How to Make an Elegant Rolling Pin to Use and Display (DIY)
Michael Hansen 
Introduction
Although lathes and turning tools have evolved through the centuries, the art of woodturning has remained the same: A sharp tool cuts a spinning piece of wood to create something beautiful and functional.
Turning is an incredibly satisfying form of woodworking that lets you create anything from spindles and handles to ornate bowls and hollow vessels. But to create the ornate, you first have to learn the basics. Let me show you how to turn a simple rolling pin using carbide lathe tools.
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Meet the Expert
Courtesy Joe Cruz
Bitten by the woodturning bug at age 9, Joe Cruz has been creating useful art on the lathe ever since.
Be Aware of Lathe Safety
Long hair, jewelry and baggy clothes can all spell disaster when you’re working on a lathe. Keep your sleeves buttoned at the cuffs, take off any hanging jewelry and always tie back long hair. Always use eye protection or a face shield, and wear a dust mask to protect your lungs. A turning jacket is nice to have to store some lathe accessories but not necessary.
Choose the Right Tools
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When I started turning, the only tool options were “traditional” high-speed steel ones like spindle gouges, bowl gouges, skews and scrapers. Today, the novice turner has a better choice: carbide tools.
Easy Wood Tools and Hunter Tool’s carbide tools flattened the learning curve so you can get to turning faster without purchasing (and learning to use) expensive sharpening equipment.
Woods to Use for Spindle Turning
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Domestic hardwoods like cherry, maple and walnut are easy to turn and readily available. Exotic hardwoods like purpleheart, padauk and cocobolo produce beautiful turnings, but they’ll dull your tools faster and the dust may irritate your lungs and eyes.
PRO TIP: Shopping For Materials
Often you can find wood to turn in your scrap bin, but the tools and machinery are best found at specialty woodworking outlets like Rockler and Woodcraft.
Parts of a Lathe
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Set the Tool Rest
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Carbide tools can be safely used with the tool rest three inches from the stock, but I prefer it a little closer. Adjust the banjo so the tool rest sits about an inch away from the turning blank. Set the height of the tool rest so the carbide cutter is dead center on the turning blank.
Spindle Turning Speeds
Use this chart to help you set the spindle speed of your lathe:
| Roughing | Shaping | Sanding | |
| Up to 2″ | 800 | 1,300 | 3,000 |
| 2″-4″ | 650 | 1,100 | 2,500 |
| 4″-6″ | 500 | 900 | 1,700 |
| 6″ | 350 | 700 | 1,000 |
