About Wood Lathe Turning Tools
Wood lathe turning tools are an important part of this hobby. In fact, the type of tools you have can determine how successful your wood turning project turns out to be. Choosing the right tools for the job can be difficult, because there are so many to choose from. From chucks to tapers to chisels and cutters, there are wood lather tools for every part and every step of wood turning.
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Types
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There are many types of wood lathe tools. The most common are the chisels or cutters. These are the tools you use to cut the wood. They have a handle and a sharp blade that is shaped in several different ways to make different kinds of cuts. Some are rounded or concaved to make rough cuts, like the spindel gouge. Others have a flat blade for making more precise cuts. Still more have angled blades to do what is called parting, working in between concave shapes on the wood dowel.
Function
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Wood turning turns like chisels have one function and that is to cut and shape the wood. They are applied to the dowel while it is spinning and shave off small pieces of the wood as it spins against the blade. You can see that the shape of the tool will have a direct effect on how the wood is cut, because of the way the blade contacts the wood. The speed of the lathe also effects the cut and final shape of your project, and can be adjusted for the use of each tool.
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Significance
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Your tools are the only thing between you and success, or disaster. Finding the best wood lather tools for the job doesn't just mean choosing the right shaped chisel. You also have to consider the type of wood you are cutting, the shape of the cut and the depth of the cut. Some tools are going to be more precise. Ones made with harder steel and have full tines in hardwood handles, can give you more control and better results.
Types
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Another type of wood lathe tool to consider is the chuck. This is similar to the chuck used in a drill and it has the same function. It holds the wood in place on the lathe, just a drill chuck holds a bit. The type of chuck you choose depends on the type of wood you are going to turn. Some have multiple jaws that attach to the wood, others have a screw mechanism that is inserted into the wood block. You want to get the best fit, with the least amount of slippage when you choose a wood chuck.
Identification
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Chisels are easy to identify. They look like a carpenter's chisel and have long handles and blades. Gouge chisels have a scooped, concave blade that looks like a pipe cut in half lengthwise. A bowl gouge used to carve out a bowl shaped from a large block of wood, also has a curved end to make a spherical cut. The parting tool is a thick block shaped blade with a pointed end. It does not have a tapered blade but a it does have square cut sides. Skews are identified by the type of cut on the end of the blade. There are circle and oval skews, as well as flat and angled skews. These are used to cut block wood and other projects.
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