No other book gives you such valuable information on the essential
turning tool. Completely revised and updated, The Lathe Book
is the comprehensive guide to woodturning machinery, incorporating
the many innovations in the lathe and its accessories.This book
covers every aspect of the lathe, including how to choose one, how
to select tools and accessories, how to maintain and repair the
machine, and basic techniques.
The Lathe Book contains:
- Expert advice on choosing a lathe
- Tips on maintaining a lathe for optimal performance
- Easy-to-follow basic techniques that help build lathe skills
- More than 220 color photos and illustrations
"...a comprehensive guide to wood lathes..."
-- Woodshop NewsIntroduction:
In this book, I will share with you my love of the woodturning
lathe. This is a book with a difference because it doesn't focus on
the lathe to the exclusion of all other woodworking. Rather, it
treats the lathe as another essential tool in the woodworking shop
-- a tool that can expand your woodworking horizon and add pizzazz
to your work. All woodworkers need to be more familiar with the
lathe because at some point your woodworking projects will require
turned parts.When The Taunton Press asked me to do the second
edition of The Lathe Book, I was delighted, but I never
realized that rewriting is much more difficult than writing. Much
has changed since the first edition, so there are many new machines,
accessories, and gadgets to share. Turning is becoming gentrified,
and there are now tools and accessories that had never before been
dreamed of. While the philosophical side of me laments the
simplicity lost, the tool junkie side of me opens each "absolutely
indispensable" new piece of hardware with childlike enthusiasm. My
wife, Susan, appropriately bought me a T-shirt claiming, "He who
dies with the most tools wins." I am in serious contention for the
grand prize.
I am also a better turner today than I was eight years ago and
have taught scores of people to turn, so I can tell the story
better. Because I have also written Turning for Furniture Makers
(a detailed spindle-turning book with an accompanying video) and
Turn a Bowl with Ernie Conover (an action manual for bowl
turners) since the first edition of The Lathe Book, I decided
to drop some of the techniques and concentrate more on the lathe and
it accessories. The tool chapter is much more readable and the
illustrations are better. Photography is entirely new and in color.
Turning books generally speak to dedicated turners who pursue
turning to the exclusion of all other forms of woodworking. But most
woodworkers are interested in turning only enough to use the lathe
in their general woodworking. Additionally, most turning books miss
the mark because they never really teach you to turn. They talk
about equipment, philosophy, and history, but they never truly teach
turning. With that in mind, I've tried to keep this a woodturning
book that speaks to all woodworkers and gives the information
necessary to be able to employ turning in furniture making. This
book also offers much to the pure turner. A second objective is to
offer advice on buying, maintaining, modifying, and repairing
lathes. A good part of the book is devoted to the intricacies of
lathes and their accessories.
I grew up at the lathe, and I've been turning both wood and metal
since I was 12 years old. I understand lathes and how they work. For
many years, my father and I owned a company that produced a lathe we
codesigned -- the Conover Lathe. An outgrowth of our
lathe-manufacturing business is Conover Workshops, a woodworking
school that my wife and I now run year-round. In 24 years of running
the school, I've taught hundreds of people to turn and have a fair
sense of where the hurdles are in the learning process.
It's my firm belief that most people have the ability to turn,
but this skill has been buried deep inside during the process of
growing up. In many cases, it has been masked by fear and dull
tools. If you read through the next 180 or so pages, I think you'll
be able to regain your instinctive turning skill and have some fun
in the process. I look forward to this book starting a revolution in
your workshop.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 The Turning Machine
Lathe Construction
Lathe Anatomy
Chapter 2 Choosing and Buying a Lathe
Entry-Level Lathes
Mid-Range Lathes
Dream Lathes
Specialty Lathes
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Lathe
Workflow
Machine Placement
Chip Removal and Ventilation
Electrical Service
Lighting
Tool Storage
Chapter 4 Holding the Work
Centers
Faceplates
Special-Purpose Chucks
Chapter 5 Accessories
Steady Rests
Arm Rests
Sharpening Equipment
Safety Equipment
Jigs for Special Techniques
Lathe Duplicators
Chapter 6 Tools
Gouges
Chisels
Scrapers
Hook and Ring Tools
Chatter Tools
Chasers
Chapter 7 Maintenance, Repair, and Modification
Routine Maintenance
Replacing Bearings
Drive Pulleys, Belts, and Motors
Removing Seized Morse Tapers and Faceplates
Tool Rests
Modifying a Lathe
Restoring a Used Lathe
Chapter 8 Turning Techniques
Coves and Beads
Turning Square to Round
Faceplate Turning
Sanding
Finishing
Glossary
Resources
Index
Soft-cover, 8 x 10 in., 192 pages,
with color photos and drawings
Published 2001
ISBN: 978-1-56158-416-1
Order online: Add your item to your shopping cart and
submit your order online*.
Order
offline: Add your item to your shopping cart and print an
offline order form*. Mail or fax your order to us 
