Musings on the craft of woodturning and the creative process afforded by a machine
Several years ago a friend of mine, a music professor at a university in town, purchased a mid-sized wood lathe upon retirement. And without any previous woodworking experience, he embarked on an exciting learn-while-you-work journey!
Woodturning is in some ways similar to pottery, the main difference being that if you don’t like the way the pot you’re throwing on the wheel turns out, you can lump the clay and start all over again. Woodturning being a subtractive process, however, once removed the wood cannot be added back; it’s a one-shot deal. The two main approaches to woodturning are determined by the objects one wants to produce. The first is spindle turning, and refers to a piece that is held between centers while being fashioned.
The second, face plate turning, has the material fastened onto a face plate, as illustrated below, and is used for turning plates, bowls and other hollow forms. This affords access on the center axis since it's not supported by the tail stock.
In the past three or four decades, woodturning has become enormously popular, with clubs and guilds popping up everywhere and even having a dedicated magazine. The machine tool industry has caught on to the trend and is producing lathes starting at around $200 USD and going to upward of $6000, with attachments it can reach $10,000, not to mention all the tools that can easily add several hundreds more.
So what makes this craft so popular? When we speak of woodworking, one usually thinks of the craft of producing furniture, like tables, chairs, cabinets and the like, an endeavor that requires a shop and several machines as well as the skill to use them, and depending on how elaborate the object is, many hours of planning and actual labor. Not so with woodturning! With a basic lathe and few chisels one can produce a beautiful object in a very short time.
Of course there are exceptions; if you choose to pursue the consummate art of laminating various species of woods into patterns and designs, that takes the craft to another level. But by and large I think the attraction for most is the spontaneity of the process, where you can mount a piece of wood on the lathe and in the span of an hour or two, have a finished object. And the learning curve is not that steep, it’s mostly learn-as-you-go, experimenting and discovering the grinds and angles that work best, the finishes that bring out the beauty in the grain of a particular species of wood, and the joy and pride of prancing into the house with the latest creation that will join the rest of the collection on the mantle (don’t be dismayed if your family doesn’t quite share the enthusiasm).
Another aspect of woodturning that makes it attractive is that, compared to other woodworking projects, the quantity of wood required is much smaller. A friend of mine regularly visits an architectural milling shop and picks up cut-offs that would otherwise go into the trash bin. When tree-trimming crews are out working, there’s wood available, free for the asking, not to mention the neighbor’s firewood pile, oftentimes a trove of beautiful material (just ask first!)
As one’s skill improves, so does the desire to turn pieces from more exotic material. Entrepreneurs were quick to catch on to the trend and there are now exotic wood dealers that sell timber from as far away as Australia, Africa, and India – with a commensurate price tag, of course. For that reason, I personally shy away from imported wood, looking instead at the “backyard exotics” and the firewood pile. Since the pieces I now turn have over the years become more and more diminutive, procuring wood is much easier without a significant outlay of money. Awhile back, the former music professor, now living out West, sent me pictures of a dozen pieces turned from a tree in his neighbor’s yard that was toppled by the wind.
With the advent of Youtube there are a plethora of tutorials on the subject, something non-existent fifty years ago when I first started, but part of the joy in woodturning are the small discoveries while experimenting with a new tool or a new grind, and witnessing the shape that is emerging from a piece of wood that minutes earlier was just a non-descript, unattractive block destined for the flames.
If I were to characterize the craft with one word, I would say that woodturning is, more than anything, a lot of fun! And below are some of the pieces that resulted from my own having fun.
Did I stir an interest? Just put a lathe on your Christmas wish list!
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