turning tools

[Peter P. Brown]

what speed would you recommend for hollowing out the bowl;;;I think I was around 1800 rpm but I read somewhere that was too high;;;;

Depends on the turner and the lathe! I have a 12" lathe with a 1/2 hp motor I turn bowls around 12 18 rpm. Now If I was turning a 16" bowl on a large lathe, that would be a bad idea

[Reed Gray]

Lathe speed is as much about what speeds you are comfortable with, and how fast you can go without the lathe trying to walk across the shop. Jimmy Clewes turns at speeds that make my sphincters pucker, and I turn faster than most bowl turners. If you have good tool control, and don't get catches, and have a good solid chunk of wood, you can turn a 10 inch bowl over 1,000 rpm. However, the faster you go, the more 'dramatic' your mistakes will be. Start slow, and work your way up, say start at 500 or so. There are formulas for suggested safe speeds, but I didn't know about them till I had been turning for years. Nice thing about variable speed lathe, is how easy it is to turn your speed up or down. Good idea to remember to turn it all the way down when you start a new piece... Many pieces have gone into orbit...

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I read a book on turning, and the author said there is no reason ever to turn faster than 500 RPM. I disagree with this statement, but I would say, I agree that you should not turn faster than 500 RPM to start out. After you get some experience, turn faster. I personally turn faster than 500, but 1800 is a bit fast for me....

What lathe and accessories if any do you have? That information cuold be used for many of us here to give you even beter advise than you already got.

[Thom Sturgill]

The late Dale Nish had a formula -> diameter(in) x RPM should be between 5000 and 9000

So a 10" bowl should be turned between 500 and 900 rpm. Smaller faster, larger slower.
This rule does not hold for spindle work.

I always use the rule that I set the speed based on how the wood feels. Unbalanced -> obviously slower - speed up as it gets in balance. Use the fact that there is nearly always some harmonic vibration to help judge the speed - just minimize the vibration. I do tend to turn fast, but then again I am now often turning miniatures and they require fast.

[Stan Smith]

The late Dale Nish had a formula -> diameter(in) x RPM should be between 5000 and 9000

So a 10" bowl should be turned between 500 and 900 rpm. Smaller faster, larger slower.
This rule does not hold for spindle work.

I always use the rule that I set the speed based on how the wood feels. Unbalanced -> obviously slower - speed up as it gets in balance. Use the fact that there is nearly always some harmonic vibration to help judge the speed - just minimize the vibration. I do tend to turn fast, but then again I am now often turning miniatures and they require fast.

Off Topic, but I didn't know that Dale Nish had passed. That explains why I couldn't buy another of his bird house kits that I had used in the past. I had to make up my own and everybody really likes them.