Elementary Turning

This is the best basic turning book we've found. Most books on turning are difficult to follow for the beginner and skip many of the basic steps necessary for a complete mastery of the foundation skills.

This extraordinary little book was published in 1907 as a training book for shop class teachers. It contains 62 short lessons that walk you through every single turning operation, from securing the work in the lathe, cutting basic shapes all the way up to making curved mouldings and a piano stool.

Each lesson builds on the previous one, and the instruction assumes absolutely no knowledge of turning beforehand. If you want to get started in turning, we highly recommend this classic but hard-to-find book – which is why we've brought it back into print after 103 years.