# Hand placement while turning.



## justallan (Jul 10, 2015)

This may sound strange, but what the heck!
Where and how do you have your hands while turning. In Dennis' post on his new lathe a few folks pointed out that he might think on moving his tool holders for safety reasons and also standing out of the line of fire.
I'm left handed and hold my chisels by the handle with my left and with my right hand I hold the chisel between my thumb and pointer finger with my pointer finger sliding along the tool rest. Without any intention, my body is to the right of my work and out of the line of fire.
I have turned opposite of this and it just doesn't work for me. So, am I turning left or right handed?


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## DKMD (Jul 10, 2015)

You'll find that you'll want to switch hands for certain situations, but I'm right handed and typically hold opposite from what you described... So you're turning left handed or we're both screwed up!

Reactions: Agree 2 | Funny 2


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## justallan (Jul 10, 2015)

You would have been scared if you'd seen me hollowing out the pencil cup that I made. Heck, I was about half scared. LOL

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## JR Custom Calls (Jul 10, 2015)

I use carbide, so this may not work for you if you use traditional tools... But I grip the shank(?) of my tools with my left hand (bicycle grip style?) and hold the other with my right hand. Here's a video that shows how my left hand is placed. 

Not sure that I specifically answered the intended question you had though. And since the majority of my turning is pots, I'm mostly out of the line if it came off, except in one situation when I round over the back edge of the pot

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson (Jul 10, 2015)

Im a lefty too, and I normally hold the tool the way you do Allen...

Reactions: Like 1


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## gman2431 (Jul 10, 2015)

This is a good question Allen and something I guess I don't know what I do off the top of my head. 

I do know I hold in many various grips depending on what I'm doing it how much I'm taking off. 

Makes me wonder how I hold it now! Lol. 

I feel whats going on at the end of the tool is more important than however I grab it. But at the same time how you grab it might really effect that so I guess I'm all screwed up.


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## justallan (Jul 10, 2015)

I kind of see what you are saying, Cody. Other than opposite hand positions my forward hand is about what Jonathan posted, but I pretty much just use my thumb and pointer finger to grip with and it's there more for a guide than anything else. I find that if I grip to much with my front hand that I lose any and all fluidity and my cuts get choppy and I start gouging bad.


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## manbuckwal (Jul 10, 2015)

Sometimes if Im turning a bowl ( 3 so far lol ) i put my palm topside to steady the tool, especially when the chunk is out of balance . Left hand on top

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## justallan (Jul 10, 2015)

Is that on a full size lathe, Tom? I'd bought a 12x about3' awhile back that had 2 sets of chisels with it and I could see that with them big dogs a guy would kind of have to do that.


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## manbuckwal (Jul 10, 2015)

justallan said:


> Is that on a full size lathe, Tom? I'd bought a 12x about3' awhile back that had 2 sets of chisels with it and I could see that with them big dogs a guy would kind of have to do that.



Nope thats on my midi. I started turning this dry (bigger for me ) chunk of walnut and it was very "wobbly" and seemed to grab a lot so I was hanging on good lol. Its still in this shape..........I might finish it someday lol

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Alan Sweet (Jul 11, 2015)

Allen, being left handed must be a blessing. Did you know every President since Reagan has been left handed? Including what's-his-name.

But, I'm right handed and about 18 months ago I spent about 2 weeks experimenting with turning left handed. I got a lot of checks and put a lot wood in the designer fire wood pile. But, my motivation was based on the opinion that I could sweeping curves in larger pieces if I could switch hands on various parts of the curves. I am not as good with my left hand as I am with my right but I can accomplish my purpose. As long as I followed the ABC's, Approach (how I am addressing the lathe), Bevel (always bevel first) and Cut (this was the hardest for me left handed most of my checks). But, if move a little slower when cutting seems to work.

Why all this long winded stuff, I suggest you practice going right handed. You might find that in some cases makes some cuts easier. I find it helps in finials too.

BTW, my hand positioning is pretty much the same as yours.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike Mills (Jul 11, 2015)

I use an overhand grip (does not have to be tight) for face work and underhand for finesse cuts such as most spindle.

My daughter is left handed but I think we use about the same hand while cutting. For spindle it really doesn't matter because your are in the throw zone anyway. I can't picture how some cuts can be made with a left hand hold when bowl turning without cutting against the grain.


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## Nature Man (Jul 11, 2015)

Good question might be: Why aren't there left-handed lathes... Chuck


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## Graybeard (Jul 11, 2015)

If you had a lathe that reversed direction you could stand on the other side and turn left handed couldn't you? 
Watched a Jimmy Clewes DVD and he made a point of holding the tool like Allan does, between his thumb and pointer finger. He said it's like where you hold a pencil to write, you have the most control that way.

Graybeard

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DKMD (Jul 11, 2015)

Graybeard said:


> If you had a lathe that reversed direction you could stand on the other side and turn left handed couldn't you?



You can. You can also stand on the normal side and cut away from center with the lathe in reverse... I picked that up from a Mike Mahoney DVD.


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## Mike Mills (Jul 11, 2015)

manbuckwal said:


> ... it was very "wobbly" and seemed to grab a lot so I was hanging on good lol.


I don't know if this may be the problem or not. When I started I "poked" at the wood until I finally paid attention to "stance" in Richard Raffan's video.
Here is a video by Lyle Jamieson and he is using the underhand hold (and even only two fingers of each hand for a couple of cuts). In most of his video's for bowls he uses an over hand hold. He does bring up stance, without using the term.




Here is a good video by Stuart Batty just on stance, this is part one of two on bowls (actually part 2 0f 3) and he has another on spindle orientation (which is listed as part 1).

Reactions: Thank You! 2


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## MikeMD (Jul 11, 2015)

To be honest, I read the OP, but didn't read the rest...so this may have morphed into something completely different by now. But here is my answer to your question. You are turning 'left handed'. Many folks can turn only one way. Left or right depending on whichever they are. So, once a bowl is turned around, some of these folks will still turn the outside of the bowl (while in the chuck) 'right handed'. I don't know how they do it. And I'll just say that takes WAY more coordination than I have! I simply do what you/one would call turning left handed at that point. I just find it easier. But admittedly will turn 'right handed' whenever possible because, well, I'm right handed. 

I almost always, have the hand that is on the toolrest over top of the tool. I don't hold it like a pencil or like a cue stick. Though, recently, I found that an underhand hold has its advantages at times. Bottom line, no matter how you hold your toolrest hand, white knuckling that hand is not in your best interest...not for smooth cuts, at least. I recently got into that habit...even on finish cuts, and couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting smooth finish cuts. I was white knuckling it. I got sucked into doing that because of the woods I was turning. Mainly burls and woods with voids and punky spalted stuff. I was getting beaten up pretty good. And gradually started gripping harder and harder with the toolrest hand. Let it GO! No, don't 'let go'. But keep the right handle hand tight to/against your body (steadying the tool), and the toolrest hand is there as support.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Great Post 1


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## duncsuss (Jul 11, 2015)

Same as Mike said -- I change hands whenever it feels less contorted to do so. It was awkward at first, but I kept practicing till it's now just as easy and comfortable for me to hold a gouge your way (left-handed) or the way I began using them, which was the natural right-handed method.

I found it easiest to get used to the feel of it using a spindle roughing gouge and swapping from hand to hand as I reversed direction along the spindle. Then I moved on to doing the swap-hands-routine with a skew. The bowl gouge came next. (I still haven't figured out how to use a spindle gouge properly with either hand, I get screw thread catches in both directions ... oh well )

The overhand/underhand grip at the tool rest is (for me) a function of how much the piece is making the tool bounce. Out of round, I use an overhand grip, pressing the tool down onto the rest and locking it as a pivot -- I swing my body to make the cutting edge move in an arc through the workpiece. Once it's round, I switch to a much lighter underhand grip, one that allows me to move the entire tool along the tool rest in a smooth action. At least, that's what I plan to do, whether it actually happens that way is another question.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## GeorgeS (Jul 14, 2015)

I am probably the least qualified to answer this question but I will add what I am doing. When I started turning again (less than a year now) I forced myself to change hands when doing practice spindle work because I knew I would have to eventually. I am right handed and I hold the tool "normally" with the handle in my right hand and my left as support. I am turning on a Jet 1236 and I can tell you I cannot alway stay out of the line of fire no matter how hard I try.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Jerry B (Jul 14, 2015)

as said by some above ..... I _lightly_ cradle all tools between thumb and forefinger with "palm" resting on tool rest as a guide across the wood
how I maneuver the handle is how I control the cut, by twisting the gouge for depth of cut, and moving the body forward-backward for fluid movement, always riding the bevel of course

it must be pretty difficult being a lefty on a machine that's primarily built, and spins, for right handed people
never really thought about that before now ..........


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## MikeMD (Jul 14, 2015)

Jerry, as long as your chucks lock down with set screws, there is nothing keeping a lefty from working from the other side of the lathe...that is, as long as he/she has a remote switch with FWD/REV, on/off, speed control, and E-STOP.

Reactions: Agree 1


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