The woodturning process


This is how I turn - from a log to the finished item.


Brief history

Woodturning is a great hobby. I've been turning since 1997. The only problem I have is
time. I never get to turn as much as I would like. I guess I have turned about one hour
a week on average these past years.

From log to finished item

I rarely have access to completely dry blanks. Therefore I usually start by roughturning.
This means I turn the item into a wallthickness of about 1/10 of the diameter of the item,
and then let the item dry for about half a year. Before I set the item aside to dry, I seal
the endgrain with a product called "treforsegler" (woodsealer). This prevent the item from
cracking. "Treforsegler" is a paraffin wax emulsion that is easily applied and it does not
damage the turning tools.

I allways have a small number of rough turned items stored for drying.

When the item is dry (sometimes I control this by checking the weight of the item two
times with about a week between), I remount the item in the lathe and complete the
turning of it. I sand the item so it gets smooth and finish either with some beeswax while
mounted in the lathe or with 3-4 coatings of Danish Oil. I plan to develop my skills in
finishing, maybe by sanding with finer grit and waxing on top of the Danish Oil, but first I
want to develope my turning techniques.

Types of wood

There are so many types of wood that is suitable for turning. They all have their
distinctive characteristics. They differ in color, pattern, grain and hardness. Some have
great heardwood and some have marks/pattern from insekts or fungus.

Up to now I have tried turning the following types of wood:

· Birch
· Elm
· Maple
· Sallow
· Rowan
· Aspen
· Ash
· Juniper
· Apple
· Pine
· Teak
Copyright © 2002 Øyvind Riise
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