Wood Choices

• The best kind of wood to use to make tops is hardwood, which is easier to work with on a lathe. Soft wood cuts too easily, which can ruin the project. Use soft woods if nothing else is available, but use gentle pressure to avoid having chucks and drills slip.
  
  

Spindle

• The spindle top is extremely easy to make. Buy wooden discs from a craft store, or use a miter saw to cut them from a square piece of wood. Sand the piece carefully on all sides, especially the edges. Taper the edges of the disc if possible. Doing so will produce a longer-lasting and better-balanced top. Drill a hole the same size as the dowel rod in the middle of the disc. Sharpen the dowel rod in a pencil sharpener. Cut the dowel rod so that about 1 inch of rod is on each side of the disc. You may need to glue the dowel in place.
  
  

One Piece

• You can make tops from square pieces of wood, but it is easier to shape rounded pieces. Cut a piece of wood to the height that you want the top to be. The width of the wood piece should be 5 to 6 inches. Place the piece onto the lathe and use a 4-jaw chuck, an Oland tool and a wood scraper. Shave the wood so that one side becomes the handle of the top. The middle should be flat on one side against the handle, and the bottom of the top should taper down from an angle to a point on the end. When finished, sand away irregularities or imperfections.
  
  

Considerations

• Serious top enthusiasts may find that the one-piece tops spin longer and better than the spindle top. The balance of the two separate pieces in the spindle top causes it to spin in a more irregular manner which causes the spin cycle to end sooner. To combat this, make sure that the dowel rod fits snugly inside the hole in the disc piece.