Spindle turning

Spindle turning, or turning between centers, is a woodturning method referring to a piece of wood on a wood lathe that is being turned on its center axis.^[1]

Upholstered stool, with frame members made by spindle turning

Modern spindle turning

Method

For spindle turning, the wood is held on the lathe either by both ends (between the headstock and tailstock) or by one end only using a lathe chuck ^[2]

Wood is generally removed by running a turning tool down the slope of the wood from a larger diameter in the wood to a smaller diameter.

Examples

Spindle turning is the method used for items such as chair and table legs, lamps, cues, bats, pens, candlesticks etc. i.e. long and thin objects.

See also

• Turned chairs, chairs made with their frame components turned into bobbins