Wood Turning Merit Badge History
Introduced1930
Preceded byNone
StatusDiscontinued 1952
Replaced withWoodwork
Earned through 195278,061
Best year19514,870 earned
All-time popularity#157official, as of 2020#164by 2025 (estimate)
The Story
Wood Turning was added in 1930, the same year as Zoology and Landscape Gardening. It taught Scouts to shape wood on a lathe with gouges and chisels, and its badge showed a lathe.
The badge was never more popular than at the end, when 4,870 were earned in 1951. In 1952 a new Woodwork badge replaced Wood Work, Carpentry and Wood Turning, after Scouts had earned 78,061 Wood Turning merit badges.
1940 requirements
- Show how to use the roughing gouge, turning gouge, skew chisel and parting tool, and how to sharpen each one.
- Show how to put wood into the lathe and take it out, both between the live and dead centers and on a faceplate.
- Know how a wood turner's lathe works, and how to figure out how fast it is turning.
- Know how an automatic wood-turning lathe works.
- Turn one project on a faceplate and one between centers.
- Make matching parts for a project, such as four legs for a table, or two candlesticks or bud vases.
- Know how French polish is applied.
Source: Handbook for Boys (1940), summarized
Timeline
1930 The Wood Turning merit badge is introduced. The first Wood Turning merit badges are earned: 193 that year.
1931 The earliest known Wood Turning pamphlet printing (Type 3B-1).
1936 Best ranking: 34th of 101 merit badges.
1951 All-time high: 4,870 Wood Turning merit badges earned.
1952 Last year the Wood Turning merit badge is offered; it is replaced by Woodwork.
Merit Badge Patches
Select a patch to enlarge it; many include the back.
- Type A1931 - 1933variations
- Type B1934 - 1935heavyweight and depression cloth
- Type C1936 - 1942heavyweight and lightweight cloth
- Type D1942 - 1946fine twill and war cloth
- Type E1947 - 1952
What do the patch types mean?
- Type A
- Square (1911 - 1933). Embroidered on tan cloth and cut into squares. The Scout folded the edges under when sewing it on.
- Type B
- Wide border crimped (1934 - 1935). The maker folded the edge under and pressed it round, leaving a wide cloth border. Made on depression cloth and heavyweight cloth.
- Type C
- Tan narrow border crimped (1936 - 1942). The same crimped edge with a narrow border of about 1/8 inch, on tan cloth.
- Type D
- Fine twill (1942 - 1946). Wartime badges on lighter, finer-weave cloth (fine twill and war cloth) while heavier cloth went to the war effort.
- Type E
- Khaki narrow border crimped (1947 - 1960). Back to heavier cloth after the war, now in khaki.
Dates are approximate and can vary by badge.
Merit Badge Pamphlets
The printings come from Scoutmaster Bucky's own collection and research.
Select a cover to see its back covers and every known printing.
26 printings:16 in collection2 confirmed, not in collection8 unconfirmed
- Type 3B-11931 - 1935
- Type 3B-21938 - 1940
- Type 3C1936 - 1937
- Type 3D1937 - 1939
- Type 41940 - 1942
- Type 5A1944
- Type 5B1944 - 1952
Type 3B-1 1931 - 19351 back · 5 printings · 3 in collection
back 31931 - 1935 · No. 3355
- 1931 Jun · 2M
- 1931 Oct
- 1931 Dec · 2M
- 1934 Aug · 1M
- 1935 Jun · 2M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 3B-2 1938 - 19401 back · 2 printings · 1 in collection
back 31938 - 1940 · No. 3355
- 1938 May · 1M
- 1940 May · 1M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 3C 1936 - 19371 back · 2 printings · 2 in collection
back 31936 - 1937 · No. 3355
- 1936 Jan · 1M
- 1937 Feb · 1M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 3D 1937 - 19391 back · 3 printings · 1 in collection
back 31937 - 1939 · No. 3355
- 1937 Feb · 1M
- 1938 May · 1M
- 1939 Mar · 1M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 4 1940 - 19421 back · 3 printings · 2 in collection
back 41940 - 1942 · No. 3355
- 1940 May · 1M
- 1941 Jun · 1M
- 1942 Jul · 2MHard cover HCB
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 5A 19441 back · 1 printing · 1 in collection
back 5A1944 · No. 3355
- 1944 Apr · 1M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Type 5B 1944 - 19523 backs · 10 printings · 6 in collection
back 5blank1944 - 1950 · No. 3355
- 1944 Dec · 2M
- 1945 Jun · 1M
- 1945 Oct · 1M
- 1946 Feb · 2M
- 1947 Apr · 2M
- 1949 Jan · 2M
- 1950 Jun · 1M
back 6A1951 · No. 3355
- 1951 May · 1M
- 1951 Jul · 1M
back 6B-11952 · No. 3355
- 1952 Jan · 5M
In collectionConfirmed, not in collectionUnconfirmed: not yet seen, may not existM = thousand copies, as printed on the pamphlet.
Hard Cover Varieties
Earned by Year
First earned in 1930. Peak year 1951 with 4,870. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
"#50 of 120" means the badge was number 50 of the 120 merit badges earned that year. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.
1930193#89 of 92
1931903#74 of 96
19322,428#47 of 98
19332,655#46 of 101
19342,672#44 of 101
19353,765#36 of 101
19363,196#34 of 101
19373,091#38 of 102
19384,145#35 of 105
19394,082#39 of 106
19403,976#39 of 106
19413,754#39 of 106
19423,207#38 of 110
19433,609#41 of 112
19444,256#45 of 111
19454,330#42 of 111
19463,722#41 of 111
19473,391#41 of 111
19483,389#40 of 111
19493,687#40 of 111
19504,522#39 of 111
19514,870#42 of 111
19524,218#50 of 120
Grand total through 1952: