In the woodturning projects category we have many free woodturning projects, which are suitable for both hobbyists and professional woodturners.

Choose carefully which of the woodturning project suits your skills. Also note that dimensions of the parts must fit to your lathe. Woodturning is a type of woodworking on the machine called lathe, which rotates a workpiece on its axis, while various operations - such as cutting and sanding with tools - are being performed on that workpiece. This way we manufacture turned wooden parts i.e. the parts which has symmetry about an axis of rotation. In short, lathe spins a workpiece while the woodturner shapes the wood with chisels and gouges.

Free woodturning projects

Woodturning is a very old technique that has been known since about 1300 BC in ancient Egypt. In those times, one person would turn the wood with a rope while the other shaped the wood with a sharp tool. The Europeans constantly improved the woodturning technique, but only in the Middle Ages a pedal replaced hand-operated turning. The electrically driven lathe came in use during the Industrial Revolution and has significantly speed up the production and increased the quality of work because of greater rotational speed, and then the mass use of this woodturning technique began. Today, the highly precise computer-operated machinery (CNC) is in use, and it does not require presence of the craftsman. It results in a cheap commercial mass-production, so each hand turned object made by craftsman today represents a unique piece of work that has a special value in the mass-production ambient for the customers who know to appreciate real craftsmanship.

To deal with woodturning you need to own the lathe, lathe cutting tools (chisels, gouges, scraping tools…) lathe accessories (chucks, centers…), measuring and marking tools (calipers, center finder, trammel …) and safety equipment (safety goggles, dust mask…). Woodturning is used to create various wooden objects. It is most commonly used for the manufacture of bowls, furniture parts, toys, boxes and many other useful and beautiful articles in common use. Woodturning is an important technique for each professional, but this technique is also popular with hobbyists, because it can be used to create objects with practical value and the objects with artistic value as well; it does not require big money investment; lathe does not take up much space and the work does not require a large quantity of wood.

 

- Free and public domain woodturning books

 

Woodturning can be divided into five basic categories:

  • Spindle woodturning - In spindle woodturning, the workpiece is fixed between two points (centers) on a wood lathe and turned on its center axis. With this method the furniture legs, pens and similar objects are being turned.
  • Faceplate woodturning – Faceplate turning is turning with the workpiece mounted to a faceplate or in a chuck or jig.  Faceplate woodturning method is used for making bowls, vessels, platters and similar objects.
  • Eccentric woodturning – Eccentric turning or multi axis woodturning  is woodturning technique where workpiece is not concentric with the spindle axis. Workpiece is mounted with a certain axis of rotation, turned, then remounted with a new axis of rotation.
  • Spiral woodturning – Spiral woodturning is not woodturning in the true sense, because most of the work is actually carving and it is done by hands. Lathe is used only to hold the workpiece.
  • Build up woodturning  - Build up woodturning can be divided into three groups: Laminated woodturning, segmented woodturning and post blocked woodturning. This technique uses the glue to join the pieces of wood together to form one workpiece. Build up woodturning can serve as a decorative technique, because it has a possibility of making various patterns and color effects; it can also be used for the creation of large turned wooden items.

When choosing a wood for turning, keep in mind that it has to be free from defects (knots, checks, splits and shakes) and   straight grained. When you choosing wood for your woodturning project, take a hardwood because it turns easier on a wood lathe. Choose softwood only when you want to improve some of the woodturning techniques. Virtually any type of the hardwood can be processed with the lathe. Walnut, oak, sycamore, maple, apple, cherry, plum or beech will surely meet your needs.

 

According to the plan presented on this page, you can make an old German game for children and adults called ‘Bauernroulette’.

If you like to make simple furniture for your house, then the book case in the picture could become an interesting woodworking project for you.

The coat rack illustrated is easy to construct and can be made by the home craftsman at very low cost.

On this page you can download free "do it yourself" project for the making of a coat stand with umbrella holder.

With the  woodturning project that you can download on this page you can make a simple corner plant holder (or corner stand).

If you want to make a wooden egg cup (egg server) like the one in the picture, here you are given a 3D model and a free plan with all the necessary dimensions.

With the free furniture making project that you can download on this page you can make a coffee table in Mashrabiya style.

Here we are presenting a woodturning project that will allow you to make a beautiful and practical flower pot stand that we named the Floor to ceiling flower pot stand.

The folk art stool plan which you can download here contains drawings of each part, exploded view, assembly drawing and parts list.

With the free furniture making project that you can download on this page you can make beautiful gateleg table (thousand leg table).

On this page you can download a free woodturning project called Hat and coat rack in turned work.

Here is a plan for making a really nice and practical stool. We named it ’Hexagon Stool’ because its seat is of hexagonal shape.

Here we present to you a plan for a wooden honey dipper and an accompanying wooden honey jar lid.

The wooden objects on the images below are just the three examples of the endless possibilities to achieve some interesting woodturning patterns and shapes of decorative wooden rotational objects.

Napkin ring is a circular band used to hold a particular person's napkin neatly before a meal begins. We are offering the plan for wooden napkin ring in several variations.

With the woodturning project that you can download on this page you can make Oriental lattice work.

On this page you can download plan that can help you make pestle and mortar (two versions), a perfect gift for anyone who loves cooking.

On this page, we present you a free DIY project for making a piano stool, a perfect seat for playing the piano.

Here you can download 3 drawings according to which you can make 3 different rolling pin foot massagers.

This unusually adorable wooden stool/table set will definitely drawn attention of all the people that visit your home.

We are offering you the plan of wooden nut cracker which is a simple tool consisting of rounded body and handle with threaded axle.

This webpage contains drawings and instructions for the making of a wooden ship wheel, which is a beautiful decoration for any wall.

We give you here the free plan of an authentic functional castle spinning wheel, a convenient tool to start spinning yarn.

In the free project that is offered here you can find drawings to help you make stacking rings toy, possibly one of the best toys ever made.

Here we present a plan for Stacking tree toy. A very simple toy that will give your child many hours of educational fun.

With the free woodturning project that you can download on this page you can make a nice and convenient wooden stand.

This tripod stool is a very good project for beginners, and it is a piece of furniture that will prove very useful after it is made.

With this plan you can make a Turned box with combination lock lid, a perfect gift for a family member, friend, work colleague etc.

This turned wood stools set includes six variations of exquisite sculptural shaped stools.

 Within this woodturning project collection, you can find 25 drawings and 3D models to help you make turned wooden boxes.