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How to Make a Round Wooden Pencil Holder on the Lathe

You can quickly make a round wooden pencil holder with an engine lathe if you have a basic understanding of how a lathe operates. The process of machining the wooden billet down to size is called turning since the billet spins while you work. The process of cutting the billet to length is called facing and the process of hollowing out the pencil holder is called coring. You must complete these three actions on the lathe in order to make a round pencil holder out of wood.

Things You'll Need

5-inch diameter by 10-inch long wood billet
Lathe cutting tool
3-inch diameter lathe drill bit

Instructions

- 1
  Place a 5-inch diameter by 10-inch long piece of hardwood into the jaws of your lathe. Position the wood so at least 8 inches protrudes from the jaws. Tighten the wood in the jaws with the spindle wrench provided with the lathe.
- 2
  Attach a cutting tool to the turret on the lathe and then tighten the tool in place. Set the spindle speed to 600 RPM and the feed rate to a rate of 1 inch per minute.
- 3
  Rotate the turret forward with the turret dial. Rotate the cross slide until the tip of the tool barely touches the edge of the wooden billet. Turn the cross slide in ¼ inch and engage the feed lever. Allow the tool to cut down the complete profile of the wood and then disengage the feed lever. You will have a true round pencil holder that will measure approximately 4 ½ inches in diameter.
- 4
  Loosen the handle on the turret and rotate the cutting tool so it rests at a 45-degree angle to the face of the wooden billet. Tighten the handle to lock the turret in place.
- 5
  Remove the billet from the lathe, flip it around and secure the end of the billet you turned in Step 4 into the jaws, leaving the end of the billet you did not turn out of the jaws. Tighten the jaws to lock the billet in place.
- 6
  Cut through the billet with a hacksaw where the un-turned or larger position of the billet stops and the turned or smaller portion of the billet stops. Keep the cut as straight as possible. This will reduce the amount of work you need to do to flatten the face of the billet.
- 7
  Turn the lathe on and then move the turret into position so the tip of the cutting tool touches the end of the billet you just cut. Turn the cross slide dial to move the tip of the tool across the face of the billet to flatten the surface of the billet. Stop the lathe and leave the billet in the jaws.
- 8
  Attach a 3-inch drill to the tailstock of the lathe. Slide the tailstock forward until the tip of the drill bit rests at the end of the billet. Lock the tailstock in place with the tailstock locking lever.
- 9
  Rotate the tailstock lever clockwise to turn the drill bit into the billet approximately 6 inches deep and then remove the drill bit from the billet.
- 10
  Remove the wooden billet from the lathe jaws and fill your pencil holder with pencils.

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