Splitting Oak for Spindle Turning
By Curtis Turner
Round Rock, TX

The word riven means to split apart or to cleave. For our purposes, it refers to splitting along the end grain. This action yields stock that is typically straight-grained, and captures the strength of the wood. The split occurs along a fault line, if you will, thus splitting along the weakest fibers.

This article will take us back in time to experiment with an ancient method of prepping green wood for spindle turning.

CLICK HERE to go back in time with Curtis and learn his process for prepping green wood for turning:

One Woodturner's Unique Perspective on Turning a Bowl
By John Perrella

My studio consists of an extensive woodshop where I create hardwood furniture and turn bowls on a lathe. I obtain all the wood for my projects from native hardwood trees here in New York. These are some of the finest hardwoods in the world.

Read about John's process for turning a bowl, including felling the tree, milling the logs and finally combining the boards into blanks before even starting to turn!

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Thinking about giving wood turning a try? Not ready to invest in a big expensive lathe? This great deal on a solid compact lathe is the perfect way to get started.

With 12" swing and 16" between centers, the lathe's 1" x 8 TPI threaded drive spindle is powered by a 1/2 HP 6.6 amp DC motor. RPM is easily adjustable within each of 3 variable speed ranges (300-700rpm, 700-1500rpm, and 1500-3350rpm) simply by turning a knob. Belt/pulley position selects the speed range.

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Easy Wood Tools Mini-Turning Tools

These are the perfect tools to use with our Rikon Mini-Lathe - or any small lathe.

Gone are the days when a beginning wood turner must climb a long, steep learning curve to achieve impressive results. Easy Wood Tool's innovative design has demystified the turning process, and opens the door for immediate success. Not only is woodturning more fun, the difficulty of keeping sharp edges on your turning tools has been eliminated by equipping them with long-wearing replaceable carbide inserts.

CLICK HERE for more info and to see a SHORT VIDEO:

This month's column features beautiful segmented woodturnings by Paul Bucca of Boise, ID.

Take a look at this friendly woodturner's work and read about how he does it!

Turning a Spatula

I have been making spatulas and spurtles for many years now. Today, I will walk you through my process.

Here's how I start: