http://www.getwoodworking.com October 2019 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking 89
27 True up the base with a pull cut. The fingernail
grind on the gouge allows me to carry out this cut.
The flute of the tool is pointing to 10 o’clock and the
handle is low, which allows me to achieve a slicing
action through the wood24 Mount the blank up between centres and clean
up the top end with a spindle gouge. I had a couple
of attempts at getting the shape right on this section.
I made the whole thing much lighter looking by
refining the shape so it was more elegant21 Any small discrepancies can be removed during
sanding. I use an old sanding belt at least half the
width of the object I’m trying to sand; the width
allows the high spots to be removed and leaves
a parallel surface25 Next, drill a 12mm hole to accept the stem from
the lamp followed by an angled hole through to
the centre hole, which the cable will pass through
22 The spigot that goes into the base needs to be
of a larger diameter to ensure it provides added
strength. I have a drill bit of around 45mm and
turn the bottom section to suit it
19 This close-up shows how the spindle roughing
gouge removes timber even when working on some
curly grain near this knot. This is achieved by keeping
the handle low, which allows the wood to be sliced
as opposed to scraped
26 Mount the base section on the lathe using a
woodworm screw mounted in the lathe chuck. True
up the blank with a bowl gouge rather than a spindle
roughing gouge as it’s a much stronger tool and needs
to withstand the rigours of turning larger sections23 It’s perhaps a little bit of an indulgence to use a
piece of English walnut for the top, but it was sitting
around in the workshop, so why not? I drill a 25mm
hole in one end and an 8mm cable hole all the way
through the middle20 Ensuring cylinders are parallel is often a challenge
to woodturners. A toolrest that you can slide your
fingers along is a huge help here; this will set the
depth of cut of the tool and give you every chance
of getting it right