Wood Turning - The Hobby Where You Can Not Make a Mistake

By Darrell Feltmate

I think that if you were to look for the most expensive wood in the shop as far as woodturning supplies are concerned, you would have to stop at the pen blanks. Per square foot or board foot they are some of the most expensive woods you can buy in North America. They come from all over the world and display some gorgeous grain and color. On the other hand, so do the domestic woods I have around and most of those cost next to nothing.

Like many wood turners I have collected wood from firewood spots and from wood destined for land fill. There it would be at best a good source of heat and at worst it would take room away from needed disposal sites, sites which are filling and getting more scarce every day. Most of the time all the wood cost was the sweat equity of picking it up and some effort with a chain saw. Right now that kind of wood includes maple, some of it curly or bird's eye; birch including yellow, paper and silver with some great spalting lines; elm; oak; ash; hornbeam; dogwood; cherry including pin, wild and black; apple; sumac; tamarack; juniper; cedar; ash and likely one or two more that do not come to the top of my head right away. That does not include the cord of so burls that I have in and out of the shop.

One of the great things about this wood is the freedom to play. While on the one hand every piece is unique and a treasure of sorts, it is all just firewood and throw away with lots more to come. Some days I come home and a log is on the driveway. No one is there to tell me where it came from but someone thought it might have a nice home here.

So I can throw it on the lathe and play with it a while. Sometimes it is there just for the practice and sometimes to make something I have made a hundred times before. But then there are the times when a piece is just there to see what happens. I have an idea of what to turn and it may or may not happen. Regardless of the end result, I know the middle will be a lot of enjoyment. If at the end there is a new hollow form or a bowl with square sides or something else to enjoy that is great. If not, I have just reveled in what we call cheap entertainment.

Then there are the end products to consider. First I feel great for some time spent on the lathe. Then there may be a finished piece to look at and feel and savor. Surely there are shavings for the compost pile or garden mulch. Nothing gets wasted. Even if the piece did not materialize, it started as firewood and it will still give heat. A friend and fellow turner told me as I was learning, "We never make mistakes, only kindling." I have some of the prettiest kindling ever. Each piece means I am learning to turn and having fun doing it. Put a piece of firewood on the lathe and enjoy yourself.

Darrell Feltmate is a juried wood turner whose web site, http://aroundthewoods.com , contains detailed information about wood turning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? Follow the page links for a free video.
http://aroundthewoods.com
You can easily ask your questions about wood turning at his blog at http://roundopinions.blogspot.com as well as comment on any thing related to the web site, this article or other aspects of wood turning, art and craft.
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