First off, I'm an absolute beginner to wood turning. I bought a Grizzly G5979 lathe
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and I would like to know what type of wood to get to turn. My dadgave me some cedar 4x4s for practice, but I'm not having too muchluck. I'm wondering if I should start out with different wood. I'm interested in bowl turning, and perhaps making some hollow forms once I get going. This is a hobby for me, but I want to get the right start.
Also, if you can recomend a good book on basic tecniqu, that would be great.
Patrice, it isn't the wood. Cedar turns just fine and finishes well. You will need to make a large pile of wood shavings before things start to look like you want. In other words, practice, practice, practice. The good news is that it is not costing you anything for material. Hang in there you will get the hang of it yet.
Whatever's cheap. Around here, that's poplar. Maple, oak, and walnut aren't too bad, either. Of those, I particularly like to turn walnut. Just keep practicing!
Patrice Cedar is nice wood to turn but to start you want green, that is "fresh cut", wood to practice on. It cuts cleaner and easier and is more forgiving. Take a look at my website for some tips and projects. Ask lots of questions here. Nice folks and we like to help.
I am just starting at turning also. There is another thread on green turning that you should look at. There are links in that will tell you where to find free wood for turning IE fire wood, dead fall, talk to a tree cutter, the city compost collection place in our town always has a lot of green wood.
This is the book that was recomended to me.
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is a video that goes with this book that you can buy also.Scott
IMHO, anything that you can safely turn with your setup..
Make a lot of shavings and learn safety up front... getting hurt sort of lowers your enthusiasm level..
Like anything else, (sports, hobbies, driving, etc.), it takes time and practice... you won't turn a great bowl your 1st day...
I started with post-type turning... I think it's easier to learn the fundamentals by making a 3" x 3" stub into shaving and maybe a candle stick then it is by turning a bowl..
Don't be afraid to use some wood for just learning... no finished object in mind, just a chunk of wood to practice on with your "horizonal pottery wheel".. AND HAVE FUN!!
Just to jump in on what Mac said, grab a piece of wood and make shavings. Aveter whatever years I have been turning, it is still a pleasure to put a piece of wood on and just make shavings. then a few shavings, and maybe some shavings and so on. If Anyone asks I am pracitcing and developing "technique." mostly in making shavings :-)
I got my lathe almost a year ago and started to practice on leftover 2 X 4s as well as some limbs and such that were laying around the place. Must've turned over 50 mushrooms before I ventured out into the bowl arena. Keep your tools sharp, develop technique (I read a poopload o' books) and above all safety first.
-Kevin
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> and I would like to know what type of wood to get to turn. My dad> gave me some cedar 4x4s for practice, but I'm not having too much> luck.>
And I thought I was the only one that enjoyed just making shavings, and it's a good thing my son loves to hand feed my dust collector other wise I would be neck deep in shavings.
I still need to work on my "technique", so have fun "improving" yours.
Investing in a few lessons, or at least a good book, will save you a
*lot* of time. Figuring out on your own how best to orient and move a tool can take a while, and even be a bit dangerous. I learned from Richard Raffan's first edition of "Turning Wood" and still look at it (and the 2nd edition) regularly. Once you know roughly what to do, you just need to turn a lot of wood to figure out the nuances. In the beginning you'll do a lot of sanding (if you try to actually make anything, which most people can't resist); the better your technique, the less you'll sand. A good scroll chuck and good (HSS or ASP) tools will save a lot of time. Get good tools right away, if you can afford it (at least a spindle and bowl gouge and skew). An expert can often manage with low-grade equipment because they know what to expect and how to adjust. The novice is often left wondering "Is it me? Or the tools, or their sharpening, or the lathe, or the wood, or..." It helps to eliminate sources of confusion.
Unless you are in the inner-city, you can find a lot of wood lying around. Firewood is fine for spindle turning practice (and knobs, scoops, lamps, pencil containers, etc.). And you can scrounge a lot of wood from fallen/felled trees that is big enough for bowls. Get a good chainsaw and keep it the trunk of your car. Most woods are fine for turning, particularly when learning. It may be easier to make a list of woods not to turn. The silica in teak makes tools get dull quicker. Can't readily think of any "bad" woods...
On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 13:43:15 -0700, Steve wrote: Can't readily
I can.
Speaking as a beginner, willow is very difficult to cut cleanly. That doesn't mean she should avoid it, but it does mean that she should not get her hopes up until she has put a lot of hours in. I am not yet at the point where I care to try the rest of my stock of willow.
Patrice, you didn't say what part of what country you are from but I am finding that a short drive around my neighborhood after any storm of appreciable size is netting more wood than I can possibly keep turned up. All I ask is that the piece be at least 1" diameter and legally mine to turn.
Keep your eyes open. I was driving home a few days ago and pulled in where somebody had put up a 'free firewood' sign. I not only scored some decent sized poplar, oak and maple, but also a fair amount of cherry and dibs on the oak tree in the guys front yard when he takes that tree down this fall and on the cherry stump left from an earlier cutting (about 3' across and
3' tall)! There are a couple more cherry trees (24"+ diameter) and a monster big beech (36"+ dia.) still standing, too.
I started by turning whatever is local and free a couple months ago. I have started to make some nice things (and some hand-turned firewood) and that just adds to the fun I'm having. As I see things, the key is to develop your skills to the point where it really doesn't matter what type wood you have chucked up. Regardless of the species, each piece of wood seems to turn a little differently than the last one. The skills I am developing now should move with me every time I move to a different species of wood / different project.
Oh, and while you practice ... it doesn't hurt if your practice piece turns out to look like a bowl, candle stand, platter or goblet after you have removed the shavings. That's all in the game.
I am rather new at the craft, having bought a lathe a while ago. For the last 60 years I have been a "flat woodworker". Since I am 80 years old, I figured that it was now or never. I have made tons of shavings and I do see a little improvement in my technique. The other day I "saw" a bud vase in a piece of wood I had between centers and that's what it turned out to be,
I guess it's like Michelangelo and his famous statue. He just chiseled away any part of the stone that wasn't "David".
I'm pretty new myself, got my lathe less than a year ago. I started out turning scraps I had around the garage... some chunks of 2x4's ripped in half and 4x4's left over from a bathroom remodel. Pretty much any wood is good for learning on, especially if it's free. Most of the stuff I've done so far has been between centers, just practice shapes for the most part. I've made a few pens and tops and finally got up the nerve to try faceplate turning last weekend, wound up with a nice little mahogony bowl. I don't have a chuck yet, so my biggest challenge has been figuring out how I want to fix wood to a faceplate (I used a paper glue joint for the bowl).
Don't be too concerned with making beautiful artwork or anything yet, be more concerned with making large beautiful piles of shavings. In other words, practice practice practice. I've found that whittling down a piece of wood to nothing through layers of coves, beads, grooves, etc is very enlightening and also relaxing. Take your time and enjoy.
Don't forget to take the time to learn to sharpen your tools. You can pick of a set of fairly 8 decent HSS tools at
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for pretty cheap. They are great to practice sharpenning and actually work pretty well also.
As far a books are concerned, I've read Richard Raffan's Turning Wood and Keith Rowley's Woodturning A Foundation Course. Both are good books with a lot of info. There are also many videos available. Watching someone go through the motions can clear up a lot of questions that you can't answer from a book.
A good website I've found is
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They have lots of information and project links. If you search around the web you will find lots of information. Of course this news group is a great source of info and people are very helpful.
Finally, try to find a woodturning group in your area.
I hope you find this info helpful. Have fun!
Andy Reynolds
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> and I would like to know what type of wood to get to turn. My dad> gave me some cedar 4x4s for practice, but I'm not having too much> luck.>
Forget books, get a couple of good videos if there's no competitant instruction around. I've always been partial to "Turning Wood with Richard Raffan", and John Jordan's bowl video is a good intro as well.
Turning isn't like flat woodworking - it's a motion thing so it's really hard to pick up from a book. But the books can be good for inspiration!
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