Turn chess pieces on the lathe
Turn a 32-piece chess set using FIDE Staunton proportions - dimensional chart, wood pairings, batch-turning identical pawns, and the knight problem solved.
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23 articles in Projects
Turn wooden mushrooms on the lathe
Cap-up or cap-down grain, spalted maple selection, 2,500 RPM speeds, and pyrography gill detail for turned wooden mushrooms that look picked, not made.
Read moreTurn a wooden table lamp on the lathe
Bore a 3/8-inch cord channel through an 18-inch blank with a lamp auger, wire UL-listed hardware to a turned base, and finish safely around a hot socket.
Read moreHow to turn a wooden mallet
Turn a wooden mallet between centers — 4-inch head, 9-inch handle in dogwood or hard maple. One-piece versus joined design, plus head splitting fixes.
Read moreHow to turn bed posts on a lathe
Bed posts run 36 to 48 inches and demand a steady rest, slow speeds, and story sticks to match all four. Here is how to turn the longest spindles in furniture.
Read moreTurn furniture legs on a lathe
Turn matched table legs that actually line up. Story sticks, calipers at six diameters, and the pommel cut method that separates clean legs from blowouts.
Read moreHow to turn a wooden mirror frame
Turn a round wooden mirror frame on the lathe — blank sizes for 8 to 16 inch mirrors, rabbet depth for glass and backing, RPMs, and a humidity-resistant finish.
Read moreHow to turn a wooden letter opener
A 7-inch letter opener from a 3/4-inch blank — three ways to flatten the blade, the dense species that resist snapping, and the skew angle that works.
Read moreTurn a wooden foot roller on the lathe
Exact dimensions for a lathe-turned wooden foot roller — bead spacing that works the arch, plus the hard species that survive years under foot pressure.
Read moreTurn wooden buttons on the lathe
Turn a matched set of 6-8 wooden buttons from scrap hardwood: production jig, blank sizes, drilling fixture, and finishing for buttons that survive laundry.
Read moreHow to turn a round wood picture frame
Turn a round wooden picture frame on the lathe - blank sizing, faceplate mounting, the rabbet cut for glass and backing, working RPMs, and a gift-ready finish.
Read moreHow to turn wooden fishing lures
Turn wooden fishing lures on a mini lathe — wood species by density, RPM ranges, through-wire construction, and an epoxy finish that survives a season.
Read moreTurn wooden bookends on the lathe
Turned bookends must sit flat and hold 18 pounds of books. Split turning, faceplate, and solid cylinder approaches, plus weighting and finishing steps.
Read moreHow to turn a wood clock on the lathe
Turn a wood clock with a press-fit insert that stays put — exact bore diameters, Forstner speeds, species picks, and nailing the 0.005-inch press fit.
Read morePen turning - from slimline to kitless
Pen turning covers every spindle skill on a $10 blank. Kit types, drilling speeds, mandrels, CA finishing, and assembly steps with exact RPM and bit sizes.
Read moreHow to turn a wood honey dipper
A 7-inch honey dipper from a 1-inch square blank — the groove geometry that actually holds honey, food-safe finishing, and a full step-by-step sequence.
Read moreTurn stair balusters on a lathe
Turn code-compliant stair balusters between centers — the 4-inch sphere rule, pin sizing, blank dimensions, and a story-stick method for duplicating sets.
Read moreHow to turn a lazy susan on the lathe
A turned lazy susan is a face-plate project shaped with a bowl gouge — wood selection, bearing sizing, mounting, and food-safe finishing in one session.
Read moreHow to turn garden tool handles
Turn replacement garden tool handles in ash or hickory between centers. Tang hole sizes for trowels, forks, and cultivators, plus ferrule fitting steps.
Read moreTurn a garden dibber on the lathe
A 10-inch dibber from a 1.5-inch blank — the handle profile that fits a closed fist, point tapers for clay vs loam, and rot-resistant hardwoods that last.
Read moreProject: Cremation Urn
This is a project by master turner Bill Grumbine. We are proud to host it.
Read moreProject: Epoxy Resin River Table
Epoxy resin river tables can be a magical addition to any room if you have the right kind of decor. These are eye-popping pieces of furniture that can...
Read moreProject: Captive Rings on a Baby Rattle
In this photo tutorial, Dennis Daudelin will show us how to make captive rings. The final object happens to be a baby rattle.
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