ALEX SMITH

[bonzatron]

i was wandering if you were willing to share what kind of lathe and tools you use to create your kendamas

[AlexSmith]

The process is way too long and complicated to explain in a forum, if you're interested in trying to make a ken then your best bet is to find a local woodworking shop / professional you can take some lessons with / get some pointers from. Please don't ever use any tools without the proper training. People have been killed while using a wood lathe.

That being said, the basic tools needed will be a wood lathe and assorted chisels, a drill press (you can get by with just a drill, but it'll be real tough to be precise enough), a dial calliper, a dremel is always handy, and of course whatever saws are needed to cut up turning blanks (some other more general tools may be helpful as well, such as a hammer, etc). A mini/midi lathe will do just fine, considering the size of a kendama. I'm not going to go into details of what exact brands/models of tools you should buy, that sort of info can easily be found in woodworking forums.

Do your research, think the process through, plan things out very carefully. That last point is important, a one second lapse in judgement can destroy a couple hours of work pretty easily. Expect to mess up. Good luck!

[bonzatron]

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it.