Woodturning Materials
So, what can you use as a wood turning material? The better question is, what CAN’T you use! The wood lathe can certainly be used to create objects from most any wood you can imagine, and probably a fair amount of woods you have never heard of much less imagined. But the possibilities don’t stop there. I also use acrylic plastics, deer antler, water buffalo horn, off-cuts from Corian counter tops, corncobs (no, really, I swear), wood composites, and even custom made pens with items encased in special polymers that allow you to do decoupage-like items. One can even rescue the shavings from today’s bowls to make tomorrow’s pens through a process named by its creator, Phoenix Pens. Really, the only limitation is your imagination.
Unfortunately, Zebrawood from Central Africa is very popular for decorative purposes in Western nations, often in the form of veneer for wall paneling and even flooring. Most often …
No one knows exactly why some logs will feature a figure and others won’t, but it is theorized that it may have to do with disease, drought, or other …
Several years ago, on the occasion of my sister’s wedding, I was in Chico, California and Dad and I went to a local lumber yard, that for some reason …
Canarywood is primarily prized for its yellow color which sometimes features distinct rings of red throughout the grain of the heartwood. The heartwood, which is usually quite distinctly …
Working with the Red Elm itself was not too bad at first. It cut pretty easily, which isn’t surprising since it is considerably softer than oak, but as …
As common as they are in the Southeast, they are not exactly what one would consider a timber wood tree. Magnolia are pretty much strictly ornamental, so finding …
The wood that in the United States is known as English Walnut is known simply as Walnut in Europe, where it is native. In the United States, English …