Wen 34027, Manual

OPERATION

CUTTING TECHNIQUES

Begin with a large roughing gouge. Place the tool 

on the tool rest with the heel of the tool on the 

surface to be cut. Slowly and gently raise the tool 

handle until the cutting edge comes into contact 

with the workpiece. Beginning about 2 inches from 

the tailstock end of the workpiece, roll the flute of 

the tool (the hollowed-out portion) in the direction 

of the cut. Make long sweeping cuts in a continuous 

motion to turn the piece to a cylinder (Fig. 22).

Keep as much of the bevel of the tool in contact 

with the workpiece as possible to ensure control 

and avoid catches. 

Fig. 22 

Fig. 23 

Once the workpiece is roughed down to a cylinder, smooth it with a large skew. Keep the skew handle 

perpendicular to the spindle and use only the center third of the cutting edge for a long smoothing 

cut (touching one of the points of the skew to the spinning workpiece may cause a catch and ruin the 

workpiece). Add details to the workpiece with skews, parting tools, scrapers or spindle gouges.

BEADS

 - Make a parting cut for what is to be a bead to the desired depth. Place the parting tool on 

the tool rest and move the tool forward to make the full bevel of the tool come into contact with the 

workpiece. Gently raise the handle to make cuts of the appropriate depth. Repeat for the other side 

of the bead. Using a small skew or spindle gouge,  start in the center between the two cuts and cut 

down each side to form the bead. Roll the tool in the direction of the cut.

COVES

 (Fig. 23) - Use a spindle gouge to create a cove. With the flute of the tool at 90 degrees to the 

workpiece, touch the point of the tool to the workpiece and roll in towards the bottom of the cove. 

Stop at the bottom, as attempting to go up the opposite side may cause the tool to catch. Move the 

tool over the desired width of the cove. With the flute facing the opposite direction, repeat the step 

for the other side of the cove. Stop at the bottom of the cut.

V-GROOVES 

(Fig. 24) - Use the point of the skew to create a V-groove in the workpiece. Lightly mark 

the center of the V with the top of the skew. Move the point of the skew to the right half of the de-

sired width of your cut. With the bevel parallel to the right side of the cut, raise the handle and push 

the tool in to the desired depth. Repeat from the left side. The two cuts should meet at the bottom 

and leave a clean V-groove. Additional cuts may be taken to add to either the depth or the width of 

the cut.

PARTING OFF 

- Adjust the lathe to a slower speed for parting through a workpiece. Place a parting 

tool on the tool rest and raise the handle until is starts to cut. Continue cutting towards the center of 

the workpiece. Loosely hold on to the piece in one hand as it separates from the waste wood.

NOTE:

 Always cut downhill, or from the large 

diameter to the small diameter. Always work 

towards the end of the workpiece; never start at 

the cutting end.

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