lot of people get that wrong.

They put the tool rest there and then the cutting edge of the chisel is too high.

You want to be able to rub the bevel as you make this cut.

Now let's work that round.

What speed do you want it to be?

Well, you can take it up to around 600 when it's this big and get a good cut.

Face shield for safety is necessary.

No rings, no jewelry, whatever you do, okay?

Work safely and check all the locks.

Make sure everything's locked securely.

So, the chisel shank lays down to the tool rest, and you just rub the bevel first then raise the handle ever so slightly and you take nice light cuts, just like that.

Now this is called the overhand technique right here.

You can do the underhand technique.

You can use the full fist technique.

I personally use them all.

And some high-end turners like to say "Oh there's only one way to do it."

Oh no there are a bunch of different ways to do it as long as you're doing it safely.

And so I'm going to work this all the way round.

Alright, now that's what the bowl gouge does.

Let's go to the round carbide cutter and you marry this long handle to your body.

You make sure the cutting edge right at or slightly above center line, and you hold the chisel flat to the tool rest.

And you ease it straight on in.

And these are wonderful tools.

Look at how that melts right through that mesquite.

Now look at how smooth that is requires just a little bit of sanding.

You have to keep your tool sharp, but this comes out.

I just released that chuck.

And now I'm putting in this diamond point again that's carbide cutter, but it's diamond shaped and I can go right in there and smooth that off in fact, now that this is just about balanced and perfect I can back this whole tail stock off, but not until I clean this up a little bit.

When do you use the tailstock?

Whenever you can.

You keep using it to make that work piece secure and that took that right down.

And I'm going to do the same thing on the backside to just make this flat.

(tool noise) Okay, now you can see right there how the face plate that is threaded onto the drive spur right here, inch and a quarter, holds this securely.

You want good full length screws heavy duty screws in there too.

I need to take out that rough spot so it will be flat.

The form is finished now, let's turn this off, bring that to a stop.

And you can see I brought in a dust collector here, 'cause I'll do a little bit of sanding, but not before I do this, I take the tap out bar 'cause you tap it out, and see that point, that's razor sharp, highly recommend just dulling it down with a Mill Bastard file 'cause it doesn't need to be razor sharp.

You can lay the back of your hand open if you aren't careful when you're working here.

Oops, so be careful.

Now this is a handy gizmo, the Jacobs chuck goes into the number two Morris taper and you bring it right up here and watch what happens when I lock that in, unlock the ram, I'm going to take the tool rest off.

Always a good idea to get that off when you do this, that's locked and because it is a forstner bit I want this running at a slower speed so I can dial that down.

I'll take that down to about 500 on that one inch bit and that's to accept the plug or the spindle that is going to be cut on the column.

Isn't that slick?

(machine buzzing) Now, let's take a look at this, a little bit of light sanding on it.

Again, this is mesquite, and the unique thing about mesquite is it's really amazingly stable.

Now I'm being careful to not get the finish on my fingers, so I don't have to wear gloves here.

And that's a function of using an all cotton pad and just look at that grain explode.

And that's the majesty of turning, it's the wood, the form is important, but it's the grain of the wood that really does do amazing things for you.

So now what I'm going to do next after I get this buffed out, frictioned out, because I can turn this on and friction it on the finish dry.

Then what I'm going to do is take this big platter, this is the top that we're going to scallop out and I'm going to spin that up onto the drive and we'll turn that.

So, that's the mesquite transition piece.

And now that this is mounted and secured with the live ball bearing center and the heavy duty face plate, we're going to turn this round, get it perfectly balanced and scallop the top.

This is going to be spectacular.

Now, speed wise, I have this running at 250, and once I get it balanced I can turn it up.

What speed should you turn at?

Well, I certainly on something this big 22 and a quarter inches in diameter.

I don't wanna be spinning this more than 450.

Doesn't need to go faster than that.

And obviously what I'm doing is pushing down on this bowl gouge, to that steel bar that's cast in the tool rest, to get a smooth cut.

I don't want it jamming into the voids.

I want to give the cutter a chance to turn it round.

And once it's round, I turn off the machine I reposition the tool rest, and then I use the bowl gouge and the round carbide cutter to scallop out the top.

And the final thing is to undercut the back edge, so it gives the top a graceful form.

And that's how I turn the lid.

A lot of ground to cover in a short period of time.

That's why we're zooming ahead right now whenever you sand, take off the tool rest.

And here I have dust collection on remote and I will be sanding away starting with 80 grit, being careful, and this is on dust collection as well.

(machine buzzing) Now lightly, that is tacked clean and sanded to perfection.

Now here's the majesty and don't stand right here because you could get over-spray as you friction on the finish.

So, this is the most exciting part of woodworking to me.

When you apply the finish to get to see the grain for the first time.

Not quite there just yet need a little bit more love here and boy, that dry walnut really soaks it in this is a glue up three pieces of Walnut glued together.

Go to Facebook for details on that.

And we're almost there.

Let's take a look at it.

I know I need a little bit more down here.

Let's see what we have.

Oh my goodness.

That's why I like to work with Walnut, it's just so rich draws you right in.

So I'll get this buffed out with finish, and let it cure.

And while that's curing, I'll get the spindle all set up so we can turn the spindle on the wood lathe to make the column table, beautiful.

Now, this is called a billet.

It's basically a four by four 30 inches long and at the bandsaw with a half inch blade I have the fence set up and the table locked so I can cut four corners off, making this an octagon and dust collection on, band saws are dusty tools.

You know, be sure you read, understand, and follow the manuals that come with all the tools that you use in your Woodshop work safely.

So here's the cut right here.

Locked in place.

(Tool noise) Keeping my fingers out of the plane of the blade, (Tool noise) now three more cuts like that, and we're in business.

Then we can turn it safely.

(Tool noise) What I'm going to do is use the roughing gouge inch and a quarter to make this round and taper it ever so gracefully.

The handles on wood chisels on for lathe work are long for a reason.

You need to use your body and this hand which really controls the cutting edge.

And this hand has one job to do, that's create a fulcrum always keep that chisel against this steel bar on the tool rest and you'll be in business.

Now, let's rough this round.

This is set at 750 RPM, and that's what I want it to be until I get it completely balanced.

And then we'll take it up to 1200.

Lay it flat, ease it in, make contact, pinch the chisel and make a series of passes just like that.

And literally, because this has been roughed round over at the band saw, you can turn this octagonal billet into a round form very quickly.

You don't have to take those corners off on the band saw but it surely does make cutting a whole lot easier.

Now, once this is round down here, what I'll do is turn it off so we can see the form.

And there you go, that's round, very nice.

And then with the wood lathe off, I can move the tool rest down, do the same, and then sculpt it into the form before I add the detail down here, it's so much fun.

It's relaxing, turning you just can't beat it.

(Tool noise) Final pass, with the roughing gouge right here.

And I cranked the speed up to 1180 RPM.

Now, I'm gonna use a one inch wrench to size a tenon here and a tenon down there.

And this is the easiest way to cut the tenons with that diamond point, I wanna make sure that's right.

This needs to go up just a hair I want that to be right at center line, okay?

And so an inch down, I've got that marked.

I go in with the diamond point, one inch down and I create a shoulder and I want that shoulder to be flat.

And now what I can do, to take that down the rest of the way is I can bring back this roughing gouge and keep working this right on down until I end up with a shoulder that's one inch.

And that's to join the two turning on the base, to the turnings on the top.

Alight, and that is how you cut the tenon and that's a nice tight fit.

I need to take that down just a hair more.

I'll do the same for the other end and then add a cove and two beads.

And it will be on to assembly.

Tenon there, tenon there, now I'm going to use a square cutter to just create a little bit of a shoulder down here because I want there to be a bead right there, which is a bump.

And you know, in turning there are really only two major forms- one's a bead, which is a bump.

We'll make that bead right there.

And I'm using the diamond cutter right now, just to roll over those sharp shoulders, just like that, that's a bead.

Let's go back to that square cutter now.

How many chisels do I have?

Well, you need about eight.

I probably have a hundred because I really like to experiment in turning.

Now, that's going to be a shoulder that transitions into with the round cutter, let's switch that out.

And this is a tiny little round cutter, which I really like, because you can make really interesting details with that.

And so I just melt right through that wood, to do that cove, which is a cave.

So you do a cove cut, which is a cave cut.

And you do a bead cut, which is a bump and really in turning, everything else is a variation of that.

So if you learn how to master those cuts the world's your oyster as a turner.

That looks really good right there.

Now I need another little shoulder just like that, that matches this shoulder.

Then I want another bead, a bigger bead up here that comes up into the base right here of the column that sweeps down, very versatile square cutter.

I like the square cutters that have a little bit of a curve along the edge.

Not straight, just a little bit of curve.

That little, extra bit of clearance allows you a lot more flexibility in the cut.

Now that looks really cool right there.

I'll put a shoulder right there, then bring that down just a bit more and in turning, it's just the little touches that make a huge difference.

And now for there, I'll just go ahead and use this square cutter to round over that bead.

Now let's take a look at that cut.

Moment of truth.

Oh yeah, that's nice and smooth.

Now what I'll do is a little bit of sanding and then I'll friction on the finish and then we'll put the parts together.

(machine buzzing) The finish is dried now.

So what we're doing is taking off the face plate, be sure to use heavy duty screws here and you can see I've added one more disc to the bottom of this.

And this has a one inch diameter hole and that disc need to go just a little bit deeper.

And that's just about perfect right there.

And oh, by the way, see these round discs?

Before I turned them, I went to the band saw and at the band saw we cut them round.

So, let's turn this on and make the maximum diameter cut.

Any round blank could be cut this way.

I want to stay on the outside edge of the line, if you look in front of it, the blade has a natural tendency to go there so you can really be very accurate with these cuts.

So let's ease on out and do cut out of the cut, don't break out of the cut, from a control standpoint.

That's off, use that brake stop the blade and look at that right there.

That's good to go.

Once I'm ready to fasten everything I'm using square drive screws to put that plate on there and we'll take the tenon right here and we'll slide that in, and that comes home just like that, getting rid of the saw dust.

Now over here on this piece of orange agate got a little bit of saw dust on that, we'll polish that up.

But anyways, what I did was I used a pilot bit all the way through into the base of the mesquite.

And then I use the one inch forstner bit on low speed setting on the drill to open up the space on the bottom 'cause this piece right here is gonna be the bottom.

Now on full speed, we take that all the way until it just barely knicks through at the bottom right like that.

And we have a mating pilot hole right there that we line it up on, and we join it together, just like that.

And those structural fasteners are heavy duty.

Okay, that's rock solid.

And if you have some defects, hey, live with it.

I mean, that adds character.

I don't charge extra for those.

Okay now we take this, and if everything lines up just the right way it's gonna be like a cork in the bottle.

Okay, now that's gonna be perfect.

That's gonna be nice and tight.

So let's set this home, being ever so gentle, on the ground, like this.

The whole assembly's solid, like driving the bus right here.

We spin that all the way down.

Okay I'm going to take the top off and I'm gonna tap this home.

(tapping) And I'll tell ya, that's tapered slightly so that is a cork in the bottle.

That's not going anywhere.

So that's beautiful, bring this up and on.

And look at that.

And it's rock solid.

How can I tell?

Well, the base is so heavy, even though it's smaller, that this is a perfect table that's going by my couch.

And grain defects, man, that just adds to the majesty of it.

It draws you right in.

So that's the turned pedestal table out of four different woods.

Now look at this.

That's what we're gonna do next week.

Now go turn.

It's the most fun you can have in your woodshop.

See you next week in The American Woodshop.

Go have some fun, make some dust, oh yeah.

- [Announcer] Woodcraft, since 1928, providing traditional and modern woodworking tools and supplies to generations of craftsmen.

Woodcraft helping you make wood work.

(Upbeat music) Pro tools for tool pros.

(Upbeat music) RIKON tools.

-[Voiceover] Woodcraft magazine- projects, plans, and web links.

Designed to help you make wood work.

PSWood home of Timber Wolf Swedish Silicon Steel band saw blades and super sharp scroll saw blades.

-A bed to sleep on, a table to share meals, a house that feels like a home The Furniture Bank of central Ohio providing furniture to neighbors in need.

- For more information on tips behind the American Woodshop and watch free episodes 24/7, check us out online and like us on Facebook.

(upbeat music)