Archives

Taking the time to learn a few basic cuts and moves will help you succeed. Bowl turning was my first love in woodturning. There is something special about a bowl: The wonderful way the shape [...]

Get clean cuts and a nice finish from a challenging piece of material. A live edge (or natural-edge) bowl is one of the iconic forms of modern woodturning, and it is still a great way to show off [...]

I can’t stand throwing away good wood. When I’m turning a goblet or any other object, I don’t leave the waste areas blank. I pick up a gouge or a skew and use the waste to perfect my turning [...]

For turning spindles, there’s nothing like having a  really long tool rest. You never have to move it! I made my own with parts from the hardware store. This rest is just a length of square steel [...]

Create a Soda-Shop Classic  In simpler days, soda jerks quickly and efficiently dished perfect servings of ice cream with sturdy wooden-handled scoops. Once you’ve collected the metal parts [...]

The price of good turning tools can be pretty steep. Since most of the better lathe tools can be purchased without a handle, put your money where it counts—in the steel, not the handle. After [...]

An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to tackle the rolling cut [...]

Master this most basic turning tool. When I introduce someone to woodturning, I choose the spindle roughing gouge. When I work with kids, it’s the first tool I place in their hands. Why? [...]

Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate [...]

Customize their fit for comfort and performance. Decades ago, woodturning tools came without handles, and turners would simply fashion their own. This makes perfect sense, because a handle that [...]

This jig helps you easily reverse your work for base turning. Properly finished bowls never reveal how the turner mounted them. However, traditional methods for reversing a bowl to turn the base [...]

Heirloom Awl Metal and wood are the basic ingredients in most woodworking tools. As woodworkers, we’re familiar with working wood, but what about metal? Actually, the level of metalworking [...]