My first experience with woodturning was in 7th grade woodshop when one project was to turn a marlinspike. Ever since then, I have enjoyed working with wood and have made many pieces of furniture for our home. Although I have always had a lathe in my shop, I have only been turning regularly for the past few years. While it is always nice to work with a cherry log with no defects, pieces of wood with unusual grain patterns, knots, splits, and other "defects" are especially interesting to turn. While I may start with an idea for a design, the "defects" in the wood guide the design and often result in surprisngly beautiful bowls and vases. These pieces also present technical challenges in terms of safely mounting the piece on the lathe, turning it cleanly, sanding, and finishing it to bring out the maximum beauty in the wood.
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by WVWA, a chapter of the American Association of WoodturnersReturn to the Member Galleries