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Wood turning projects books, articles and web sites tend to start with spindle turning exercises. Probably this is because most people begin wood turning by turning spindle shapes such as chair rungs, table legs and candle sticks. This in turn tends to happen because the easiest way to begin with a lathe is to mount a piece of wood "between centers" and to turn it round. However, many wood turned objects such as bowls and clocks are wider and flatter than a stick. These are turned with the grain of the wood perpendicular to the bed of the lathe and are termed "faceplate" turnings.

Faceplate turnings require the use of a couple of additional tools as compared to spindle turnings and thus have some new skills to learn. While the skills could be learned by turning waste wood blocks to shavings, wood turning projects in faceplate orientation keep interest levels high while the competence is being developed.

For example, one of the most common faceplate turned objects is a bowl. Wooden salad bowls are a mainstay of the turner's craft. This makes a bowl one of the easiest and yet most difficult items to turn. Simple because a bowl has a couple of easy curves, one inside and one outside, along with a bottom to sit on. However, it can be extremely difficult to turn the "perfect" bowl because the commonality of the object means that it has to be not only beautifully made but also somewhat unique in style to stand out from the crowd. Some turners make bowls exclusively in that quest for the perfect line, the best edge, and the finest decoration.

Furthermore the skills obtained in bowl turning stand the test of time in all other face plate turning, so small bowls make a great project for learning faceplate skills. They are:


    inexpensive: a small bowl can be made from a 6 inch length of 2x6

    use common tools such as a 1/4" bowl gouge or Oland tool

    teach the basic faceplate cuts

    have a measure of safety before attempting larger bowls

    make good gifts so as to encourage more practice

The use of wood such as dried 2x6 for a faceplate project is a careful consideration in the developing of learning examples as much faceplate work, especially large pieces, start with green wood. This needs to be rough turned, dried and turned again, usually at three months later. Projects for skill development are better handled if they can be turned from start to finish in one go. Then they can be examined for defect and used to make the next one better. Besides which it is fun to be able to make a wood turning project in one session and then off to the next one.More info visit :  http://www.twspindle.com/products/specialty-spindle-en.html