12 Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects For Beginners To Decorate Home

Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects for Beginners

Do you enjoy working with your hands and creating beautiful things? If so, woodworking is the perfect hobby for you. You don’t need to be a master craftsman or have expensive tools to make something beautiful.

With just a few simple tools, patience, and creativity, you can turn this craft into one of the most satisfying hobbies you’ll ever have.

Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects For Beginners

Below are 12 projects that beginners will enjoy turning on their mini wood lathes.

Pens

A great project for beginners is to make pens. Woodturning pens are easy and fun to make; the end result will be admired by all your friends and family members.

Mini wood lathes are mostly bought by people who enjoy pen turning. With a mini wood lathe, you can make your own pens easily and quickly.

One thing to keep in mind is that it takes practice to be able to turn out pens without any visible defects. Also, make sure to invest in a good pen turning kit. These kits contain all the parts you need to make multiple pens.

Bowls

Once you get started turning pens, you’ll want to make more things.

One of the easiest items is a bowl. It’s simple and easy to make, and it can be turned in a short amount of time. You won’t be able to turn a large bowl with a mini lathe but don’t get discouraged. The smaller ones will be just as beautiful.

To start with, you need to find a piece of wood that will work for a bowl.

Bowl Lids

Once you have your bowl, it’s time to move on to the lid.

Again, get a piece of wood that is good for lids. If it splits or cracks while turning, you could ruin your bowl. Make sure the lid matches the bowl.

Read: 9 Unique Wood Turning Projects and How to Make Them

Toothpick Holder

You can make a toothpick holder out of exotic wood or you can make it out of one of your favorite types of wood. This is a great way to practice hollowing. Hollowing is a skill that takes time and practice, but it’s worth the effort.

Not only will you have a beautiful woodworking gift to give to a friend or family member, but it will also be used. You can make multiple toothpick holders so your friends can enjoy them too.

Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects

Pen holder

You can make a pen holder out of any type of wood as long as it is strong enough to hold your pens. If you start to turn pens then you’ll need a place to hold them.

They are very easy to make and you can experiment with different shapes and finishes. You can also use them to hold similar objects, like spoons.

Ring holders

Ring holders are easy to make. You can buy a block of wood or use one that you have lying around. Next, you shape it into the type of holder you want and finish it with a nice wax or polyurethane.

Garden dibbler

With a mini wood lathe and some creative thinking, you can create just about anything out of wood. A garden dibbler is one of those things. It is both useful and easy to turn. You can also sell it to make a little bit of money.

Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects for Beginners

Bottle stopper

Another useful item to make for your friends is a bottle stopper. It’s simple and easy to do and it makes a wonderful gift. You might think this is too easy but you can use your creativity and come up with some new and interesting designs.

Spinning tops

Spinning tops are a great project to make on your lathe. They can be made in many different styles and sizes and you can even paint them to make them more interesting. Kids will love these toys and they will enjoy playing with them.

Wands

Wands are great gifts to give to your kids or grandkids. You can decorate them in any way you want. Harry Potter fans will love these and they can sell pretty quickly at craft fairs.

Mini Wood Lathe Project

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Christmas tree ornaments are very easy to make, and you can decorate them however you want. You can paint them or buy stickers for them or anything else. They look wonderful on Christmas trees as well as on the banister of your stairs at Thanksgiving time.

Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects for Christmas

There are a lot of ornament ideas out there. If you lack the inspiration just do a simple google search and you will find tons of ideas.

Keychains

Making keychains is a lot of fun and they make great gifts for friends and family members.

You can create a keychain with your name on it or a picture of your favorite pet. It’s easy to do and one of the most rewarding projects you can do on your mini wood lathe. To make things easier you will need to buy a key chain kit that has all the parts necessary.

So now you know enough to make some great projects with your mini wood lathe. It’s time to get out there and do it!

Mini lathes are not meant for heavy-duty use but will work great for smaller projects.

Make sure you practice and work on your technique before creating something that will be given as a gift.

Your first few projects will not look like the ones in the store but don’t get discouraged; they’ll start to come together after a while. Just keep working at it and you’ll see your skills improve quickly.

Final Thoughts

There are many projects that you can create with a mini lathe. The 12 Simple Mini Wood Lathe Projects for Beginners listed here are just some of them.

Everything from useful items to decorative ones, you’ll find something in these simple mini wood lathe projects for beginners to decorate their home. Enjoy!