Turning For Furniture
by Ernie Conover

Review by Mark Gazella – October 2007

This is another new addition to the Guild library. Well - new to us anyway! It was first published back in 1996, but I was able to nab a copy at a hefty discount, and thought it might make a worthwhile addition to our collection.

For anyone not familiar with Mr. Conover, he has carried many titles throughout the years, such as lecturer, teacher, consultant, craftsman, and author. Perhaps his most notable career achievement comes as co-designer of the Conover lathe (an endeavor shared with his father). This is a versatile piece of equipment with a sizable capacity to do just about any type of turning you may desire. The ways of the bed are made of timber, which can be any length due to head- and tailstock assemblies consisting of independent, cast iron pieces. Unfortunately, the family sold their manufacturing company in 1989, and the buyer went out of business around the turn of the century. As a result, Conover lathes are now considered good used machines.

The publisher describes Turning For Furniture as an "action manual". I tend to agree - most shots provided are turnings in action. This enables the Author to pitch it as a real "hands-on" instruction book. It's split among three parts; The Basics, Turning Furniture Parts, and Appendices, which contain various chapters to elaborate on each part.

The Basics includes chapters on What You Need in a Lathe, Tools, Sharpening, and Spindle-Turning Basics. In a nutshell, a lathe should possess many qualities featured in a Conover lathe! First consider type of use; either light, medium, or heavy-duty. The best lathes are made of dense metal such as cast iron, and incorporate ball bearings to deter wear on bearing points. Capacities are also important - consider the type of work you plan to do. A large swing permits greater diameter bowls and face-plate turning, while bed length is more important for spindle work.

Tools are equally important. The best stuff is made of HSS - high-speed steel. Large tooling with comfortable handles permits the greatest amount of control and adapts to different situations. HSS tooling is also less likely to lose temper when sharpening - the bane of woodworkers who self-maintain their inventory. Consideration is given to a basic set; roughing and spindle gouges, skew chisel, scraper, and beading/parting tools. Several pages are reserved for Sharpening, but I've described this in other articles, and suggest you check that reference for complete information. Mr. Conover provides an adequate amount of instruction in Spindle-Turning Basics, describing how work must first be centered, balanced, and shear cut for final roughing. He then progresses to cutting coves, beads, and several other elements. Another operation is duplication; making master parts and pattern sticks. Also mentioned is a slick trick for sizing, using a "Turner's Gate" to establish diameters. A tool I had never heard of before.

Turning Furniture Parts includes chapters on Table Legs, Chair Parts, Bed Posts, Structural and Decorative Columns, Pulls and Finials, Applied Moldings, and even Tabletops. This section provides some innovative examples of how to embellish furniture with turned parts. First off is some interesting tutorials on single axis and multi-axes spindle turning for table legs, which leads to converging axes for more leg variation. He even shows how to turn small pins for tennoning. Final examples incorporate Windsor chair legs, bent-back chair posts, and bed posts, both single shorts and two-piece long posts with concealed mortise and tennon joints.

Structural and Decorative Columns and Pulls and Finials is to me, the best part of the whole book. Ernie begins with a simple tip for turning splits - simply place paper between stock prior to turning. When finished - separate 'em! If that's no challenge for you, how about turning hollow columns, or fluting a spindle? Maybe you'd like to try hand-carved spirals, or maybe indexed hand- or routed-reeding? There's also instruction for routing dovetails in the ends of cylindrical work to mate with separate pieces for ultra-secure connections. Finally, Pulls and Finials exploit the virtues of what can be done with faceplates or multi-jaw chucks. All serve to prove how versatile a lathe can be with a few tools and several simple jigs.

Appendices covers trailing material such as Holding Material on the Lathe, and Sharpening Jigs for Grinders. Again, Mr. Conover comes through with some clever devices for steadying work and sharpening tools. Nothing homemade though. At this point emphasis is on high-end manufactured items found at quality retail stores which really help to offset any frustration you may encounter with lesser quality accoutrements.

This book is unique in that it applies circular and/or cylindrical components to furniture-making. Something you don't see everyday in furniture building books. It's a rather small book (around 130 pages), but provides ample information on how to adorn furniture with unique features. I hope you enjoy it to the extent I did. This book will be available for checkout at the next general member meeting.