Woodturning A Pen was the second project I undertook after completing my woodturning shed. I had made one previous pen at Mikes workshop where he patiently instructed me in the delicate art of turning a pen on his lathe. He has an Axminster lathe but his model does not have a variable speed facility. It was on his advice that I paid the extra and bought an Axminster … [Read more...]

Wood Turning Projects For Beginners Wood turning being a new hobby for me is turning out to be both rewarding and frustrating. Just when I thought I was getting the basics right Mike my brother bought me a book for Christmas entitled "Wood Turning A Craftsman Guide" by Mark Baker (thanks Bro!). It comes with a comprehensive video and is the information I should have … [Read more...]

Tooth Pick Holder In Shape Of A Mushroom - Wood Turning Projects For Beginners Here is another simple project for the wood turning beginner like myself. I decided to make a much simpler type of tooth pick holder this time which did not need any moving parts. The starting point was a spare piece of Iroko I had in my wood store. … [Read more...]

Wood Coasters With Stand In Oak The problem with having the hobby of wood turning is that after a time you keep getting requests to make things. Karen has been requesting a set of turned wooden coasters for our lounge for some time now. As with all such requests they get put on a back burner until time or inclination allows. Well after too many questions about when … [Read more...]

Bear Claw Salad Servers My problem here was Karen has been asking me for some time to make her a set of wood salad hands.  However until recently I did not have a decent bandsaw. Once I had solved that problem and purchased one I was able to tackle the challenge. Below follows how I proceeded and the results of my efforts...... … [Read more...]

Robert Sorby Proedge Sharpening System I have just purchased a Robert Sorby deluxe Proedge plus Sharpening System from WestcountryMachinery4wood . For the past year or so I have used a small grinding wheel to sharpen my wood turning tools. Whilst I was pleased that I could maintain a sharp edge using the wheel I was finding the replacement of the wheels a bit of a … [Read more...]

Charnwood W715 Band Saw Review Mike my Brother (Mikes Models) kindly gave me an old Draper Band saw that he had no further use for when I started wood turning. This small  bench top saw had seen better days and just would not cut a straight line through thick wood. I decided it was time to invest in a new Bench Top Band Saw. This need coincided with a visit to a wood … [Read more...]

As a beginner deciding which woodturning project to try first is sometimes confusing. I decided to keep it simple and try to perfect my pen turning first before going on to a larger project. In the image below I will try to turn this Yew Wood Pen Blank into a finished pen. … [Read more...]

In this series of woodturning projects for beginners I aim to describe my attempts as a complete beginner to turn particular items and learn from my mistake. This post will describe my first efforts to turn a wood apple and a pear. In earlier posts on woodturning projects for beginners I have described my visit to Yandles Sawmills where I purchased a series of woodturning … [Read more...]