So Many Projects, So Little Time...
Woodturning is very addictive and it's own form of woodworking that many dedicate all their time to. It is more sculptural and artistic than most furniture making but also a great solution for the woodworker looking for a quick project when time is limited. Here I have posts and videos on all things woodturning from projects to tools and more.
It seems that every year, my wife comes to me at the last minute looking for a gift she can give to a co-worker that she forgot to include in her initial list. Usually “last minute” means 9 PM the night before. I can only blame myself because for the last 5 years I have [...] Read more »
Ever since my first trip to Colonial Williamsburg I have been fascinated with foot powered lathes. This is where all those hybrid woodworkers and power tool guys roll your eyes and click away to something else. I have been pouring over examples of meat powered lathes in books and online, taking field trips all over [...] Read more »
It’s the end of October and I have actually gotten started on my Christmas turning already. Every year, I have the best intentions of getting started about now and every year, I seem to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to fire up Santa’s workshop. Well last night I chucked up a 3.5″ Cherry blank and made [...] Read more »
Craig Jackson, President of Easy Wood Tools agreed to chat with me about the story of his woodturning tools and some insights into what is next for his line of tools. I’m a big fan of Easy Wood Tools and have written here in the past about how they have changed how I feel about [...] Read more »
I made mention of this problem on the latest episode of Wood Talk Online and have been thinking about it more and more. For Christmas 2011 I turned several small sea salt mills to give as gifts. Wouldn’t you know it, but the one I made for my mother-in-law must have shrunk so that the [...] Read more »
It’s 5:30 PM, you have family expected for dinner at 6 PM. Afterwards, you will be exchanging Christmas gifts. Suddenly you realize you are one gift short! How did this happen, you checked the list twice? 5:35 PM, you pull a block of Marblewood off the shelf, cut it to size on the bandsaw and [...] Read more »
Just in time for Christmas, I’m sneaking this episode in to show you one of the projects I made at the lathe this year. These little mills don’t require a lot of stock and you can shape them to any form you wish. It makes for a fun project that you can complete in under [...] Read more »
I am not a good wood turner. I have put in many, many hours at my lathe but that has been on very simple things like pens. I can count the number of bowls I have turned on one hand and my furniture spindle work is pretty rudimentary. Other than my foray into eccentrically turned [...] Read more »
It is lathe season again and I’m a busy elf in the shop making gifts for friends and family. I do occasionally use my lathe during the rest of the year for furniture projects but even if I didn’t, it pays for itself in the last 3 months of the year. Each year I dust [...] Read more »
I received a great comment from Charles on my previous post about the Gunsmith Lathe at Colonial Williamsburg. Charles is thinking about building a treadle lathe using modern bicycle parts and wondered if the lathe had to be made from traditional materials. I like hand tools and history but I don’t really think of myself [...] Read more »
