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I'm making a wassail bowl that needs to hold 2 pints of cider. I've turned it out of end grain beech and of course it needs a food safe finish. Initially, I coated it in undiluted sanding sealer and several coats of undiluted melamine lacquer applied with a brush. To test it I filled it with...

I'm starting to get concerned about the level of dust that fills the air in my workshop when I'm sanding. So far I've used disposable dust masks and I'm not sure that these are doing a good enough job. The amount of turning I do is very small, as my employer keeps me very busy, but I am still...

I've got a few cracks to fill and was wondering about using coffee grounds and resin to recreate bark inclusions. Would be grateful for any tips e.g. should the coffee be soaked in boiling water first? What ratio of coffee to resin should I use? The resin I have is the stuff from Halfords that...

Hi guys, I've would like to turn a goblet that will be used as a drinking vessel. I already have some beech and sycamore for the job but I was wondering about water resistant/food safe finishes. I was thinking about some sort of lacquer but I'm not sure about the need for sanding sealer and the...

I've just acquired some logs from a freshly felled Eucalyptus. It cuts well, dries quickly, ebonises easily and is full of ripple figure. Does anyone recognise the species? Thanks. :)

I've had my Perform CCL lathe for about 8 months now and I have still not worked out how to use the swivel head. Ok, I know how to rotate it through 90 degrees and attach the rest to the bed extension but how on earth am I supposed to get the tool rest in front of the lump of wood? The max...

I'm currently roughing out some bowls using pear wood. I've seen images in books of steamed pear which has a nice pinkish tone to it. Does anyone know a good method for steaming pear? At the moment, I'm briefly running the bowls under the tap, sealing in a plastic bag and giving them a couple of...

My Perform CCL lathe came with a bed extension and a swivel head stock. The max. bowl diameter over the bed is about 10" but could potentially be several inches more by swivelling the head stock. I would quite like to have a go at turning a 12-14" bowl but I'm struggling to work out how the bed...

I'm getting to the stage now where I'm almost happy to put my name on my turnings :oops: . The trouble is, I'm not quite sure about the best method to use. Do you use a fine, permanent marker pen directly on the wood and cover with a finish or do you write over the top of the finish? Or is...

I've bought a couple of mops for polishing oil and wax finished pieces. They fit into my electric drill and are used whilst the wood is spinning on the lathe. I'm just wondering about burnishing cream. My book recommends loading the mop with Ultrashine EEE but it's quite expensive and not many...

Yep, I had no idea what it was either. Turns out it looks like an over-sized goblet for holding about 2 pints of beverage. I reckon it will need to be about 7-8 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches deep (with the bowl about 5-6 inches deep). A food friendly wood like beech or fruit wood and a...

Quite fancy having a go at making a few small hollow forms, maybe to a maximum depth of about 100-150mm. I was thinking about a straight, multi-tip tool for starters for about £20-30. Any advice/recommendations would be very helpful. :D

To be honest, I only have 3 woodturning books, but they are all excellent :D . They are: Woodturning - a foundation course (Keith Rowley) Turning Green Wood (Michael O'Donnell) Woodturning projects - a workshop guide to shapes (Mark Baker) Just wondering whether there are some more gems out...

I'm just about to order one of these tools. I want to make rings with a diameter of about 6-7mm. Does the 1/4 inch (6mm) tool make 6mm rings? I can find one reference on the internet that says it makes 4mm rings. Can anyone confirm this? I might need the 3/8 inch tool, instead...

Just been looking for some info on edible finishes and found this... Does anyone know where you can buy mineral oil, cheaply and in large-ish volumes (about 5 litres)?

Just bought a chainsaw and was considering cutting a few blanks from some fresh logs this weekend. I'll turn some green and dry them in the microwave. I would also like to try allowing some blanks to dry slowly and then turn them in a few months/years time. I was wondering what everyone uses to...

This weekend, I finally managed to bolt my grinder down to the bench and add a jig. After a couple of failed attempts at sharpening my tools properly, the penny finally dropped and now I'm getting long, single-facet bevels :D . With sharp tools at the ready, I had a go at my first green...

After sawing a few logs with a bow saw, I can now see the advantages of a chainsaw. My father has a couple of them but I've never tried to use one. The logs I get from my tree surgeon friend are about 2-3 feet long and up to about 12-14" thick (hassle for a bow saw). I'm considering a small...

I've just found this design software on the net. Looks very interesting and very easy to use. Does anyone have experience of this software? Here's a link to the site: http://www.creative-woodturner.com/index.php

This is it... Ok, it's not much use to anyone or thing, but it's a start. I had a go at one of the tutorial bits in Keith Rowley's excellent book. I rounded off a square length of pine with the roughing gouge and then formed these coves and beads with a 10mm spindle gouge. I then tried...