paul dodgson

For Christmas, I made some wooden animals using a wood-turning lathe. Great fun. Here’s how.

I used some well seasoned fruit wood (damson) sawn into lathe blanks.

Here is the blank mounted on the lathe ready for turning.

The operator at the lathe.

Marking out.

Taking shape.

Finished shapes on a spindle ready for the next stage.

Shaping the mouse ears on a belt sander.

Cutting mouse ears.

Cutting animal bodies from the spindle.

Carving dog’s face.

Shaping mouse’s tail with a spokeshave.

Shaping cat’s ear.

Attaching cat’s leg.

Carving mouse’s face.

Mice (unpainted)

Cats

Dogs

Finished animals.