The Hobby of Woodturning
7/15/2020
Woodturning is one of the most popular hobbies in the world and is especially popular here in the United States. It is a hobby that is easily taught to beginners by friends and family members who are already hooked. All it requires is a small space for a lathe, some carving tools and wood or any other medium you prefer such as horn or acrylic blocks.
Beginners typically start by learning how to make small projects such as pens, bottle stoppers and bowls.
With a little practice and guidance a turner can quickly learn new techniques such as making segmented pieces like these beautiful pieces made by a few of our customers.
The American Association of Woodturners (woodturner.org) is a great resource for chat forums and instruction. They also hold an annual convention where attendees can sit in on panel discussions and tutorials on how to make specific projects like threaded lids for turned boxes. Here you will see some demonstrations from the most famous turners in the world and attendees come from all over the planet. Turners can submit pieces to be included in the Instant Gallery for judging as well as woodturning clubs from all over the country will make collaborative pieces based on an annual theme. If you have never been to an AAW Symposium, you are missing out. It is held in a different city each year so check for the upcoming locations. If you are lucky you may see something made by the amazing turner, Malcolm Zander. Below is one of my favorite pieces of his from years ago made from Pink Ivory.
The ideas our customers have come up with are endless so it's a good thing we have an endless variety of turning woods for them to choose from! We carry roughly 50 different species in a variety of sizes; pen blanks, spindle stock, bowl blanks as well as a wide assortment of burls in block or live-edge cap form. Here are a few more of the amazing projects our customers have made in the past.
Thanks you to all the customers who have shared their project with us over the years, you are all very talented! We would love to receive more pictures of the cool things you are making...email info@westpennhardwoods with the details and we will be happy to share on our Facebook and Instagram pages!
Happy Woodturning!