Woodturning Step By Step Guide : How To Make A Barley Twist

We promised you a step by step guide on how to make a barley twist so here it is. In the first picture you can see the wood has been turned down and the bowl element of the goblet has been turned out and finished.

Now the underside of the bowl part can be turned before removing the bulk of the wood to form the basic stem. Leave plenty of wood either end for additional support while woodturning the stem.

With the stem turned down it is safe to finish the top and bottom where the stem joins the bowl and base. The stem is now divided vertically into quarters - you can just see the pencil line in this picture. Note how the inside of the bowl has been filled with tissue paper allowing it to be supported by the tailstock without damaging the wood.

Divide the stem into equal sections using a pencil. The lathe can be turned by hand if preferred but use a soft pencil to make the lines easier to see. After marking the sections which here are around half an inch, draw a diagonal line as seen in the picture from the bottom to the top of each square you have marked on the wood turning the lathe by hand of course!

The final step is to follow the diagonal lines you marked on the wood using a microplane. The aim is to get all the “threads” the same depth and appearance. Practice makes perfect! All that remains is the dreaded hand sanding, again turning the lathe by hand, followed by applying some sanding sealer.

All that remains is to turn on the lathe then part the base from the chucking point and you have made a barley twist goblet.