Left Handed Turners

[edbanger]

Hi All

Do we have any left handed turners among us? The last two people that have come for a lesson have been left handed so I have a couple of questions.

How do you stand at the lathe to hollow a bowl? How do you cut your spigots??

Thanks

Ed

[Paul Hannaby]

I do both so sometimes I'm left handed but most of the time I'm right handed.

[GBF]

No such thing as left handed turners in my workshop.
Turning right handed for a left handed person is not difficult they soon get used to it.
It is not trying to wright with the other hand

Regards George

[bodrighywood]

Agree with George and Paul. I am extremely right handed but had to learn to turn right way. Not difficult?T.
Pete

[Lazurus]

I am naturally right handed but taught myself left handed to, often useful especially with the VB and its large head stock which can make access right handed awkward sometimes.

[Bryan Milham]

I've said it before, but to reiterate there are left handed turners and they turn well.

If you turn on the outboard side of a Graduate, it rotates what to us now, is the wrong way, so you turn left handed.

I've watched them turn from the opposite side of the lathe with it running in reverse (chuck secured in place), and yes it is safe.

I turn with whichever hand works best at the time, from the front of the lathe.

People who insist that you cannot turn left handed are wrong and for those that teach and insist on people turning only right handed are just not prepared to learn the skill themselves.

[GBF]

So all the professional Turners/Tutors that are teaching to turn right handed are lazy are they Bryan
You must know that really is very silly .
As you know Bryan I teach probably more than most other Pro turners and I work bloody hard at it.

Regards George

[Bryan Milham]

George,

I never used the word lazy, I said you should be able to turn with both hands; and yes I know how good a teacher you are. I have recommended you to people wanting to learn.

But if you (as you say) refuse to teach someone who is left handed unless they convert, I think you are wrong.

I did a demo at a club late last year, where one of the persons in attendance was a very well know turner. Afterwards he told me it was good to see someone who could turn with either hand.

[andy44]

Hi Ed
I'm left handed in nearly everything I do apart from when I bat in cricket I bat right handed but bowl left handed, also play golf right handed, I purposely bought a lathe with a head that swivelled to help me but I found even with the head turned it was still hard work turning left handed, so I taught my self to turn right handed, I now turn all bowls boxes hollow forms etc right handed but I still do most spindle turning left handed but occasionally I try spindle turning right handed, All I know is that it was easier to teach my self to turn a bowl etc right handed than to struggle doing it left handed.
Hope that helps a bit.
Cheers
Andy

[bodrighywood]

In my opinion the wood will often dictate whether you are cutting right or left handed. Certainly true on spindle turning. If you watch Japanese turning traditionally they have the lathe running in the opposite direction, pole lathe turners only cut on the downturn. All different and seemingly awkward at first. Anyone learning to turn should've trained, encouraged to work I as many ways as possible the main consideration​ being that it's safe.

Pete

[fuzzyturns]

I am with Pete and Bryan on this one. I am naturally extremely right handed, but both my history playing piano and my work (lots of typing on the keyboard) have given me some good control over my left hand (just don't ask me to write anything with it). I will certainly do most of the cuts for a bowl right handed, but I have found that Glen Lucas' special trick of roughing out left handed can save you a lot of water on your shirt (and if you place the bin in the right place, the shavings fly right into it). I just find it sometimes more convenient to turn left handed, and it's not that difficult to do. Like all things, it just needs a little practice.

[edbanger]

Thank you all for your replies.

I think that my finding is that it's far easier for someone taking up woodturning who is left handed to hollow a bowl right handed and that's the way I've been teaching but I was asking myself the question was I missing something.

I think that the conclusion from the posts here is that a left hander needs to be able to use a tool right handed, just as we right handers turn left handed when required.

Ed

[Derek]

I turn using both hands as there are times that I find it useful, but I am right handed and do most of my work right handed

[GBF]

About a year ago a Student from London came to me for two days woodturning Tuition after turning left handed for ten years. His first words on entering my workshop were I am left handed I think he thought this was going to make life difficult for me and I told him that he would be working Right handed and if he was not happy about that he should say now and call it a day.
I asked him to show me how he had been turning for the last ten years left handed and I was amazed he had not had a serious accident.
He stayed and after two days Tuition he put a comment on Craft Courses saying how his turning had improved by adjusting to turning right handed and I have copied and pasted his feedback below.
If turning left handed had not worked after ten years and he needed to come to me for tuition I think it speaks for itself

I had two days tuition with George Foweraker
wanting to improve my techniques after about 10
 years of largely self-taught turning. The course didn't
 start too well for me as a left hander, who had always
 turned left handed. George told me that I had to change to
 using all tools right handed. I nearly walked out! However,
 I decided to give it a try and the results, after a slow
 start, more than justified the change. The speed and ease of
 turning and the finish on the bowls I made under
 George's careful guidance were a huge improvement on
 what I had been able to do previously. I've now had a
 chance to try his approaches out in my own workshop and have
 confirmed their value. What with George's advice and the
 wonderful soup made by his wife, Susan it was a great and
 very worthwhile two days.

Regards George

[fuzzyturns]

Don't get me wrong, George, I do think you are a good teacher and an excellent turner. However, in this case I suspect him not having had much success in 10 years of left handed turning is more related to him not having had any tuition rather than the fact he's left handed.
I am pretty sure that the same good and safe techniques that you teach for right-handed turning can be applied to left handed turning.