New Wood Boxes - Black Walnut

Here are a few boxes I turned, using Black Walnut branches hanging over my roof. I can't recommend enough the virtues of using wood for your immediate area! I've made probably 30-35 pieces now, and almost all are made from wood I'v cut on my own property. I live on 1/2 acre in North Carolina - just enough to keep me stocked.

Cut a branch in your yard - save the larger pieces in your garage or shed - let them dry out and you'll have some great stock to work on. I recently went to a woodworker's show here in town and I was shocked at how much some of the wood blanks cost - $30-$35 for a relatively small block of wood!!

Keep your eyes open for neighbor's throwing out wood (old furniture, yard waste) and don't be afraid to stock up.

These boxes were relatively easy, although I did have some rough spots. Clearing the inside bent up a small spindle tool pretty good, when it caught on the wood not once but three times. I still haven't got it quite figured out, but, I completed them!

Like I said - Black Walnut from a branch, finished with sandpaper, tung oil and beeswax. Nice enough to give as gifts for my mother and mother in law!

My First Bowl

amazonHere is a shot of the first bowl carved on my lathe. I should clarify - this is the first bowl I actually completed. I had more than one piece fly off the chuck and break - one hit the floor, the other broke on a rafter above my head. So please - wear your safety gear - a full face shield really helps.


First, here is the bowl:

It's relatively small and simple in design. However, it's cut from a piece of box elder which fell in my backyard and is riddled with worm holes and truly unique characteristics. I absolutely love the gnarled wood, which brings nature completely into the piece. This is about artwork, right?

I definitely had a learning curve figuring out how to initially mount the blank, and then remount on the opposite side to somplete it. I tried several methods I learned in the books, but none helped me make it to the end

I ended up buying a Barracuda chuck from PSI (off Amazon). It REALLY makes chucking a partially finished piece very easy. I really couldn't do it before I bought it. It's a pretty solid tool and well worth the money.

New Wood Turnings

Here are a few new projects completed on my wood lathe. Primarily concentrated on spindle turning, or turning between centers. As a beginner, this seems a safer, easier way to get the feel for the various turning tools.
These two are basically pieces of art work, meaning I created them for the thrill of doing so, and solely to enjoy. They were fun to create, and I love the feel and color of the wood itself. I saw a picture in Richard Raffan's Turning Wood book, of three turnings inspired by Irish and Middle Eastern Towers. These were inspired by that photo. They were created from a seasoned limb from a Black Walnut tree in our yard. The branch hung over our roof, and had to go.....straight to my garage! Now it sits in my living room!

Here is another shot of two small pieces turned from a burled oak from my backyard:

I thought they might make pretty neat Christmas ornaments. I will say, if you can get your hands on burled and weathered wood, you'll be amazed at the colors, grain and overall look. I'm attracted to the more gnarled pieces and enjoy creating unique pieces.

My Second Wood Turning

Here it is- the second pice of wood turned on my lathe. Remember, I'm just learning the basic use of the wood turning tools, how they react with the wood, various lathe speeds, types of wood, etc.

This started as a piece of red oak hardwood flooring I have left over (I installed our own hardwood floor!). It's roughly 3/4" thick, so I ripped it 3/4" square using my table saw. Again, it's a square piece, so just by drawing an "X" on each end (corner to corner), I easily marked the centers. Mounted between centers on the lathe and roughed it to a cylinder with a roughing gouge, then practiced various size beads and cuts with a spindle gouge and a skew chisel.

I've found it helps to read about different tools (there are many), their uses and designs, then practice on scrap wood to get the feel of each. There will be mistakes, but follow the general safety precautions and you'll learn quickly from those mistakes.

Anyway, this is a real simple turning which was gratifying to make, as a beginner turner. Once carved, I sanded with several grades of sandpaper, then applied tung oil and finished with beeswax.

The lesson here is start slowly, with a "spindle" turned piece (these are easier), follow safety precautions, and have fun. As with most things worthwhile, the joy in this hobby is in the learning.

Getting Started with Basic Wood Turning

Before realy getting into actual turning on my wood lathe, I thought it was very mportant to gather some literature and learn to do this the correct way. Also, tops at my list (and hopefully yours), get some basic safety equipment and make sure you wear it.

I started at the library, in the wood working section and found a few books. I ended buy two which I heartily recomend:

• Woodturning by Phil Irons - A good little instruction book that actually is "two books in one." The upper two thirds of each page covers the hot to on 22 different projects. Everything from cord pulls to hollow forms. The lower third focuses on techniques, everything from selecting raw wood to using tools, etc. The cool thing is, you can open up to one technique and use it while you review any of the projects.
• Turning Wood with Richard Raffan - This is really an excellent all around guide to wood turning. Richard has been turning wood since the 1970s and he covers lathes, tools, stances and grips, techniques and some projects. I really like his simplistic approach to shaping and finishing the wood.

There are links to Amazon to buy each book below, or you can find them in most book stores. I also try to look in used book stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc, for any cheap books on the subject. I also included a link to Richard Raffan's DVD Turning Wood. To see this man in action is quite incredible!

Also - Please invest in eye and face protection. ALWAYS wear safety glasses, at a minimum, and I'd suggest a decent safety face shield. I picked up mine for $13 and change at Amazon (the link is below) and it actually works quite well. The strap fits comfortably on my head and once it's on, I don't even realize I'm wearing it. I've already had several pieces fly off the lathe (fortunately none have hit me!) but I can see it happening. My face isn't that pretty, but I can't see hitting it with some high velocity flying wood blocks as an improvement.

My First Turning

Here it is, the very first piece of work on my new lathe.

I made this spindle turned project from a 2" x 2" piece of pine. It's a soft wood, so it was easy to rough from a square blank to a cylinder. I used a few different tools to experiment and see what I could do.

I will say - the piece looked much better while it was spinning on the lathe then in my hand. It's a good idea to start with something small, something soft, just to get your feet wet. Since it was 2" square, it was easy to mark the center on each end (two X's) and easy to mount between the lathe centers.

I found it satisfying to be able to make something, anything, with my new investment. At the same time, this brief exercise gave me insight into the complexity of wood turning, and gave me an appreciation for the art. All at once, I knew this was something I could master, but also that I knew almost nothing and had everything to learn.

And so my journey begins.

My Wood Lathe

I'm 42 years old. Actually, I turned 42 on March 1st of this year. I "negotiated" with my wife to get a wood lathe for my birthday present. It's something I've wanted to do lately.

Since we're a family of modest means, and because I had absolutely no prior knowledge of wood turning, wood lathes, etc; I thought I'd buy the best machine I could, for the absolute cheapest price.

I ended up with a 12" x 36" Lathe from Central Machinery, offered by one of my absolute favorite stores for "inexpensive" tools - Harbor freight. This particular model is one step up from their cheapest model - somewhere around $140. I'd stay away from that one.

Mine is made from cast iron, so it's got some definite weight and substance. Plus, it came with a stand. It was normally $280 (here in NC) and on sale for $199.99. For the money, I thought it was a great deal.

As I write this, I've used it for 2 1/2 months, and I am still very pleased with it. If I make it as a professional, I'm sure I'll need to upgrade, but for now, I'm happy!

One thing - I've purchased tools at Harbor freight for years, and most have been well worth the money. However, that money is usually well below comparable tools from name brands. That said, if I need a special tool, especially for one project, I'll pick it up there. I never expect it to last beyond that one project, so when they often do, I'm always pleased. The price is usually so reasonable, I could buy 2-3 items for the same price as the name brand. Because I wanted this lathe to last "longer than my first project," I purchased a one year warranty. I think it ran about $35, but, since the unit had such a good sales price, I thought the extra piece of mind was worth it.