Category: Turning

English walnut is an absolute pleasure on the lathe. It shears cleanly under a sharp bowl gouge with minimal end-grain tear-out.

Sweet chestnut behaves much like oak on the lathe—strong growth rings, coarse open grain, and plenty of tannin—but without the heavy medullary rays. Medullary rays (often called wood rays) are cellular structures that run horizontally from the centre of a tree outwards towards the bark, perpendicular to the annual growth rings.

Beech is the classic candidate for spalting, but catch it a month too late and you end up turning something that feels like wet cardboard. When caught at the right stage, it offers a canvas of pale straw tones crisscrossed with black zone lines, and textured with a pattern more complex than the grain is visually.

Hornbeam is notoriously hard, earning its historical reputation as 'ironwood', but when fungi get into it, that density works to your advantage. The wood stays structural enough to hold a clean, sharp edge along a rim even as dark fungal lines web through the pale sapwood.

More pens resulting from my latest hobby / obsession. It's somewhat ironic that somebody who can't write (not with a pen at least) has found so much enjoyment and satisfaction in making these.

More pens in Padauk wood, mostly using slimline and 'fancy' pen kits. I've discovered that the quality of the bushings you use to set your diameters when turning these is extremely important.

Laburnum wood is not a widely used timber but possesses a distinct character that makes it interesting to turn. It has a rich golden-brown hue, often with darker streaks and irregular figuring.

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.

Maple is prized for its creamy, light color and fine, even grain, making it a popular choice for furniture and cabinetry. It's a hard and dense wood, known for its durability and resistance to scratches and dents.

Macrocarpa wood, known for its durability and distinctive aroma, presents a character that's both rustic and refined. Typically ranging from a light yellow-brown to a richer reddish-brown, its color deepens with age, often revealing beautiful knots and varied grain patterns.

Beech wood, in its natural state, is known for its pale, creamy color, sometimes with a hint of pink or tan. It has a fine, even texture and a relatively straight grain, making it a versatile and predictable material for woodworking.