From the Workshop · No. 05
CNC vs Hand Turning for Sex Toys
What each method does better, how we work in our own workshop, and why both still need serious hand finishing.
“Hand-turned” sounds better on a label, and we’ll admit we love the craft of it. But from what we’ve seen in the industry, the honest answer is that both methods can produce excellent pieces, and both can produce bad ones.
What CNC does better
- Repeatability. A CNC lathe cuts the same profile every time, to fractions of a millimetre. If you liked the shape, the next one will match.
- Complex profiles. Asymmetric curves and precise ridges are easier to program than to cut freehand.
- Throughput. Once a design is dialed in, production is faster and more consistent.
What hand turning does better
- Reading the wood. At the lathe you feel the wood change under the tool. We can adjust a cut around a hard patch, a soft streak or wild grain, which matters a lot with woods like olive.
- Small batches. There’s no programming or fixturing, so prototypes and one-offs are quick.
- Surface quality off the tool. A sharp gouge in practiced hands leaves a clean, shear-cut surface.
What neither method skips
Whatever cuts the shape, the surface still has to be finished by hand. Tool marks, tear-out and machining ridges all need sanding out through the full grit progression. Then someone paying close attention has to apply, level and cure the seal.
What we’re doing
We turn our pieces by hand. Whatever tools help us keep shapes consistent, every piece is still sanded, sealed and inspected by the two of us.
