No Lathe? No Problem
See how I used my table saw to turn a vase. I don’t have a lathe, but I wanted to make a wood vase. Usually that would mean that I have a problem. But instead, I made a pretty cool woodworking jig that lets me to turn the vase on the table saw! This is a prototype lathe jig so there is probably a lot that can be modified to make it even better. But I have to say that I’m extremely happy with how great my vase turned out. And as always, utilize your own safety precautions when using tools and techniques that are new to you.
Making a Turning Jig
I’ll start by saying that I made this jig up so it’s not expertly designed and it’s not fancy. I cut some particle board and then glued and nailed it together to form a box that sits over the top of my table saw sled fence. This allows me to push my sled and not the jig. More importantly, I can clamp the jig to my sled to ensure it doesn’t move while I’m cutting. When I attempted to use it without the clamps it slid around. Be safe; clamp it!
The side walls of the jig have a center hole and then multiple alignment holes. I used double sided tape to stick the pieces together as I used a template to drill my holes. That ensures that my holes are exactly the same on both pieces. The center hole holds a bolt that screws into the work piece using a threaded insert. The hole is wide enough that the bolt can spin freely with no friction, but doesn’t wobble around. The other holes are for an alignment pin. I found some thick nails that worked perfectly.
Using the Jig
Here’s how it works. I screwed the threaded inserts into both ends of my workpiece, and then I bolted it into my jig. I spins easily in the jig, with no friction. When I put the alignment pin in the jig, it stops the workpiece from spinning, allowing me to make safe cuts. I wanted to make a vase with a gradual, hour glass slope. To start, I turned the entire piece into essentially a large diameter dowel. This was done by locking my piece into place with the alignment pin and making cuts along the length of the piece. I pulled the pin out, spun the piece to the next position, locked it back in place, and repeated my cuts. By doing it this way, I’m taking away most of the excess wood, making the turning process easier. Once I rotated the board all the way around, I did my actual “turning” on the table saw. Removing the pin, I pushed the workpiece into the blade and spun one of the bolts, making the workpiece spin and perfectly cutting my board into a cylinder.
Once the entire workpiece was turned into a cylinder, I repositioned my jig to where I want to make the workpiece thinner. In my case, I wanted an hour glass shape. I raised the saw blade slightly and made my cuts, and then spun the workpiece to clean it all up. I repeated this step until I liked the shape that I made. To make the gradual tapers, I raised or lowered the blade as necessary and worked my way along the workpiece until I made the shape of my vase.
I used a ripping blade through the turning process so, for the most part, my vase was pretty smooth. That made sanding much easier. At first, I tried to mount my workpiece in the drill press and sand it while it spun. Unfortunately, it wasn’t stable enough and had too much wobble. Instead, I went stupid simple with it and essentially used it like a rolling pin. I rolled it back and forth on my work bench while I sanded it. The result was a buttery smooth vase! Lastly, I drilled a hole down the middle with a spade bit (it was the longest bit that I had), and I applied some Osmo oil to the vase.
This entire project was a prototype and me fooling around in the shop. I didn’t know if any of this would work. But it did and I thought it was a really awesome project. I urge you to not hold yourself back and to try new things in your workshop. You may be surprised at what you can accomplish.
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