Taking good care of your wood lathe tools makes a big difference in how easy it is to produce quality results. Clean, sharp well maintained tools will make your work much easier and your projects will turn out better. Here’s a few tips on where to get started caring for your tools.
- Always keep your tools sharp. This will extend their lifetime and give the best results when carving. Dull tools can catch and snap your spindle, so make sure they are always sharp and check for nicks and chips too. This is something a lot of beginners ignore or are simply afraid to do. Check out this page on sharpening tools.
- Keep you tools organized. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. This will prevent you from having to search around for your tools in the middle of a project, and encourage you to use the right tool instead of the tool you can find! I prefer to keep my tools in a nice wood box, or just hang them on the wall.
- Store you tools in a cool dry place. If you leave your tools in a moist or humid environment they can rust which will have negative effects on their strength and integrity. Never use rusty tools, they’ll make bad cuts and it can be dangerous if a chisel breaks while turning.
- Keep your tools clean. Clean them after every use, and your tools will always be ready next time you need them. This includes the handles of your tools, don’t forget to wipe them down after use, especially if your hands sweat a lot like mine!
- Keep your tools in oiled sawdust if you’re not using them for an extended period. This will keep your tools sharp and prevent rusting. You’ll have to clean your tools before use, so don’t bother with this if you use your tools regularly.
I hope you find these tips helpful, you can find more info and reviews on our wood lathe tools page. If you have tips of your own please add a comment, I’d love to hear them.
Happy Turning!
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