• The forum upgrades have been completed. These were moderate security fixes from our software vendor and it looks like everything is working well. If you see any problems please post in the Forum Technical Support forum or email us at forum_moderator (at) aawforum.org. Thank you
  • Congratulations to Bernie Hyrtzak, People's Choice in the January 2026 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Matt Carvalho for "Red Mallee Folded Form" being selected as Turning of the Week for February 9, 2026 (click here for details)
  • AAW Symposium demonstrators announced - If the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium is not on your calendar, now is the time to register. And there are discounts available if you sign up early, by Feb. 28. Early Bird pricing gives you the best rate for our 40th Anniversary Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 4–7, 2026. (There are discounts for AAW chapter members too) For more information vist the discussion thread here or the AAW registration page
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Turning an out of balance blank

R

Richard Wilabee

Joined
Sep 16, 2014
Messages
97
Likes
1
Location
Palm Springs Area
When turning an out of balance blank does it make any difference if you turn on the left end of the lathe or move the head to the middle of the lathe. I was just wondering if moving the head to the middle spreads the out of balance and would be easier to work.

Rich
 
Last edited:
You are going to have the most mass and support if the headstock is over the legs.

If you are finding that the pieces are out of balance more often than not. And, your are not intentionally turning an off center piece.
You might want to work more on getting your piece balanced between centers before you turn the lathe on.
Likewise if your are using a faceplate, you might want to spend a couple of minutes finding a good point of balance ( between centers) before screwing the faceplate on.
Using a bandsaw to cut corners off of blanks, and to cut round blanks can also help a lot.
This can speed the turning process as you will probably be able to start at a somewhat higher speed and not spend so much time knocking off the high spots in search of balance.

With your new lathe I think you will find that it is pretty stable even with a slightly out of balance piece.
If it starts moving much then you have a potential problem that may be better solved with the lathe off.

I have never turned on a shopsmith, but I am assuming that your experiences with it are driving these questions.
Give your new lathe a chance, I think you will be impressed with it.
 
Balancing Act

Morning Rich,

Let's start by noting that you're stepping into a new world of turning from what you're used to with the S/S. I'll advise you to make the transition slowly. The tendency will be to load some big honker chunk of wood to "test" your new lathe's capability. Don't. What may have gotten by on the ShopSmith can easily get you in serious trouble on your new machine. Now's the time to start developing good and safe habits and methods.

For instance, Mark's suggestion to start a piece between centers is of key importance because it allows you to not only find the best balance point for the weight, but also to establish and balance the grain and annular rings in your bowl. Those balance points will usually be close to identical. This is the huge advantage of harvesting your own wood and then cutting the log section to optimize your options.

At this point I could go on for pages, but you'd be better served to contact experienced turners in your area or a local chapter. If you have trouble finding a mentor out there in the desert, you will also find a great deal of information in well-written and illustrated form available to members on the AAW website. Spend some reading and then applying what you find there on a small scale and then gradually move up in size. As you were here during the threads on safety equipment that have drifted down the list, you should be aware that as the weight and size of the turning increases so does the risk of injury and the resulting seriousness of an injury.

This is an exciting time for you. Channel your enthusiasm into learning so all of us here can share in nothing but your progress.

:)
 
Thanks Mark good advice. I guess I'm a little nervous going from the Shopsmith. I could hardly turn anything that was un balanced. That shopsmith weighing 225 pounds would jump around but luckily I did have the speed reducer which helped. Actually I do have a nice band saw and I cut everything round for the most part. I have a bunch of dry wood which I have had for a couple of years as it dried out on me. I took a year break from turning as I was getting discouraged with the Shopsmith. I started turning again a couple of months ago and just realized the Shopsmith was taking the enjoyment out of it that's why the new lathe. (Tracking shows it will be here Friday). Other than it being harder to turn the dry wood is no problem. Where the Shopsmith would give me trouble is wet wood that wasn't balanced due to something internal to the wood and I tried a natural edge piece of walnut but I never could get it in balance. Not having a moveable or being able to screw the tailstock in and out I just couldn't fine the balance. When I was close it was to hard to put pressure between centers as the only way to do that was pressure from a hand lever on the head which moved the spindle out the tail stock was fixed.

I always try to be safe and I guess that is why all the questions not having ever turned on a dedicated lathe. I do have an airshield which I bought when I got back in to turning this time. So I'm hoping that will help. I'm also used to not turning any faster than it seems safe by the vibration coming from the wood. I think will be easier to turn between centers or use the tailstock for added support until I get the wood balanced out.

Rich
 
Last edited:
Learning

Forgot to mention DVDs. There are several on bowls that are quite good. Bill Grumbine's bowl turning DVD is very good for a beginner in that it takes you from the log all the way through to finishing. You'll find it being sold by Packard. Mike Mahoney's DVD on making bowls covers both dry and green wood turning and you'll find and Craft Supply. There are also DVD's on the AAW on-line store that have been reviewed and recommended by the AAW. David Ellsworth's DVD on his "Signature Gouge" is excellent.
 
Mark Mandell said:
Forgot to mention DVDs. There are several on bowls that are quite good. Bill Grumbine's bowl turning DVD is very good for a beginner in that it takes you from the log all the way through to finishing. You'll find it being sold by Packard. Mike Mahoney's DVD on making bowls covers both dry and green wood turning and you'll find and Craft Supply. There are also DVD's on the AAW on-line store that have been reviewed and recommended by the AAW. David Ellsworth's DVD on his "Signature Gouge" is excellent.
Click to expand...

Funny you mentioned that I just got Bill Grumbine's and watched it over the weekend. Great DVD. I'll check out the others that you mentioned.

Thank
Rich
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top