Limited use Lathe and four tools?

[Mike Holbrook]

I understand how to make spindles for a Windsor chair which is why I am confused about the term "spindles" as used in wood turning. As I tried to explain above, the Continuous Arm Windsor Chair spindles I make with drawknives and spokeshaves may start well over 24". I just measured some. Apparently posters above are calling these short spindles? The objects I am currently making plans to turn, however, would probably not be more than 24". I am not sure what turners would call the legs and rungs for chairs, but these are the main objects i would like to be able to turn. Unless I decide to make a table and need legs for the table, chair legs are the longest object I currently have plans to make. The chair legs on the chairs i have made so far are all 20" or less, maybe as long as 24" before processing, and cutting to length for wedging. Thom mentions a "spindle lathe" with a longer bed but I find no reference to how long one of these beds might be or what might need to be turned on them that would require a long bed, table legs? I have a hard time picturing columns turned on a lathe.

I am concerned about breathing too much air filled with wood dust. I try to use hand and power tools that minimize air born dust. At first I thought turning might fill the air with dust like my table saw use to. I had the opportunity to do some turning, mostly to taper chair and spindle tenons, at a chair building course at Country Workshops. I found that although some dust got in the air, the turning we did produced more wood chips and wood shavings than dust. This renewed my interest in tapering chair leg tenons with a lathe. Although I can make chair legs with the same tools I make chair spindles with, I suspect that I could make legs and rungs faster with a lathe. Windsor chair legs are typically made from very hard wood like hard maple and do not require the wood grain considerations that spindles do.

The class I just finished was on making Welsh Stick Chairs. The spindles used in these chairs are frequently shorter and wider than those used in Windsors. Although it might be feasible to make this type spindle on a lathe, these chairs are typically rougher and more rustic than Windsors so turned spindles would look out of place. I can see that Post & Rung or Ladder Back chairs might need pieces that could be turned. I may be interested in making stools which may need longer pieces. I am still trying to figure out what project parts i might be able to make with a lathe.

Until I used a lathe I probably would not have considered making bowls or plates with a lathe. I am a fan of bowls and plates carved out of wood with hand tools. I suspect I could make more quicker with a lathe though and I have plenty of wood to work with. So I am considering buying a lathe to do more than turn chair legs.

[Thom Sturgill]

In wood turning 'spindle' refers to two distinct things: firstly the grain orientation of the wood being turned, that is the grain running the length of the bed rather than across the bed, and secondly, it refers to the metal shaft that turns the wood, rides on bushings, and connects via pulleys to the motor. Every lathe has a spindle, not every turner does spindle turning. Your legs and stretchers would be classed as spindles due to the grain orientation. A turned stool seat, on the other hand would be called cross-grain, face grain, or face plate turning since you would not make the seat with the grain running vertically.

Turning wet or green wood creates very little dust, and generally not the fine stuff that gets in your lungs. Sanding is another issue. Cutting end-grain dry wood is the only real point where dust is created while actually turning. Many turners wear masks while sanding, some wear powered respirators all the time.