On my last trip to my preferred wood supplier, he handed me a piece of Monkey Puzzle and challenged me to turn it. It was a cutting that, he said, would be uncommonly tricky and he wasn’t wrong.

As someone who can’t write (in teh physical sense at least) I do see the irony in wanting to give pen turning a go. The intricacy and precision required to turn the perfect pen appeals to me, especially as precision is harder to achieve on a wood lathe than machinist tools.

A decorative yet functional jewelery bowl, ring dish or trinket dish. Finished in a natural oil finish.

Sycamore, often referring to the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), is a striking and massive deciduous tree native to eastern North America. Known for its mottled, camouflage-like bark that peels off in irregular patches to reveal shades of brown, gray, and cream, it’s a familiar sight along riverbanks and in bottomland forests.

A matched pair of octagonal bowls in Tulip. The shape was formed simply by partially turning a square blank to form an octagon at teh top in which 4 of the edges are slightly curved.