As a new turner I’ve found the

long list of terms, tools and

vendors confusing and at times

overwhelming. Here is a quick

summary of what I’ve learned

during my three months of

turning, right, wrong or

indifferent.

I’ve always enjoyed wood

working. In the past I’ve built

furniture, hand carved swords,

you name it. However, until I

discovered turning the projects

were driven by need more than

desire. Turning is different for

me because there isn’t a right or

wrong. I don’t need to plan out

every detail ahead of time and if

I make a mistake, guess what, the

design just changed. In fact, at

this stage I hardly ever start

turning with more than a basic

idea of what I want the final item

to look like. Let’s face it, in what

other form of woodworking can

you make things this cool with so

little effort? I’m completely

addicted!

So what have I discovered during

my turning journey? First off it’s

an expensive hobby; expect to

spend at least a thousand dollars

just for the bare necessities,

assuming you already have the

traditional woodworking

equipment (drill press, band saw,

etc.). Sure you can do it for less,

but a good friend of mine once

said cry once when you buy it or

cry every time you use it. In

woodturning, as with most

things, you get what you pay for.

Secondly, you absolutely need a

mentor to teach you the basic

concepts and to keep you from

doing really stupid things like

using a roughing gouge on a

bowl (DON'T EVER do that).

Finally, as good meals start with

quality ingredients, so too do

beautiful wood turning projects

start with good wood.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t

learned how to identify good

wood. I’d certainly like to have a

list of woods to avoid or maybe a

heat chart that lists the different

woods by level of difficulty.

Personally, I like Cherry, Walnut,

Bocote, African Blackwood,

Lace Wood, Pink Ivory, Curly

Maple, Maple Burl and all the

Heart woods. I don’t like Cedar

(too soft) and I picked up a green

colored wood (can’t remember

the name) at woodcraft that I

didn’t like (it looks good when

you’re done but the smell while

turning is awful).

What lessons have I learned from

mistakes that I’d like to help

others avoid?

A fully expanded Grizzly chuck

turning at 9000RPM does bad

things to your knuckles, ouch!

A Cherry bowl not properly

placed in the chuck will travel an

incredibly far distance. Shut the

garage door.

Acrylic is MUCH easier to finish

with wet sandpaper. Who knew..

Snake wood is gorgeous but it

WILL crack, it’s only a matter of

time.

Use a saw to rough round your

bowls. Your body and equipment

will thank you.

Bottle stopper chucks are easily

bent. Be careful when turning

the tops of your bottle stoppers.

Although the bent chucks do

make really cool mushrooms.

When you mess up your bowl

gouge on your new grinder, it’s

REALLY NICE to have a friend

that knows how to fix it, thanks,

Tom.

In short, don’t try to be perfect.

We learn more from our failures

than we do our successes. Don’t

be intimidated by the lingo. It

may be a carbide tipped

hollowing tool but it’s also that

crooked thing with the sharp

wheel on the end. Above all be

safe and have fun!

What I've Learned

Jeff Greene