Woodturning is an art that converts mundane wood pieces into something beautiful. But woodturning requires patience and practice. Woodworkers spend a lot of time on wood lathes to practice this skill. It is not easy to use a wood lathe if you have just started woodturning. A wood lathe is a tool that turns wood to shape and cut it. Once you know how to operate a wood lathe, you can test yourself by creating something out of wood. Taking up wood lathe projects for beginners is a great way to practice and hone your skills.
While there are a large variety of wood lathes on the market, always invest in good quality woodturning tools so that not only do you achieve good results, but also stay safe. Inferior quality tools may result in the breaking of wood blanks and thereby cause injury. So how about you explore high-quality lathes for your projects?
Top 5 wood lathe projects for beginners
# 1. Basic Bowl: This woodturning project is the commonest among amateur woodworkers. It is a good project for beginners as well as those who want to brush up their basic woodturning skills. A simple wooden bowl is definitely the most basic item to make with the help of a wood lathe. In order to make it you need a large rectangular bowl blank. There are many bowl blanks especially crafted to make wooden bowls available on the market. A wooden bowl once made looks beautiful and is very useful. In fact it can be a simple woodworking project to make and sell. In case you make a mistake while making it, the wooden blank can be converted into a flower vase. Just use your imagination.
#2. Flower Vases: Flower vases are also simple wood lathe projects for beginners. Not only are they decorative, but they also attract a large number of customers. Once you have some experience woodturning, you can create flowerpots. These flowerpots can be used to hold a variety of artificial flower decorations.
#3. Wooden Wall Clock: If you are looking for a more interesting, yet simple, wood lathe project as a beginner, then a wooden wall clock with a flat surface and circular perimeter is a good project for you. For this you need a circular slice of wood. You can buy one from the market. Or if you have a fallen tree in your backyard, you could even cut a piece and use it. Then you refine the edges and smoothen the face of the wood piece. Glue plastic numbers or just paint them on the wood face. Create a small hole in the center of the wood and install the hands. The mechanism to run the clock can now be installed at the back. You can make this an interesting project by pasting stickers or painting flowers on the face. If you like the minimalistic look, don’t add any frills.
#4. Rings and Bangles: Simple rings and bangles can be made from the small scraps of wood you find in wood shops. Although hardwood can be used, softwood like pine is often a better option. You can find precise instructions on how to make these beautiful pieces and more at Quick and Easy Lathe Projects.
#5. Rolling Pins: Rolling pins are easy to make. But you have to use a really dense wood to make one. You need a 17 or 18 inch wooden blank and your wood lathe to get started. A wooden rolling pin has three parts, so you need to create the handles and the center rolling pin separately. You also need some woodturning accessories to create it. Check out this video below to get started.
These are five quick and easy wood lathe projects for beginners. Even though at first you may feel that woodturning with a wood lathe is complicated, it is really not that difficult. The best way to understand the machine and the process is to buy wood magazines or woodturning DVDs. Once you have started out, be prepared to make mistakes and waste some good pieces of wood in the process.
